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Within Reach

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Published March 7, 2026

Morning Report — Not Your Typical Medical Newsletter

We get it, you see a lot of medical newsletters, so hear us out. Once a month, we’ll highlight important medical news sprinkled with witty commentary, fun facts, giveaways, and more… because learning should be fun! Subscribe to receive the Morning Report directly.

Good morning! For years, Michigan State University urologist David Wartinger heard claims that roller coasters helped dislodge patients’ kidney stones. So, naturally, in 2016, he engineered a synthetic kidney, fitted it with stones, and smuggled it aboard a coaster with the single-minded determination of Clark Griswold steamrolling his way through Walley World.

After 20 rides and a 64% passage rate, he expanded the research to include different coasters, kidney models, and stone sizes—enlisting an MSU resident with formidable intestinal courage. They uncovered these stone-passing secrets: (1) sit in the back, (2) pick the “rattle” coasters grandfathered in from a less regulated era, (3) skip inverted rides, and (4) hope the stone lives in the kidney’s upper pole, where the success rate hit 100%.

Wartinger even recommends a yearly maintenance coaster ride to minimize stone risk—because nothing says“preventive care” like a lap bar and a waiver.

Ten Hours for 20 Years of Brain Health

NEURO NEWS

A five-week course of cognitive training may reduce dementia risk 20 years later. Implausible? The program’s CEO, Dr. Henry Mahncke, likens it to riding a bike—once learned, it sticks. A new study backs the analogy, with one qualifier: Participants needed at least one booster session. So, learn to ride, then pedal once more before the spiders claim the bike.

The ACTIVE study

In a randomized, four-arm trial launched in 1998, investigators assigned >2,000 older adults to memory, reasoning, or speed-of-processing training, or to a no-contact control group. The intervention consisted of just 8 to 10 hour-long sessions over roughly 5 weeks. Investigators tracked incident Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) through 20 years of Medicare claims. Only speed-of-processing training significantly reduced risk, lowering incidence by ~25%—and only among those who completed at least one booster session.

The need for speed

The subscription-based speed-training program, brainHQ, featured adaptive exercises that pushed participants to identify a central object while locating a peripheral target under shrinking time limits and increasing distraction. Unlike memory and reasoning training, which teaches strategies, speed training fosters implicit learning, which strengthens skills through repetition instead of instruction. Disclosure: We’re not on the brainHQ payroll—just reporting the data.

Key takeaways

“You can learn to ride a bike in about 10 hours of training, and even if you don’t practice for the next 20 years, you [will] still have a bike-riding brain,” says Dr. Mahncke. The ACTIVE data suggest cognitive speed training may show similar durability—provided patients return for at least one booster session. An ongoing trial, PACT, will test whether extending the training dose adds further protection against ADRD. Until then, as little as 10 hours plus a booster may suffice to keep the neural circuits humming for the next 2 decades.

For more education on brain health, check out this CME podcast: Brain Gains: The Cognitive Benefits of Physical Activity

Is a Universal Respiratory Vaccine Within Reach?

INFECTIOUS FINDINGS

Most vaccines have followed the same basic playbook since the days of powdered wigs and parchment prescriptions—when “cutting-edge medicine” meant leeches and long odds. For more than two centuries, vaccine design has centered on antigen-specific targeting. Now, Stanford researchers propose a radical shift—moving beyond antigen-specific targeting to sustained mucosal immune activation.

One nasal spray; multiple targets

A recent mouse study moves investigators closer to an elusive universal vaccine for respiratory pathogens. Delivered intranasally, the formulation does not target a specific virus or bacterium. Instead, it induces coordinated innate and adaptive immune responses in the lungs, with protection lasting ≥3 months. Vaccinated mice showed reduced SARS-CoV-2 viral load, survived otherwise lethal coronavirus infection, and demonstrated protection against Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, and house dust mite allergen exposure. Prolonged innate activation curbed early viral replication, while adaptive responses provided backup control.

Mind the translation gap

The results are striking—but mice are not small, cooperative humans. Sustained innate activation may offer broad protection, but persistent immune stimulation raises safety concerns, particularly in older adults with baseline inflammation.

Key takeaways

While still a rodent success story, this research has generated cautious buzz. In as little as five to seven years, a single nasal spray could provide broad protection across unrelated pathogens, including rapidly mutating viruses. By boosting frontline immunity rather than chasing variants, the approach could simplify seasonal prevention and offer early defense against future pandemic threats—if human trials confirm safety and durability. For now, the idea lives not in science fiction but in the space between animal data and human evidence.

For more education on respiratory viruses, check out this CME activity: Current and Emerging Respiratory Viruses

SPANning for a Longer and Better Life

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR—FRANK DOMINO, MD

What is going to help our patients live longer and better? Is it GLP-1 RAs? Monoclonal antibodies? Maybe it’s even simpler than a Seahawks championship. Living longer and better may come down to three key components—together.

The power of three

Sleep, physical activity, and nutrition (SPAN) are known modifiable risk factors for noncommunicable diseases and all-cause mortality. How much effort is needed in just these three areas to live longer and better?

Participants in a UK-based cohort studywore a movement tracking device (accelerometer) for seven days to track sleep and exercise and completed a diet quality assessment. After linking these data with lifespan and healthspan (disease-free life expectancy) outcomes, researchers found that even small, concurrent improvements across all three behaviors were associated with meaningful gains.

We can hear our patients complaining already, “Yeah, yeah, diet and exercise …” But the effort required is much less than they might think.

Adding five minutes of sleep, about two minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and a half serving of vegetables per day was associated with one additional year of lifespan (95% CI, 0.69-1.15). Not bad.

If patients are up for more, adding 24 minutes of sleep, about four minutes of MVPA, and larger dietary improvements—such as an extra cup of vegetables plus more whole grains and fish—was associated with four additional years of healthspan (95% CI, 0.50-8.61).

Key takeaways

Which was the best SPAN combo? The study showed that when all 3 were optimized together—7.2 to 8 hours of sleep per night, >42 minutes of MVPA per day, and a diet built mostly around plants and whole foods—the gains were greatest. In short, like your mother said: Go to bed, eat your vegetables, and get outside.

For more education on nutrition strategies, check out this CME activity: Unlocking the Power of Food: Advanced Nutrition Strategies for Primary Care Clinicians

Interested in more healthcare news? Here are some other articles we don’t want you to miss:

Morning Report is written by:

Alissa Scott, Author
Aylin Madore, MD, MEd, Editor
Margaret Oliverio, MD, Editor
Ariel Reinish, MD, MEd, Editor
Emily Ruge, Editor

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