Joint Health News

January 13, 2026

Top Headlines

Long COVID May Be Fueled by Inflammation and Tiny Clots

Jan. 8, 2026 Long COVID affects an estimated 65 million people worldwide and can damage the brain, heart, blood vessels, and immune system long after infection. Researchers now link symptoms to lingering virus, inflammation, micro-clots, and disrupted energy ...

This Weight Loss Option Beats Ozempic by 5 Times

Jan. 7, 2026 Bariatric surgery far outperformed GLP-1 weight loss drugs in a new real-world comparison of more than 50,000 patients. Two years after treatment, surgery patients lost about 58 pounds on average, while those using semaglutide or tirzepatide lost ...

Nearly 70% of U.S. Adults Could Now Be Classified as Obese

Dec. 31, 2025 A major update to how obesity is defined could push U.S. obesity rates to nearly 70%, according to a large new study. The change comes from adding waist and body fat measurements to BMI, capturing people who were previously considered healthy. Many ...

Scientists Reverse Alzheimer’s in Mice and Restore Memory

Dec. 24, 2025 Alzheimer’s has long been considered irreversible, but new research challenges that assumption. Scientists discovered that severe drops in the brain’s energy supply help drive the disease—and restoring that balance can reverse damage, even in ...

Blood Tests Reveal Obesity Rapidly Accelerates Alzheimer’s Progression

Dec. 10, 2025 Obesity accelerates the rise of Alzheimer’s-related blood biomarkers far more rapidly than previously recognized. Long-term imaging and plasma data show that obese individuals experience much faster increases in proteins linked to ...

Most of the World Isn’t Getting Enough Omega-3

Dec. 9, 2025 Most people worldwide aren’t getting enough omega-3, leaving a major gap between scientific recommendations and daily diets. Researchers emphasize the critical role of EPA and DHA across all life stages and point out that food alone often can’t ...

Her Food Cravings Vanished on Mounjaro Then Roared Back

Dec. 8, 2025 Deep-brain recordings showed that Mounjaro and Zepbound briefly shut down the craving circuits linked to food noise in a patient with severe obesity. Her obsessive thoughts about food disappeared as the medication quieted the nucleus accumbens, the ...

A Common Nutrient Deficiency May Be Silently Harming Young Brains

Nov. 27, 2025 Scientists studying young adults with obesity discovered early indicators of brain stress that resemble patterns seen in cognitive impairment. The group showed higher inflammation, signs of liver strain and elevated neurofilament light chain, a ...

New Study Shows Rheumatoid Arthritis Begins Long Before Symptoms

Nov. 26, 2025 Rheumatoid arthritis begins years before pain ever appears, and scientists have now mapped the hidden immune battle that unfolds long before symptoms. By studying people with RA-linked antibodies over seven years, researchers discovered sweeping ...

Stanford's New Cell Therapy Cures Type 1 Diabetes in Mice

Nov. 26, 2025 Researchers at Stanford found a way to cure or prevent Type 1 diabetes in mice using a combined blood stem cell and islet cell transplant. The procedure creates a hybrid immune system that stops autoimmune attacks and eliminates the need for ...

Chronic Pain May Dramatically Raise Your Blood Pressure

Nov. 17, 2025 Chronic pain might quietly push people toward developing high blood pressure—and the more widespread the pain, the greater the danger. A massive analysis of over 200,000 adults uncovered strong links between long-lasting pain, depression, ...

CRISPR Brings Back Ancient Gene That Prevents Gout and Fatty Liver

Nov. 14, 2025 By reactivating a long-lost gene, researchers were able to lower uric acid levels and stop damaging fat accumulation in human liver models. The breakthrough hints at a future where gout and several metabolic diseases could be prevented at the ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:32am EST

TikTok’s Gout Advice Is Everywhere and Doctors Say It’s Often Wrong

Jan. 9, 2026 A new study finds that TikTok videos about gout frequently spread confusing or inaccurate advice. Most clips focus on diet changes and supplements, while barely mentioning the long-term treatments ...

