Literature Review

mfulk78
Jun 25
4 min read

1) An exciting phase three trial with the CETP inhibitor Obicetrapib has shown serious promise for ASCVD and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). "In BROADWAY, a pre-specified AD sub-study was designed to assess plasma AD biomarkers in patients enrolled in the BROADWAY trial and evaluated the effects of longer duration of therapy (12 months) with a prespecified population of ApoE3/4 or 4/4 carriers. The sub-study included 1727 patients, including 367 ApoE4 carriers. The primary outcome measure was p-tau217 absolute and percent change over 12 months. Additional outcome measures included neurofilament light chain (“NFL”), glial fibrillary acidic protein (“GFAP”), p-tau181, and Aβ42/40 ratio absolute and percent change over 12 months. NewAmsterdam observed statistically significant lower absolute changes in p-tau217 compared to placebo over 12 months in both the full ITT population (p<0.002) and in ApoE4 carriers (p=0.0215)." (NAMS)

Obicetrapib has shown significant LDL and Lp(a) lowering effects as well in early trials. I will be watching this discovery closely as it may be a game changer for these diseases. "In the BROADWAY trial, more than 2,500 participants with established heart disease or genetic high cholesterol were given either Obicetrapib or a placebo, in addition to their regular cholesterol medications. After 12 weeks, those on Obicetrapib had dropped their LDL cholesterol by 32.6 per cent and Lp(a) by 33.5 per cent on average – many achieved guideline-recommended targets for the first time." (Sci Tech Daily) The drop in Lp(a) is the profound result as this is a massive risk factor for ASCVD and to date is not moveable by statins and most used meds.

2) GLP1 drugs and risk for macular degeneration? 139, 002 matched diabetic patients noted a risk of developing macular degeneration among patients exposed to GLP-1 RAs compared with unexposed patients at a rate 2x the control group. AMD is a progressive eye disease that damages the macula, the central part of the retina, leading to vision loss. (Shor et. al. 2025)

200% increase in eye disease is a problem that needs to be watched carefully as these medicines may fix one problem only to cause another.

3) From BMJ Nutrition: "The analysis included 132 studies with 52,501 participants. The pooled prevalence of multiple micronutrient deficiency (vitamins, minerals and electrolytes) was 45.30% among T2D patients. The pooled prevalence was higher in women with T2D than in men. Vitamin D was the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency, followed by magnesium. B12 deficiency was higher in the metformin consuming group. The prevalence of micronutrient deficiency varied across WHO regions." (Mangal et. al. 2025)

A few that Rhonda Patrick Highlighted below:

4) Living near a golf course increases your risk of Parkinson's disease by significant amounts - from JAMA: " A total of 419 incident PD cases were identified. After adjusting for patient demographics and neighborhood characteristics, living within 1 mile of a golf course was associated with 126% increased odds of developing PD compared with individuals living more than 6 miles away from a golf course. Individuals living within water service areas with a golf course had nearly double the odds of PD compared with individuals in water service areas without golf courses and 49% greater odds compared with individuals with private wells. Additionally, individuals living in water service areas with a golf course in vulnerable groundwater regions had 82% greater odds of developing PD compared with those in nonvulnerable groundwater regions." (Krzyzanowski et. al. 2025)

This study is a straightforward understanding that the toxicity of golf course maintenance chemicals leads to effects on those within the watershed area. The toxic burden is overwhelming the detoxification system and leading to the damage that we call Parkinson's disease. The effect has also been noted to increase autoimmunity and other chronic diseases of aging.

5) A study looking at leukocyte telomere length in white blood cells notes "LTL was measured in a total of 2,571 samples from the 1031 participants at baseline, year 2, and year 4. Compared to placebo, vitamin D3 supplementation significantly decreased LTL attrition by 0.14 kilo base pairs (kb) over 4 years. Overall trend analysis showed that the vitamin D3 supplementation group had LTLs that were about 0.035 kb higher per year of follow-up compared to placebo group. Marine n-3 FAs supplementation had no significant effect on LTL at either year 2 or year 4." (Zhu et. al. 2025)

Negative studies are as important as positive effect studies in understanding risk benefit in health. This study's limitation was that the omega 3 FA intervention was a small dose at 1 gram. 3 grams is usually the dose that is efficacious. So low dose, equals limited effect here.

6) "Forty articles [1 randomized controlled trial (RCT), 24 prospective cohorts, and 1 retrospective cohort] during pregnancy were identified; none for lactation. Evidence suggested relationships between higher seafood consumption and better social–emotional and behavioral development in children and adolescents aged 0–18 y as well as better aggregate scores of development for those <4 y. The certainty of the evidence was very low to moderate due to the lack of RCTs. Evidence for overall cognitive development was inconsistent but higher seafood may be related to better attention, reasoning and problem-solving, and verbal intelligence. However, evidence was limited in the number of studies and ages assessed. Evidence was inconsistent for movement/physical and language/communication development, and a paucity of studies was found for ADHD and ASD." (O'Connor et. al. 2025)

This is self explanatory association and not causation.

Study is key to understanding. Thus, we study on.

Dr. M