Medical Bulletin 25/February/2026

Here are the top medical news for today:

Lower Sugar Intake in Infancy Linked to Fewer Adult Heart Attacks: Study

Limiting sugar intake from pregnancy through the first two years of life may significantly lower the risk of serious heart disease decades later, according to a major study published in The BMJ.

Researchers found that people who consumed less sugar in early life were less likely to develop cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and irregular heart rhythm in adulthood.

Health experts have long emphasized that the first 1,000 days of life—from conception to around age two—represent a critical window during which nutrition can shape long-term health. Current guidelines recommend avoiding sugary drinks and limiting ultra-processed foods during infancy and early childhood.

The study analyzed data from 63,433 participants in the UK Biobank, with an average age of 55. Participants were born between October 1951 and March 1956 and had no prior history of heart disease. Among them, 40,063 individuals were exposed to sugar rationing during early life, while 23,370 were not.

The results showed that longer exposure to sugar rationing in early life was linked to steadily lower cardiovascular risk in adulthood. Individuals exposed to sugar restriction in utero and through the first one to two years of life had a 20% lower overall risk of CVD compared to those never exposed. They also experienced a 25% lower risk of heart attack, 26% lower risk of heart failure, 24% lower risk of atrial fibrillation, 31% lower risk of stroke, and 27% lower risk of cardiovascular death. In addition, the onset of heart disease was delayed by up to two and a half years among those exposed to early sugar limits.

Part of the protective effect appeared to be linked to lower rates of diabetes and high blood pressure in adulthood. Researchers also observed modest improvements in measures of heart function among those who experienced rationing early in life.

Because the study was observational, it cannot prove that reduced sugar intake directly caused better heart outcomes.

Overall, the findings suggest that limiting sugar intake during pregnancy and early childhood may have lasting cardiovascular benefits.

REFERENCE: Jiazhen Zheng, Zhen Zhou, Jinghan Huang, Qiang Tu, Haisheng Wu, Quan Yang, Peng Qiu, Wenbo Huang, Junchun Shen, Chuang Yang, Gregory Y H Lip. Exposure to sugar rationing in first 1000 days after conception and long term cardiovascular outcomes: natural experiment study. BMJ, 2025; 391: e083890 DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2024-083890

Universal Nasal Vaccine Shows Promise Against COVID, Influenza, Pneumonia

For decades, scientists have pursued the idea of a universal vaccine capable of protecting against a wide range of infectious threats. Now, researchers at Stanford Medicine report a major step toward that goal. In a mouse study published in Science, the team developed an experimental nasal spray vaccine that protected against multiple respiratory viruses, bacteria, and even allergens for months.

The study showed that vaccinated mice were protected against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses. The vaccine also reduced allergic responses to house dust mites, a frequent trigger of asthma.

Unlike traditional vaccines, which rely on antigen specificity—training the immune system to recognize a specific piece of a pathogen—this experimental vaccine works differently. However, rapidly mutating viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 often change their surface proteins, requiring updated vaccines and boosters.

Instead of targeting a specific pathogen component, the new nasal vaccine mimics immune signaling pathways. It activates both the innate and adaptive immune systems in a coordinated way. In this case, researchers found a way to sustain innate immune activation in the lungs for months by recruiting T cells that continuously send activating signals to innate immune cells.

The vaccine formulation, called GLA-3M-052-LS+OVA, includes immune-stimulating compounds that activate toll-like receptors, along with a harmless protein called ovalbumin (OVA) to draw T cells into lung tissue. In the study, mice received the vaccine intranasally. After three doses spaced one week apart, they were protected against SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses for at least three months.

Encouraged by these findings, researchers also tested the vaccine against bacterial infections and allergic responses. Vaccinated mice were protected against Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii for approximately three months

Researchers describe the effect as a “double defense.” The sustained innate response suppresses pathogens early, while the adaptive system rapidly generates targeted antibodies and virus-specific T cells—within as little as three days, compared to about two weeks in unvaccinated mice.

If similar results are achieved in humans, a single seasonal nasal spray might one day offer broad protection against respiratory viruses and even certain allergens, potentially transforming preventive medicine.

REFERENCE: Haibo Zhang, Katharine Floyd, Zhuoqing Fang, Filipe Araujo Hoffmann, Audrey Lee, Heather Marie Froggatt, Gurpreet Bharj, Xia Xie, Haleigh B. Eppler, Jordan Mariah Santagata, Yanli Wang, Mengyun Hu, Christopher B. Fox, Prabhu S. Arunachalam, Ralph Baric, Mehul S. Suthar, Bali Pulendran. Mucosal vaccination in mice provides protection from diverse respiratory threats. Science, 2026; DOI: 10.1126/science.aea1260

Breakthrough Study Reprograms Obese Fat Cells to Boost Metabolism

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have identified a new way to make ordinary white fat cells burn energy and produce heat, a discovery that could open the door to safer obesity treatments. The preclinical study, published in Nature Metabolism, shows that this mechanism works even in obese mice and may lead to meaningful weight loss over time.

Most fat in the human body consists of white adipocytes, which primarily store excess energy. In contrast, brown fat cells are specialized to burn fat and generate heat through a process called mitochondrial “uncoupling.” While activating brown fat has long been considered a potential obesity therapy, these cells are relatively scarce and less active in adults. Past attempts to stimulate widespread uncoupling in the body have been dangerous. The weight-loss drug 2,4-dinitrophenol, for example, was banned after causing fatal overheating.

In the new study, senior author Dr. Shannon Reilly and her team explored whether uncoupling could be safely triggered directly within white fat cells. They found that during lipolysis—the breakdown of stored fat—released fatty acids interact with an enzyme called AAC (adenine nucleotide translocase). AAC then promotes mitochondrial uncoupling, allowing fat to be burned purely for heat instead of being converted into ATP, the cell’s energy currency.

Importantly, when researchers activated this pathway in obese mice housed under conditions mimicking human metabolism, the animals showed clear increases in body temperature even when brown fat and muscle activity were minimized. This indicates that white fat cells themselves can meaningfully contribute to energy expenditure.

The findings suggest that selectively boosting heat production in white adipocytes could complement existing appetite-suppressing drugs and potentially reduce their side effects, offering a promising new strategy for long-term weight management.

REFERENCE: Ahmadian, M., et al. (2026). Fatty acids promote uncoupled respiration via ATP/ADP carriers in white adipocytes. Nature Metabolism. DOI: 10.1038/s42255-026-01467-2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-026-01467-2.