This Brain Trick Makes Exercise Feel Easier

Jan. 8, 2026 Exercise doesn’t just challenge the body; it challenges how the brain interprets effort. Scientists discovered that vibrating tendons before cycling allowed people to push harder without feeling ...

Breakthrough Obesity Drugs Are Here but Not for Everyone

Jan. 4, 2026 UK experts are warning that access to new weight-loss drugs could depend more on wealth than medical need. Strict NHS criteria mean only a limited number of patients will receive Mounjaro, while many ...

Mayo Clinic Neurosurgeon Reveals 8 Back Pain Myths to Stop Believing

Dec. 15, 2025 Back pain is wrapped in persistent myths, but many are far from the truth. From misconceptions about heavy lifting and bed rest to confusion over posture, exercise, and surgery, Dr. Meghan Murphy ...

Wegovy in a Pill? Massive Weight Loss Results Revealed

Nov. 6, 2025 Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide 25 mg achieved up to 16.6% weight loss in a landmark study, rivaling injectable Wegovy. The pill also improved cardiovascular risk factors and physical activity ...

Exercise and Omega-3s Could Be the Secret to Healthier Teeth

Oct. 26, 2025 Researchers found that combining regular exercise with omega-3 supplements can make a big difference for oral health. The duo helps the immune system fight off chronic tooth root infections and ...

Snake Pee Might Hold the Secret to Ending Gout Pain and Kidney Stones

Oct. 25, 2025 Reptiles don’t just pee, they crystallize their waste. Researchers found that snakes and other reptiles form tiny uric acid spheres, a water-saving evolutionary trick. This discovery could ...

This Everyday Vitamin Could Be the Closest Thing We Have to an “anti-Aging Pill”

Oct. 22, 2025 A study found that daily vitamin D supplements helped slow telomere shortening—the cellular process linked to aging and disease. Researchers ...

Scientists Reveal the Best Exercise to Ease Knee Arthritis Pain

Oct. 20, 2025 A sweeping review of over 200 studies finds that aerobic exercises like walking and cycling offer the best pain relief and mobility gains for knee osteoarthritis. Compared to other types of exercise, ...

Surgery Beats Ozempic for Long-Term Health, Cleveland Clinic Finds

Oct. 18, 2025 Weight-loss surgery dramatically outperformed GLP-1 medications in improving longevity and reducing heart, kidney, and eye complications for people with obesity and diabetes. Over 10 years, patients ...

Scientists Just Debunked the Calcium and Dementia Myth

Oct. 18, 2025 A long-term Australian study found that calcium supplements do not raise dementia risk in older women, countering previous fears. The research followed more than 1,400 participants for nearly 15 ...

Why Gen X Women Can’t Stop Eating Ultra-Processed Foods

Sep. 29, 2025 Researchers found that middle-aged adults, especially women, are far more likely to be addicted to ultra-processed foods than older generations. Marketing of diet-focused processed foods in the 1980s ...

This European Treatment for Joint Pain Just Passed a Major Scientific Test

Oct. 15, 2025 Korean researchers found that low-dose radiation therapy eased knee pain and improved movement in people with mild to moderate osteoarthritis. The treatment, far weaker than cancer radiation, showed ...

Scientists Uncover How to Block Pain Without Side Effects

Sep. 26, 2025 Scientists have discovered a way to block pain while still allowing the body’s natural healing to take place. Current painkillers like ibuprofen and aspirin often come with harmful side effects ...

A Simple Fatty Acid Could Restore Failing Vision

Oct. 14, 2025 Scientists at UC Irvine have found a way to potentially reverse age-related vision loss by targeting the ELOVL2 “aging gene” and restoring vital fatty acids in the retina. Their experiments in ...

Being Too Thin Can Be Deadlier Than Being Overweight, Danish Study Reveals

Sep. 14, 2025 New research from Denmark challenges long-held assumptions about body weight and health, revealing that being overweight—or even moderately obese—does not necessarily increase the risk of death ...

