Hormone Insight

Can levothyroxine be discontinued in older adults with subclinical hypothyroidism? In a pilot randomised trial, stopping low-dose levothyroxine did not change hypothyroid symptoms, tiredness or quality of life over six months compared with continuing treatment. Pilot randomised trial · Endocrine 2025 Reference: Maraka S, et al. Discontinuation of levothyroxine therapy in patients with subclinical...

Is secukinumab effective for active, moderate-to-severe Graves orbitopathy? In a randomised trial, secukinumab did not improve clinical response compared with placebo at 16 weeks. Randomised trial · Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 2026 Reference: Wolf J, et al. Secukinumab in moderate-to-severe Graves orbitopathy: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre study. J C...

Does selenium supplementation benefit people with newly diagnosed Graves' hyperthyroidism? In the GRASS randomised trial, selenium did not improve remission rates or quality of life compared with placebo. Randomised trial · European Thyroid Journal 2026 Reference: Cramon P, et al. Selenium supplementation in individuals with newly diagnosed Graves' hyperthyroidism: a double-blind, multicentre RCT....

What happens at 5 years of follow-up with thyroidectomy without radioiodine in patients with low-risk thyroid cancer? In patients with low-risk differentiated thyroid cancer, a follow-up strategy without radioiodine was non-inferior to postoperative radioiodine at 5 years. Randomized trial · Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2025 Reference: Leboulleux. Thyroidectomy without radioiodine in patients with l...

After thyroidectomy for low-risk differentiated thyroid cancer, is omission of postoperative radioiodine non-inferior to ablation? In the IoN randomised trial, omission of postoperative radioiodine was noninferior to ablation for 5-year recurrence-free survival. Randomised multicentre non-inferiority trial · The Lancet 2025 Reference: Mallick U, et al. Thyroidectomy with or without postoperative r...

Does rosiglitazone increase myocardial infarction or cardiovascular-death risk in type 2 diabetes? A 2007 meta-analysis found a higher risk of myocardial infarction than control, with a borderline increase in cardiovascular death. Meta-analysis · New England Journal of Medicine 2007 Reference: Nissen SE, Wolski K. Effect of rosiglitazone on the risk of myocardial infarction and death from cardiova...

Does automated insulin delivery improve glucose control in children under 7 with type 1 diabetes? A 2026 meta-analysis reported improved time in range and HbA1c compared with standard care over 8 to 16 weeks. Meta-analysis · Diabetic Medicine 2026 Reference: Lin Q, Zhou Y, Lei M, et al. Diabet Med. 2026;43(7):e70354. doi:10.1111/dme.70354. PMID:42108409. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42108409/ C...

Does liraglutide reduce hospitalization risk compared with glimepiride in people with type 2 diabetes on metformin? In GRADE participants with type 2 diabetes on metformin, time to first hospitalization did not differ overall by glucose-lowering drug; liraglutide modestly reduced subsequent hospitalization risk versus glimepiride on assigned treatment. Secondary analysis of a randomised trial · Di...

Does tirzepatide improve kidney outcomes compared with insulin glargine in type 2 diabetes with high cardiovascular risk? In people with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk, tirzepatide slowed eGFR decline and reduced albuminuria more than insulin glargine over a median 85 weeks. This was a secondary analysis of a randomised trial. Reference: Heerspink HJL, Sattar N, Pavo I, et al. Lancet...

Does oral semaglutide reduce major adverse cardiovascular events in high-risk type 2 diabetes patients? In people with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, or both, oral semaglutide reduced major adverse cardiovascular events compared with placebo. Randomized trial · NEJM 2025 Reference: McGuire DK, Marx N, Mulvagh SL. Oral Semaglutide and Cardiovascu...

Does weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 milligrams reduce cardiovascular events in patients with obesity without diabetes? In patients with established cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity but without diabetes, once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg reduced major adverse cardiovascular events more than placebo. Randomized trial · NEJM 2023 Reference: Lincoff AM, Brown-Frandsen K, Colhoun HM....

Does once-weekly 2.4 milligram subcutaneous semaglutide plus lifestyle intervention reduce BMI more than lifestyle intervention alone in adolescents with obesity? In adolescents with obesity, once-weekly 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide plus lifestyle intervention reduced BMI more than lifestyle intervention alone over 68 weeks, by about 17 percentage points. Randomized trial · NEJM 2022 Reference:...

