Hearing aids did not significantly slow progression from MCI, and thrombolysis before transfer tracked with better recovery

The edition in brief

In the CHOICE trial in Shanghai, 703 adults aged 60 and over with mild cognitive impairment and moderate to severe hearing loss were randomised to hearing aids or hearing education; conversion to dementia-level impairment over 24 months was 3.1% v 4.7% (RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.25 to 1.38), not significant, while a prespecified secondary outcome of cognitive improvement favoured hearing aids (15.3% v 2.4%). A meta-analysis of 16 observational studies found that intravenous thrombolysis before transfer from a primary to a comprehensive stroke centre for thrombectomy was associated with better 90-day function (adjusted OR 1.47 for mRS 0–1), more recanalisation during transfer and lower mortality, with no increase in symptomatic haemorrhage. A multicentre study of 681 people proposed a five-class visual reading framework for tau PET that agreed well across raters and tracers and identified roughly twice as many tau-positive cognitively unimpaired people as the current binary read. A meta-analysis of 20 small trials found exercise improved motor scores, freezing of gait and balance in Parkinson disease, with moderate certainty only for motor scores. The pearl covers hearing checks in the memory clinic. There was no FDA activity for this desk today.