Urban refugees in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often face housing insecurity, undermining their ability to achieve self-reliance and well-being. Few studies have evaluated the impact of housing interventions in these contexts. This study offers preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of a 9-month rental assistance program targeting female-headed Venezuelan migrant households in Colombia. Using pre-post data from 517 participants, we assessed changes over time in household-level self-reliance, domains of self-reliance, subjective well-being and perceived agency. We also employed ordinary least squares regression and fixed-effects models to estimate changes in self-reliance and the relationship between self-reliance, psychosocial and housing outcomes. Our analysis found significant improvements in overall self-reliance, well-being and agency after controlling for observed individual and household characteristics. Increases were observed across almost all domains of self-reliance. Fixed-effects models also found that subjective well-being, perceived agency and select housing conditions were positively associated with self-reliance. Rental support appears to promote both material and psychosocial recovery for displaced households by alleviating financial stress and enabling forward-looking behaviors. However, the impact of housing quality dimensions varies, and the sustainability of outcomes remains uncertain. Future evaluations should incorporate longitudinal designs and control groups to inform holistic refugee housing strategies.

Diabetes affects over 500 million people worldwide and contributes substantially to the environmental impact of health care, including carbon emissions and plastic waste. As healthcare systems globally aim to reduce their environmental footprint, there is a need to embed environmental sustainability into decision making and foster innovation in health and life sciences.

This commentary outlines the environmental sustainability challenges and opportunities across the diabetes care pathway, highlighting innovations that reduce the demand for healthcare resources and associated environmental impact. We discuss the current and potential role of health technology assessment (HTA) agencies in promoting more sustainable health systems, by incorporating environmental considerations into the value assessment of technologies. Several approaches, such as integrated and parallel evaluation, are emerging to support this aim, whereas HTA agencies increasingly consider parameters of environmental life cycle assessment (eLCA), a comprehensive framework for evaluating the environmental sustainability of technology. Although a framework is evolving, early implementation by HTA bodies, for example, in the United Kingdom, Thailand, Canada, and Italy, highlights growing momentum. Moreover, sustainability policies at government and health system levels are developing globally, signaling opportunities to incorporate environmental sustainability in HTA (ESHTA).

Given the scale of health care’s environmental footprint, large disease areas offer critical opportunities for sustainable action. Diabetes, with its growing global prevalence, presents a particularly suitable domain for piloting the integration of environmental sustainability into HTA.

A ParasiteBlitz event offers a brief, intense opportunity to discover diverse parasite species and to reveal life cycles of heteroxenous parasite taxa. In this study, we describe Monomyxum ligophori n. sp., a hyperparasitic myxozoan (Monomyxidae) proliferating in two dactylogyrid monopisthocotylan flatworms (Ligophorus saladensis, Ligophorus mugilinus) infecting mugilid fishes (Mugil cephalus, Mugil curema) on the Atlantic coast of North America. Furthermore, we used DNA barcoding to infer the parasite’s complex life cycle, matching its hyperparasitic myxospore stages with actinospore stages infecting the polychaete Streblospio benedicti found in the same locality during the ParasiteBlitz and also reported previously from the same region. Thus we report the first life cycle of a myxozoan that most likely does not require a vertebrate host. Hyperparasitic myxozoans are rare with only five species reported worldwide to infect flatworms. This study provides more information on the previously discussed host specificity towards monopisthocotylan hosts of these monomyxid myxozoan hyperparasites. Notably, Monomyxum ligophori n. sp. was detected in two out of four gill-infecting parasitic flatworms (being absent in Ligophorus uruguayensis and Metamicrocotyla macracantha) found infecting the same fish individuals during the ParasiteBlitz. Our molecular data and phylogenetic analysis support the previously suggested common origin of Monomyxum species infecting monopisthocotylan flatworms, and contribute to understanding the life cycle and host interactions of this unique hyperparasitic myxozoan lineage.

