- Self-explaining artificial intelligence for the classification of B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: A diagnostic decision support study. [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul 13; 23(7):e1004889. [Online ahead of print]PM
- CONCLUSIONS: FlowXAI provides accurate, data-efficient, and transparent support for B-NHL immunophenotyping from nonstandardized flow cytometry data. By combining interpretable decision logic with explicit self-assessment, FlowXAI offers a clinically meaningful framework for diagnostic support and training, particularly in settings with limited expert availability or rare lymphoma subtypes. The main limitation is the retrospective evaluation using specific antibody panels, and FlowXAI requires prospective validation as a decision-support tool within integrated diagnostic workflows.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Compression therapies for venous leg ulcers: The VENous Ulcer Study 6 (VenUS 6), an open, multicentre, randomised clinical trial. [Randomized Controlled Trial]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul; 23(7):e1005154.PM
- CONCLUSIONS: CW is unlikely to reduce the time to venous leg ulcer healing compared to two-layer bandage or EBC, although confidence intervals included treatment effects indicating little or no difference between groups. Despite remaining uncertainty, these findings may not support CW as a first line strong compression treatment for venous leg ulcers.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- How to benchmark medical AI agents. [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul; 23(7):e1005170.PM
- Medical artificial intelligence research is shifting from single-task models toward multimodal large language model-based agents for complex clinical workflows, requiring benchmarks that assess clinical reasoning, process safety, and resource stewardship rather than final outputs alone.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- The association of socioeconomic status and response to pediatric health behavior and lifestyle obesity treatment in Germany and Sweden: A multiyear, two-cohort observational study. [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul; 23(7):e1004909.PM
- CONCLUSIONS: SES was associated with pediatric obesity treatment outcomes, but patterns differed between countries. While socioeconomic gradients in remission were observed in both settings, inequalities in BMI SDS reduction and treatment discontinuation were evident only in Germany, pointing to potential roles of both measurement differences and contextual factors.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Genetic and sociodemographic factors associated with trajectories of physical and mental health multimorbidity in a South Asian cohort in the UK: A multistate modelling analysis. [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul; 23(7):e1004844.PM
- CONCLUSIONS: The burden of multimorbidity is high in British Bangladeshi and British Pakistani populations. Young Bangladeshi women are at high risk of ICM-MM, while men are at higher risk of CVR. Detection and intervention strategies for physical and mental health multimorbidity should be targeted early in the lifecourse, for those at highest risk.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Post-stroke acute heart failure in patients with large vessel occlusion undergoing endovascular treatment: A pooled analysis of individual patient data from multicenter studies with mediation analysis. [Multicenter Study]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul; 23(7):e1004752.PM
- CONCLUSIONS: PSHF was significantly associated with very poor outcome in LVO patients undergoing EVT. Moderate-to-severe cardioembolic LVO substantially elevated the risk of PSHF, with PSHF partially mediating the adverse prognostic impact of stroke severity. Early risk assessment and monitoring for PSHF may optimize management in this high-risk population.
- PMC Free PDF
- Hypertension and diabetes prevalence, associated factors, care cascade, and quality of life in older adults: A cross-sectional population-based study in The Gambia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul; 23(7):e1004785.PM
- CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in mid-age and older adults in rural and urban Africa necessitates urgent diagnostic, preventive, and control interventions. This can include interventions targeted at obesity, screening of all adults aged ≥40 years, prompt and optimal treatment for those diagnosed, and ongoing monitoring to limit complications.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Discordance in orphan drug approvals between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency: A retrospective observational analysis. [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul 06; 23(7):e1004861. [Online ahead of print]PM
- CONCLUSIONS: Between 2011 and 2023, regulatory outcomes for orphan drug approvals increasingly diverged between the FDA and the EMA, particularly for cancer indications and approvals sponsored by small US sponsors. Among FDA orphan drugs authorised by the EMA, many were not designated as orphan products because of regulatory differences, particularly regarding requirements around significant benefit and biomarker-defined sub-populations in oncology. FDA-approved orphan drugs that lack EU marketing authorisation may be withheld by companies not because of regulatory barriers but due to insufficient commercial incentives to launch in Europe, resulting in fewer treatment options for European rare disease patients. Our findings suggest that orphan incentives are not the primary driver of commercial EU-launch decisions and that recent EU regulatory reform of these incentives may not achieve their goal of improving access to therapy for rare diseases.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Maternal congenital heart disease and risk of child developmental vulnerability in early school age: A population-based cohort study. [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul; 23(7):e1004890.PM
- CONCLUSIONS: In this population-based study, maternal CHD was associated with child developmental vulnerability at school entry. While further research is required to elucidate the mechanisms, enhanced clinical monitoring and tailored support to reproductive age women with CHD may help reduce the risk of developmental vulnerability in their children.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Accelerometry-measured prolonged and interrupted sedentary behavior and cancer incidence and mortality: A cohort study of 91,292 UK Biobank participants. [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jul; 23(7):e1004767.PM
- CONCLUSIONS: Cancer risk associated with SB is specific to prolonged SB. Replacing prolonged SB physical activity is associated with lower cancer risk.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Precision oncology's translation gap-Can molecular tumor boards bridge it? [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jun; 23(6):e1005165.PM
- Precision oncology is revolutionizing cancer care, but isn't reaching enough patients. Molecular tumor boards (MTBs) translate complex genomic data to more effectively inform personalized care, and a new meta-analysis shows they boost clinical outcomes. But how can we feasibly and equitably expand the use of MTBs?
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Improving suicide prevention in men. [Editorial]PLoS Med. 2026 Jun; 23(6):e1005169.PM
- Despite public health strategies focusing on men's mental health and suicide risk, rates of suicide among men remain concerningly high. Targeted, specialized approaches for high-risk individuals should be prioritized alongside broader population-level strategies.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Multilevel onsite training and mentorship model to accelerate early childhood cancer diagnosis in Northwest Ethiopia: A quasi-experimental mixed method study. [Journal Article]PLoS Med. 2026 Jun; 23(6):e1005132.PM
- CONCLUSIONS: A context-tailored, multilevel training and mentorship model was associated with improved provider capacity and reduced diagnostic delays in Northwest Ethiopia. While the initiative demonstrated high fidelity and adaptability in conflict-affected settings, achieving timely treatment requires further investment in diagnostic infrastructure. These tools and protocols are well-positioned for national scale-up and integration into routine continuing medical education.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- The well-worn path from armed conflict to measles resurgence. [Comment]
- Armed conflict weakens immunization, surveillance, and socioeconomic resilience, increasing measles risk during and after war. Protecting routine vaccination in crises is a core emergency response.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)
- Association of armed conflict and global measles cases: A structural equation modeling analysis of 193 countries from 2000 to 2023. [Journal Article]
- CONCLUSIONS: Armed conflict is associated with an increased measles burden, both directly and indirectly through associations with lower socioeconomic development and greater population displacement. These findings suggest that mitigating infectious disease risks in volatile settings requires a dual strategy: preserving the structural foundations of health and education while systematically integrating displaced populations into routine immunization programs. Future research using subnational and higher-frequency data is needed to clarify the precise mechanisms and timing of these associations across other vaccine-preventable diseases.
- Publisher Full Text (DOI)