Statins in healthy older adults cut vascular events but not disability; a multicancer blood test misses its stage target; nicotinamide riboside worsens Parkinson disease scores

The edition in brief

STAREE randomised 9,971 community-dwelling adults aged 70 or over, with no cardiovascular disease, diabetes or dementia, to atorvastatin 40 mg or placebo. Major cardiovascular events fell (10.9 vs 15.5 per 1000 person-years; HR 0.70, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.82), but death, dementia or persistent disability did not differ (HR 0.94, 0.84 to 1.05). NHS-Galleri randomised 142,250 people aged 50 to 77 to a multicancer early-detection blood test or stored samples; stage III or IV cancer incidence among 12 prespecified cancers did not differ (rate ratio 1.03, 0.92 to 1.14), while stage IV incidence was 0.86 (0.74 to 1.00), with more follow-up planned. NOPARK, a phase 3 trial in 393 analysed patients with early Parkinson disease, found that nicotinamide riboside raised the MDS-UPDRS score by 2.72 points more than placebo (95% CI 0.47 to 4.98) and did not support disease modification. ISLEND-1 found once-weekly oral islatravir-lenacapavir noninferior to daily bictegravir-emtricitabine-tenofovir alafenamide for maintaining viral suppression at 48 weeks in 607 adults. A pearl on matching a trial's outcome to the question being asked closes the edition.