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August 13, 2026 · Thursday

1 Key Question · 2 Research Highlights · 3 Quick Updates

Over 75, never had a heart problem — does the statin have to continue indefinitely?

In older adults on statins for primary prevention at low cardiovascular risk, stopping for 3 years did not increase death, myocardial infarction or stroke — but that does not mean everyone can stop.

Lancet Healthy Longevity · 2026-08

Who it applies to

Adults aged 75 or older with no prior myocardial infarction or stroke, at low cardiovascular risk (primary prevention). People with established cardiovascular disease or at high risk are outside this conclusion.

What it showed

Over 3 years, stopping the statin was non-inferior to continuing for all-cause death and for myocardial infarction and stroke; physical and mental quality of life was comparable.

What remains unknown

Open-label, with only 3 years of follow-up; LDL rose markedly after discontinuation, and the longer-term consequences (cognition, cancer) are not yet known.

Population
Adults aged 75 or older with no history of cardiovascular disease (primary prevention) and at low cardiovascular risk; 1,160 participants (SAGA/SITE, multicentre, France).
Intervention
Discontinuing the statin.
Comparator
Continuing the statin.
Applicability
Only for primary prevention in low-risk older adults; does not apply to secondary prevention or to those at high cardiovascular risk.
Primary endpoint
All-cause death and a composite cardiovascular endpoint (non-inferiority design).
Key results
All-cause death 7.2% (stop) vs 7.9% (continue); no significant difference in myocardial infarction or stroke; comparable quality of life; LDL rose about 50% in the discontinuation group (roughly 115 to 171 mg/dL).
Limitations
Open-label, with only 3 years of follow-up; the long-term consequences of the LDL rebound are not covered.
Source
SAGA/SITE trial; Lancet Healthy Longevity, 2026-08 (current issue).

Research

Worth reading this week.

Obinutuzumab β cut relapse risk by about 93% in AQP4-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Journal

Phase 3 across 32 centres in China; relapse rate about 4% vs about 46% on placebo (HR ≈ 0.07), with improvement in EDSS and MRI as well.

Nature Medicine · Phase 3 · published

CD19 CAR-T cells can persist in the body for up to 10 years

Journal

Still detectable 7–10 years after infusion in some patients in long-term remission, with no oncogenic integration observed — the longest human evidence to date.

Nature Medicine · Long-term follow-up · published

Quick News

Signals worth watching.

  • Policy · Vaccines · A US executive order would split the MMR vaccine and change the dosing schedule; the pharmaceutical and clinical communities have objected publicly, and experts say the underlying claims are not supported by evidence.

    Media

    STAT News · 2026-08-11

  • Psychiatry · Phase 3 · DT120, an LSD-based therapy, met its primary endpoint in phase 3 for generalised anxiety disorder (topline; full text pending).

    Conference

    STAT News · 2026-08-12

  • Immunology · Phase 3 · Sonelokimab (an IL-17A/F nanobody) met all endpoints in phase 3 for psoriatic arthritis (topline).

    Company

    Company press release · 2026-08-10

Sources

Every claim is traceable.