• Colorado: According to a new study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, erythritol, a common sugar substitute, may damage blood vessel cells in the brain, increasing the risk of stroke. Erythritol, which was approved by FDA in 2001, is a sugar alcohol produced by fermenting corn and found in hundreds of low-carb and sugar-free products. Recently, some research has suggested that erythritol may be associated with health risks. For the study, researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) treated human cells that line blood vessels in the brain with the amount of erythritol typically found in a sugar-free beverage for three hours. The researchers found that the erythritol altered the treated cells in several ways. The treated cells expressed significantly less nitric oxide, which helps widen and relax blood vessels, and produced more reactive oxygen species, or "free radicals" that can age and damage cells. "Big picture, if your vessels are more constricted and your ability to break down blood clots is lowered, your risk of stroke goes up," said Auburn Berry, a graduate student at CU Boulder's Integrative Vascular Biology Lab and the study's first author. "Our research demonstrates not only that, but how erythritol has the potential to increase stroke risk." However, the researchers cautioned that their study was a laboratory study, which was only conducted on cells. Larger studies in people will be needed to confirm the association between erythritol and stroke risk. (Marshall, University of Colorado at Boulder, 7/14; Science Daily, 7/19)
• Massachusetts: Clasp, which helps health systems with recruitment, recently announced that several major health systems will provide $100 million in education loan repayments through its platform. Instead of providing traditional sign-on bonuses, employers on Clasp's platform typically commit to students a year or two before graduation and offer monthly student loan repayments over time that are linked to retention milestones after students are hired. The new student loan repayment commitments were made by Boston's Children's Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Novant Health, Ohio Health, and other national organizations in the eye care and veterinary space. "They realize that the biggest pain point for entering these professions is the cost of education," said Clasp founder and CEO Tess Michaels. According to Fierce Healthcare, Clasp has helped over 10,000 students access outcomes-based financing, career pathways, and student loan repayment since 2018. (Gliadkovskaya, Fierce Healthcare, 7/10)
• New Jersey: In a new study published in Nature Genetics, researchers identified four distinct types of autism, each of which were associated with unique genetic profiles. In the study, a Princeton-led research team analyzed data from over 5,000 children involved in SPARK, an autism cohort study funded by the Simons Foundation. After examining over 230 traits, the researchers identified four distinct subtypes: social and behavioral challenges, mixed ASD with developmental delay, moderate challenges, and broadly affected. The four subtypes were then linked to specific genetic mutations, which had divergent biological processes in each. For example, children in the "broadly affected" group had the highest proportion of mutations not inherited from either parent while the "mixed ASD with developmental delay" group was more likely to have rare inherited genetic variants. "What we're seeing is not just one biological story of autism, but multiple distinct narratives," said Natalie Sauerwald, associate research scientist at the Flatiron Institute and co-lead author. "This helps explain why past genetic studies often fell short — it was like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle without realizing we were actually looking at multiple different puzzles mixed together." (Reed, Axios, 7/9)

The  American Heart Association (AHA)  rated  10 types of popular diets based on how well they align with AHA's dietary guidance, with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet receiving a perfect score.