In this retrospective case series, we present two patients with primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) and spasticity-related gait impairment. Both patients were assessed with 6-min walk tests (6MWT) and timed up and go (TUG) at baseline and after 4 weeks of oral levetiracetam. Following levetiracetam therapy, Patient 1 improved 27.3% (148.5 to 189 m) on 6MWT and 26.1% (23–17 s) on TUG. Patient 2 improved 18% (90 m in 4:29 min to 112 m in 6 min) on 6MWT and 10% (46–41 s) on TUG. Larger prospective trials of levetiracetam for spasticity and gait may be considered in PLS.

The burden of cancer worldwide is rising, with 20 million new cases diagnosed in 2022. In Europe, 1.2 million women are diagnosed with cancer annually and an estimated 600,000 women die from cancer each year. International research and data from Ireland demonstrate that women with cancer face a particular set of challenges, including increased psychological distress compared to men. As a result, Ireland’s Model of Care for Psycho-Oncology could usefully place greater emphasis on gender-specific provisions which address the increased psychological needs of women. To date, Ireland has made some progress in recognising the physical and mental healthcare needs of women and developing gender-informed policies. It is essential that such policies are implemented fully so as to reduce and eliminate disparities in care. A more tailored, gender-informed approach would also help ensure the provision of gender-aware psycho-oncological care for all women and men as they navigate their cancer journeys.

In a propensity-matched cohort of adult cardiac or neurosurgical procedures (n = 1,342), infection was less frequent with continuous infusion (1.8%) versus intermittent cefazolin (2.4%), though the difference was statistically non-significant (−0.6%, 95% CI−2.3 to 1.1; p = 0.57). The 0% infection rate among cardiac cases receiving continuous cefazolin infusion warrants further investigation.

Psychoactive substances, known for their acute impact on perception and cognition, are gaining attention for their potential therapeutic applications. Many of these substances are plant-derived with deep-rooted histories of use in non-medical contexts, where they have been viewed as either tools for social cohesion or sources of discord, depending on cultural and societal contexts. This review explores psychoactive substances; psychedelics, cannabis, and stimulants, in a legitimized medical context, focusing on the ethical considerations shaping research and the regulatory and prescribing challenges involved in translating these compounds into viable clinical treatments. It highlights the diverse voices; Indigenous, philosophical, psychiatric, and using communities advocating for careful consideration of their broader implications. Key issues include navigating the blurred boundaries between therapeutic benefit and potential misuse, ensuring rigorous scientific methodologies, and addressing the sociopolitical factors shaping public perception and policy. The article emphasizes the need for evidence-based frameworks that balance innovation with patient safety and calls for approaches that recognize the social and commercial determinants of health, extending ethical considerations beyond merely prescribing. By critically assessing the promise and limitations of repurposing these substances, the article contributes to the ongoing discourse on their role in contemporary psychiatric practice.

Schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and depressive disorder (DEP) are disabling diseases influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Several risk factors have been identified for these disorders in various systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and umbrella reviews. Identifying risk factors for these disorders is essential to be able to target disorder-specific or transdiagnostic interventions. We aimed to systematically review existing meta-analyses on selected risk factors for SZ, BD, and DEP. We systematically searched for meta-analyses of risk factors relating to pregnancy and birth, childhood and adolescence, lifestyle, somatic conditions, infectious agents, and environmental exposures published since 2000. The transdiagnostic comparison included 70 meta-analyses, encompassing results for 55 risk factors that were studied across at least two of the three disorders. In our extensive transdiagnostic umbrella, 74% of reported effect sizes for the risk factors from meta-analyses were statistically significant. Childhood maltreatment was a robust transdiagnostic risk factor for all three disorders. We also found differences in risk factors, for example, pregnancy and birth complications associated strongly with SZ risk, and several somatic conditions were associated with DEP. It should be noted that many meta-analyses were low quality and based on a small number of original studies. More high-quality longitudinal research is needed on many risk factors to be able to evaluate their validity in single outcomes and their potential specificity or non-specificity.