1: Smoking vs. Vaping Like a Chimney?

A cross-sectional study of 58 young adults found that nicotine vaping was associated with impaired vascular function and cardiorespiratory fitness. Both flow-mediated dilation and carotid artery reactivity were reduced among those who vaped, with similar vascular impairments seen in cigarette smokers. Vapers also had lower peak oxygen uptake than those who had never smoked or vaped. A larger longitudinal study is needed to determine how vaping stacks up to cigarettes over time.

2: Don’t Sweat Concussion Recovery… or Do?

An RCT looked at how a virtual exercise regimen could affect recovery for youth with persistent post-concussive symptoms. At 3 months, virtually administered aerobic exercise resulted in faster symptom recovery and greater improvements in quality of life compared with a control group that did stretching instead. Notably, benefits were only seen in those less than 3 months from injury, suggesting virtual aerobic exercise may be most useful early in concussion recovery.

3: Can AI Predict Depression Relapse?

A prognostic study evaluated whether a machine-learning model could improve relapse prediction in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Among 564 individuals with MDD, a model using clinical features alone predicted relapse over the following 2 years with up to 64% balanced accuracy. Interestingly, adding neuroimaging, genetic, blood marker and gut microbiome data didn't improve predictions. The findings suggest that more data doesn't necessarily mean better predictions, particularly at the individual patient level.

Sleep disruption is common during the menopause transition, but not every restless night or tired day should automatically be attributed to hormonal change.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can present differently in women, with symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia-like complaints, morning headaches and disrupted sleep that may be overlooked as signs of OSA.

For physicians caring for women in midlife, sleep offers an important additional lens. When sleep complaints persist, particularly alongside other clinical risk factors, a sleep assessment may help uncover an underlying condition.

At Resolve Sleep Health, we support patients through assessment and comprehensive sleep-care options, helping make the path from sleep concern to treatment easier to navigate.

Could virtual visits be the prescription for overcrowded ERs?

What happened: A Montreal hospital has launched Quebec's first virtual urgent care program.

Why it matters: Quebec ERs receive nearly 10,000 visits daily, and Montreal's Jewish General Hospital University Health Centre often operates at over 200% capacity. To ease the pressure, the hospital has launched a Virtual Urgent Care (VUC) program, allowing Montreal adults with non-life-threatening conditions to consult a physician online for prescriptions, referrals and medical advice.

The program offers patients another option besides crowded waiting rooms or calling Info-Santé (811), which handles roughly 6,000 calls daily, with wait times sometimes exceeding an hour. The goal is to make care more accessible while reducing unnecessary ER visits.

Meanwhile, Santé Québec, the provincial agency responsible for managing Quebec's health-care system, is testing a separate AI-assisted service to help manage calls about common conditions such as influenza and gastroenteritis. Non-clinical agents use the technology to assist callers with less urgent concerns, while nurses handle more complex cases. It's another approach to reducing pressure on an already stretched health-care system.

But: Virtual care has its limits. Patients experiencing chest pain, severe allergic reactions or other serious symptoms should still seek emergency care. The new program is intended for conditions such as back pain, flu-like symptoms and rashes.

Bottom line: It's early days, but if virtual care can keep even a fraction of non-urgent cases out of crowded ERs, that's one less headache for patients and physicians alike.

🇨🇦 After 2 years and more than 6,400 cases, Canada's measles outbreak is officially over. The outbreak began in October 2024, spread across 10 provinces and territories and cost Canada its measles elimination status in 2025. But there's a catch: Canada hasn't regained that status. That requires at least 12 consecutive months without transmission of the outbreak strain. With measles still circulating globally, vaccination remains essential.

2: ✋ Could a 15-minute procedure help patients with carpal tunnel syndrome avoid surgery? A new randomized trial published in Radiology suggests it might. Ultrasound-guided hydrodissection, which uses saline to free the compressed median nerve, provided longer-lasting relief than steroid injections. Among 63 treated wrists, patients receiving hydrodissection continued improving over 6 months, while symptoms returned in the steroid-only group. Larger studies are needed, but the procedure offers a promising alternative.

3: 🐶 Is your dog really the one ruining your sleep? Maybe not. University of Toronto researchers tracked 25 people and their 38 dogs over 4 weeks and found that sharing a bed with your furry friend didn't significantly affect sleep duration or efficiency. In fact, when nighttime movements were linked, humans were more likely to stir first, followed by their dogs. And here's something to sleep on: 72% of participants said having their dog nearby made them feel safer. Maybe it's time to let sleeping dogs lie. Literally.

Halloween is right around the corner, and who knew medicine and the paranormal could make such a good pair? From haunted houses to the science of fear, we're digging up some delightfully spooky studies. 🎃

🏚️ A haunted house a day keeps inflammation away? Getting scared might have an unexpected upside. In a study of 113 haunted-house visitors, researchers found that 18 of the 22 participants with elevated inflammatory markers at baseline had lower levels 3 days later. It's a small, exploratory finding, but apparently a good scare might do more than raise your heart rate.

🎬 The scariest movie of all time? Your heart has spoken. Forget movie critics. Researchers behind the 2026 Science of Scare project hooked 250 volunteers up to heart-rate monitors to find out which horror films really get our pulses racing. The winner? Sinister (2012), which increased viewers' average heart rate by 34%, from 64 to 86 beats per minute, with peaks of 131 BPM. The film earned a scare score of 96 out of 100. Apparently, the numbers don't lie, even when the lights go out. 👻 See the full rankings.

👻 Ghost in the bedroom? Your brain might be playing tricks. Ever wake up convinced someone is standing beside your bed? A study of 185 people with sleep paralysis found that nearly 58% sensed a presence in the room, while about 22% reported seeing someone. The culprit? A strange overlap between REM sleep and wakefulness that can leave people temporarily unable to move while experiencing vivid hallucinations.

🧠 Learn: Scratching your head over scalp conditions? From seborrheic dermatitis to psoriasis, inflammatory scalp diseases can be tricky to diagnose and manage. Join this expert-led webinar for practical tips on assessment, treatment and managing common scalp conditions. Register here →

🍳 Make: Breakfast in 6 minutes? These fluffy scrambled eggs pack a ton of protein, thanks to one surprising ingredient: cottage cheese. Just 4 ingredients, one pan and barely enough time to finish your coffee. 

🤑 Save: Love them or hate them, Crocs are practically a hospital staple. If yours have seen one too many shifts, the Classic Work Clogs are currently 50% off, down from $69.99 to $35. Not a bad excuse to retire that well-worn pair.

👻 Watch: Forget horror movies. Medicine's past is scary enough. These doctors try to identify some truly terrifying medical devices from history, including dental keys, tobacco smoke enemas and other questionable inventions. Consider this your Halloween reminder to be thankful for modern medicine.

First clue: __ T-cell therapy

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