Can oral orforglipron preserve weight loss after stopping tirzepatide or semaglutide? In selected adults without diabetes, switching to orforglipron preserved more of their previous injectable-associated weight loss than switching to placebo over 52 weeks; continued injections were not compared. Randomized trial · Nature Medicine 2026 Reference: Aronne LJ, Horn DB, le Roux CW, et al. Orforglipron...

Does withdrawal of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 milligrams lead to weight regain and reversal of cardiometabolic benefits in adults with obesity? In adults with obesity, stopping semaglutide 2.4 mg led to regain of about two-thirds of lost weight and reversal of most cardiometabolic improvements by one year. Secondary analysis of RCT · Diabetes Obes Metab 2022 Reference: Wilding JP, Ba...

Does once-weekly tirzepatide reduce body weight in adults with obesity? In adults with obesity, once-weekly tirzepatide reduced body weight substantially more than placebo over 72 weeks, by up to about 21%. Randomized trial · NEJM 2022 Reference: Jastreboff AM, Aronne LJ, Ahmad NN. N Engl J Med. 2022; PMID:35658024 Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:38 The trial 3:12 My take 3:48 Outro Read the structured tria...

Can a polypill improve heart-failure treatment? Combining three heart-failure medicines into one daily capsule improved six-month MRI-measured ejection fraction versus actively optimized separate medicines. Secondary clinical-event findings are encouraging but do not establish a mortality benefit. Randomized trial · Nature Medicine 2026 Reference: Pandey A, Keshvani N, Rizvi SK, et al. Polypill fo...

Does tirzepatide improve cardiovascular outcomes and quality of life in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and obesity? In patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and obesity, tirzepatide reduced the risk of cardiovascular death or worsening heart failure and improved health status compared with placebo. Randomized trial · NEJM 2025 Reference: Packer...

Does empagliflozin help patients with chronic kidney disease? In patients with chronic kidney disease at risk of progression, empagliflozin reduced the risk of kidney-disease progression or cardiovascular death compared with placebo by about 28%. Randomized trial · NEJM 2023 Reference: The EMPA-KIDNEY Collaborative Group. Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease. The New England journ...

Does semaglutide reduce kidney and cardiovascular risks in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease? In patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, once-weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg reduced the risk of major kidney disease events and death from cardiovascular causes compared with placebo (about 24% lower primary-outcome risk). Randomized trial · NEJM 2024 Reference: Perk...

Does finerenone slow kidney function loss in adults with chronic kidney disease without diabetes? In adults with albuminuric CKD without diabetes, finerenone slowed kidney function decline compared with placebo over 32 months, but hyperkalemia was more frequent. Randomized trial · NEJM 2026 Reference: Heerspink HJL, Neuen BL, Agarwal R, et al. N Engl J Med. 2026;395(6):533-545. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2...

Does once-daily low-dose prednisolone change short-term bone and metabolic outcomes compared with thrice-daily hydrocortisone in adults with established adrenal insufficiency? This four-minute Hormone Insight briefing examines a 9-month, double-blind, 2-period crossover randomised clinical trial. Forty-seven adults were randomised and 46 analysed; each regimen was given for 120 days with at least...

Hormone Insight examines whether evolocumab reduces first major cardiovascular events in a selected high-risk population without previous myocardial infarction or stroke. This is an appraisal of the primary VESALIUS-CV randomised trial, not a new study announcement. We cover the two primary composites, absolute benefit, adverse events, the statistical boundary around mortality findings, and clinic...

An HbA1c benefit is only one part of a clinical decision. This Hormone Insight evidence review examines the randomized treatment phase of CATALYST: mifepristone in selected adults with difficult-to-control type 2 diabetes and biochemical hypercortisolism. We review the population and trial design, the 24-week HbA1c and weight results, and findings on blood pressure, hypokalaemia, treatment discont...

SOUL is a large randomized trial of oral semaglutide in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular or kidney disease. In this Hormone Insight clinical evidence discussion, we cover the five-part PICO, the primary MACE result, absolute event rates, the non-significant kidney secondary outcome, patient selection, and limits of generalization. Fahad narration, clean voice-only product...

Can once-weekly semaglutide produce meaningful weight loss in adults with obesity? In this 2-minute evidence brief, we break down the STEP 1 trial, a randomized double-blind clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021. The study tested semaglutide 2.4 mg once weekly versus placebo, both with lifestyle intervention, in adults with overweight or obesity but without diabet...