Hidden Viruses in Our DNA Could Be Medicine’s Next Big Breakthrough

Sep. 3, 2025 Scientists have decoded the 3D structure of an ancient viral protein hidden in our DNA. The HERV-K Env protein, found on cancer and autoimmune cells, has a unique shape that could unlock new ...

A Startling Omega-3 Deficiency May Explain Women’s Alzheimer’s Risk

Aug. 22, 2025 Researchers discovered that women with Alzheimer’s show a sharp loss of omega fatty acids, unlike men, pointing to sex-specific differences in the disease. The study suggests omega-rich diets could ...

Scientists Uncover Surprising Link Between Diet and Nearsightedness

Sep. 8, 2025 Researchers studying over 1,000 children found that omega-3 fatty acids may help protect against myopia, while saturated fats may increase risk. Kids with more omega-3 in their diet had healthier eye ...

One Small Walking Adjustment Could Delay Knee Surgery for Years

Aug. 16, 2025 A groundbreaking study has found that a simple change in walking style can ease osteoarthritis pain as effectively as medication—without the side effects. By adjusting foot angle, participants ...

A $2 Gold Nanotech Test That Detects Deadly Diseases in Minutes

Aug. 15, 2025 Arizona State University scientists have unveiled NasRED, a revolutionary one-drop blood test that can detect diseases like COVID-19, Ebola, HIV, and Lyme with incredible speed and precision. Using ...

Can a Diet Really Ease Lipoedema? Sunniva’s Journey to Pain Relief and Weight Loss

Aug. 10, 2025 Sunniva Kwapeng struggled with lipoedema, a painful condition causing disproportionate fat accumulation, until finally being diagnosed in her 40s. An NTNU study found that a low-carb diet helped ...

This Gut Hormone Could Explain 40% of IBS-D Cases—and Lead to a Cure

July 29, 2025 A mysterious gut hormone may be behind many cases of chronic diarrhea, especially in people with undiagnosed bile acid malabsorption, a condition often mistaken for irritable bowel syndrome. ...

Lupus Often Fades With Age. Scientists Finally Know Why

Aug. 4, 2025 Lupus, a relentless autoimmune disease, appears to mellow with age. While it aggressively targets organs with runaway interferon signaling in younger adults, researchers at UCSF have found that the ...

New Genetic Test Predicts Obesity Before You Start Kindergarten

July 22, 2025 A groundbreaking study involving genetic data from over five million people has uncovered how our DNA can predict obesity risk as early as childhood. The new polygenic risk score outperforms previous ...

How a Hidden Brain Circuit Fuels Fibromyalgia, Migraines, and PTSD

July 10, 2025 What if your brain is the reason some pain feels unbearable? Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered a hidden brain circuit that gives pain its emotional punch—essentially transforming ...

The Surprising Reason X-Rays Can Push Arthritis Patients Toward Surgery

Aug. 26, 2025 Knee osteoarthritis is a major cause of pain and disability, but routine X-rays often do more harm than good. New research shows that being shown an X-ray can increase anxiety, make people fear ...

Fitness Trackers Are Failing Millions — This Fix Could Change Everything

June 20, 2025 Fitness trackers often fail people with obesity by underestimating their energy burn, leading to discouraging results and misguided health data. A scientist's frustrating experience in an ...

Simple Therapies Outperform Drugs for Knee Arthritis Pain Relief

Sep. 20, 2025 A sweeping analysis of nearly 10,000 patients reveals that knee braces, hydrotherapy, and exercise stand out as the most effective non-drug therapies for knee osteoarthritis. Unlike common pain ...

Why Your Diet Might Be Making You Sad--Especially If You're a Man

June 7, 2025 New research reveals a surprising downside to calorie-cutting diets: a link to higher levels of depressive symptoms, especially in men and those who are overweight. Despite popular beliefs that ...