From a cohort of approximately 21,000 people in the UK, alcohol consumption above about 4 drinks per week was associated with markers of higher brain iron in multiple basal ganglia regions, which was in turn associated with poorer scores on tests of executive function, fluid intelligence, and reaction speed.

Selecting effective antidepressants for the treatment of major depressive disorder is an imprecise practice. With remission rates of about 30% after the initial therapy selection, there is a need to uncover biomarkers able to predict treatment response. This study looked at pharmacogenomic testing for drug-gene interactions to guide treatment selection. Unfortunately, they did not find significantly improved outcomes.

A conversation with Ann Marie Navar, MD, PhD, associate professor of cardiology at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas and associate editor of JAMA Cardiology, who discusses common statin-related myths, the safety of statin therapy, and reliable sources of information for patients.

Read this article and obtain AMA PRA Category 1 Credit! The learning objective? To appraise when stress ulcer prophylaxis should be considered for critically ill patients with risk factors for stress ulcers.

A comprehensive review on the widespread uptake of vaping, including its origins and history, a timeline of discoveries, terminology, epidemiology, its use as a “harm reducer,” clinical presentations of vaping lung injuries (including an overview of the 2019 EVALI outbreak), the pathophysiology of vaping-induced lung injury, clinical aspects including outcomes, COVID-19 considerations, future directions, guidelines, and questions for future research.

The knee arthritis meta-analysis reviewed 169 trials involving 21,163 patients, with the evidence demonstrating viscosupplementation is associated with a clinically irrelevant reduction in pain intensity and with an increased risk of serious adverse events compared with placebo. For the meniscus study, the commentary may sum it up best: “Multiple studies, including several with sham surgeries as a control have shown repeatedly over the previous 2 decades that surgery is not superior to physical therapy, yet the issue and use of surgery persist.”