August 2026
A Note about Cyclosporiasis
As you may have heard, this year there has been a multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infections. Cyclosporiasis is a gastrointestinal illness caused by the parasite Cyclospora. There have been almost 7,000 lab-confirmed cases and over 400 hospitalizations since May 1, 2026. Fortunately, Georgia has had fewer than 200 confirmed cases. Symptoms of Cyclosporiasis generally appear around a week after consuming food or drinking water containing Cyclospora. Common symptoms include unusually large amounts of watery diarrhea and nausea. We recommend people follow safe food handling practices and stay up to date on recalled food. The latest we know of are described here. Practices to reduce your risk include washing your hands with soap and water before and after handling/preparing raw produce, and washing all fruits and vegetables.
Blood Test Shows Promise (and Limits) for Predicting Alzheimer's
People who are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease typically (but not always) have elevated p-tau217 levels. A new study measured p-tau217 levels in 2,684 older adults with normal memory over 13.5 years. Those in the highest p-tau217 group had a 38% chance of developing memory problems within 5 years, a higher rate than those with lower levels.
Dr. Neuman says: Blood-based tests have become common tools that help discern whether memory loss is due to normal aging vs Alzheimer's disease. This is one of the first big studies to see if we can predict who will develop Alzheimer's. Even in the highest level group, 62% of people did NOT develop Alzheimer's within the study's timeframe. So while these tests are very important and helpful, it is crucial to remember it is not a guarantee of diagnosis either way.
Coming Soon: First Generic Single-Dose Flu Treatment
The FDA just approved Baloxavir marboxil, the generic version of Xofluza, for treating influenza in people over 5 years of age. This single-dose pill will reach pharmacies in time for the 2026-2027 flu season and will bring the price down. It must be taken within 48 hours of starting flu symptoms or being exposed to someone with the flu. Baloxavir marboxil helps reduce symptom severity and duration by stopping virus replication.
Dr. Neuman says: Generic Xofluza will be a faster-acting, easier form for flu, and may replace Tamiflu as the go-to for flu treatment.
Lifestyle Beats Metformin for Preventing Chronic Disease in Prediabetes
Metformin and lifestyle change are the two standard approaches for treating prediabetes, but we've had little data on which one better prevents chronic disease down the road. A new study followed 1,173 adults with prediabetes for 21 years after they were randomly assigned to an intensive lifestyle program, metformin, or placebo. By the end, the lifestyle group developed fewer chronic diseases, while metformin showed no meaningful benefit over placebo.
Dr. Neuman says: Metformin has benefits in preventing progression to diabetes, and for many folks with PMOS (formerly PCOS). This study shows that folks at risk of other general illnesses would do best to change what they can with nutrition and movement.
New Kidney Med Works Without Diabetes Too
Finerenone is a medication already known to protect the kidneys and heart in people who have both type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (CKD). A recent study gave 1,584 adults who had CKD without diabetes either finerenone or placebo and tracked them for 32 months. The finerenone group lost kidney function more slowly and had fewer major kidney and heart events. The main tradeoff was high potassium, which happened more often on finerenone and occasionally led to stopping the medication.
Dr. Neuman says: Finerenone is now added to four other classes of medicines (ACE-inhibitors like lisinopril OR ARBs like losartan, SGLT-2 inhibitors like empagliflozin [Jardiance]), calcium channel blockers like amlodipine, and GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide [WeGovy]) as standard of care in kidney disease. With kidney disease and heart disease, medicine has come a long way. The downside of all these medicines to extend life is that it can become a large number of pills: the price to pay for proven medicine that can help ward off worsening disease.
