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Morning Briefing

Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

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Monday, Oct 19 2026 8:53 AM

Full Issue

GLP-1 Use Before Surgery May Have Unexpected Positive Results: Study

People taking GLP-1s before elective surgery are less likely to experience serious cardiovascular complications or postoperative infections, according to researchers. They speculate that this might be because they modulate inflammatory pathways, Newsweek reported.

For most people, GLP-1 drugs are associated with diabetes and weight loss. But their potential benefits may go much further. Researchers found that people taking GLP-1 receptor agonists before elective surgery were less likely to experience serious cardiovascular complications or postoperative infections than those who were not using the drugs. (Gray, 10/18)

Updated guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) expand on previous recommendations and align with a growing cross-specialty consensus on how to manage menopause symptoms. For managing vasomotor symptoms and related sleep disturbances, ACOG strongly recommended systemic hormone therapy with estrogen and a progestogen for women with a uterus, or estrogen alone for those who do not require endometrial protection. This applies to women without contraindications to hormone therapy and is based on moderate-quality evidence. (Robertson, 10/16)

The FDA approved satralizumab (Enspryng), the first and only at-home subcutaneous treatment option for adults with thyroid eye disease (TED), developer Roche announced on Thursday. (Monaco, 10/16)

An oral treatment from Gilead Sciences eliminated the symptoms experienced by patients with a type of inflammatory bowel disease, mid-stage study results reported Monday that could boost the biotech’s push to develop new drugs for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. (Feuerstein, 10/19)

Only about half of people who use OTC hearing aids get the full range of professional services like evaluation, device selection and fitting, and 1 in 5 don’t get any professional assistance at all, according to one 2025 market analysis. (Ho, 10/18)

On a day in late 2024, Avery Klemmer found herself on yet another transatlantic flight with her colleagues at the VC firm Thrive Capital. The team was flying to London to woo the secretive startup Isomorphic Labs — a mission that many other investors thought futile. (DeAngelis, 10/19)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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