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[Correspondence] Over 3 million life-years lost in Gaza

On July 31, 2025, the Palestinian Ministry of Health (PMH) in Gaza released a list of named people directly killed in Gaza since Oct 7, 2023.1 The list had 60 199 decedents with their reported age, sex, and non-duplicate identification. The data did not contain information on the timing, location, or explicit circumstances of the recorded death. Previous data releases by the PMH have been scrutinised statistically and externally validated against other reporting agencies.2–6 These PMH data are restricted to deaths linked explicitly to actions by the Israeli military, excluding indirect deaths resulting from the ruin of infrastructure and medical facilities, restriction of food and water, and the loss of medical personnel that support life.

[Perspectives] Medical compartmentalisation: a patient with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in Japan

Cocoro is a 22-year-old woman with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. At age 1 year, she had surgery in a children's hospital in a metropolitan area of Japan to repair tetralogy of Fallot. Her intelligence quotient of 70 put her on the border of intellectual disability, and when she was aged 6 years she was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. She had fatigability due to mild heart failure and skeletal malformations. When enrolling in elementary school, the school board decided that she was not eligible for a school for students with physical or intellectual disabilities.

[Perspectives] Georges C Benjamin: resolute defender of public health in the USA

In 2002, Georges C Benjamin (his father, George, thought the French spelling was “cool”) accepted what he assumed would be a short assignment as Executive Director of the American Public Health Association (APHA). “2 years, at most, maybe”, Benjamin says. “Now I'm starting my 24th year.” Those years have been marked by some of the most politically fraught times in US public health.

[Comment] Offline: A reservoir of illusions (part 1)

Marc Andreessen is the tech bro's tech bro. A Silicon Valley venture capitalist, he co-founded Netscape. He is also a visionary. His 2023 Techno-Optimist Manifesto sets out an ambitious prospectus for the wealth and wellbeing of humanity. He has no time for those anxious about the effects of technology on jobs, inequality, or society. “We are told to be pessimistic…to be miserable about the future”, he writes. But these pessimists are making a mistake. Human civilisation, he argues, was and is built on technology—“the glory of human ambition and achievement”.

[Comment] Translational social medicine for global health: introducing Cases in Global Social Medicine

“Why treat people and send them back to the conditions that make them sick?”, one of us (Michael Marmot) has asked, based on overwhelming evidence that social forces are among the strongest determinants of health and disease.1 As the epidemiologist Jaime Breilh has pointed out, social “structural processes incompatible with life and health are being globally accelerated…with an exponential growth of inequity”.2 Addressing such social forces involves action at individual, clinical, collective, and policy levels.

[Comment] The Virchow Prize: honouring progress towards health for all

Established in 2022 by the independent, non-profit Virchow Foundation, the Virchow Prize honours individuals or organisations whose work has made outstanding contributions to global health.1 The prize embraces a holistic view and is aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3—good health and wellbeing for all.2–5 In an era marked by geopolitical tensions, erosion of multilateralism, and politicisation of global health, the Virchow Prize stands as a beacon of solidarity and equity.

[Comment] The dawn of immunotherapy in mismatch repair proficient colorectal cancer

“Immunotherapy—could that be an option for me, doctor?” is a question frequently asked by patients with colorectal cancer. The straightforward answer has long been: “No, it does not work.” However, mounting evidence from both fundamental and clinical research1 suggests that this answer is no longer appropriate. Over the past 15 years, immunotherapy has revolutionised oncology and its impact, amplified by landmark trials, media attention, and three Nobel Prizes, often contrasted with chemotherapy's unfavourable public opinion.

[Comment] Treatment of MSSA bacteraemia: a call for a personalised approach

Staphylococcus aureus infections remain a formidable health threat, responsible for the most infection-related deaths worldwide and a mortality rate of up to 30%, despite contemporary infection prevention practices, antimicrobial stewardship, and novel antibiotics.1,2 Treatment of S aureus bacteraemia is often complicated by the inability to remove foreign materials (eg, intravascular devices or osteoarticular hardware) and the development of metastatic foci of infection related to persistent bacteraemia.

[Comment] Lessons from CONCORD and VENUSCANCER: closing global gaps in cancer care for women

International outcomes in breast, cervical, and ovarian cancers highlight opportunities to improve health-care delivery for women at all economic levels. In high-income countries (HICs), early detection programmes, timely diagnosis, and access to cancer treatment to completion have led to considerable improvements in cancer survival. These successes, however, are yet to be realised in most low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).

[Comment] Closing the deal: a G20 panel report on financing for pandemic threats

Pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (pandemic PPR) stands at a precipice because of inadequate financing at a time of shifting geopolitical alignment in global health. In 2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the G20 High Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (HLIP) called for US$15 billion per year in international finance to strengthen surveillance, health systems, vaccine supply, and governance for health security.1 Execution, however, has not lived up to ambition.

[Editorial] Europe cannot get sidetracked from basic health-care needs

On Oct 15 this year, the Patriots for Europe Foundation, a right-wing alliance led by the Hungarian Government, hosted the launch of the Make Europe Healthy Again (MEHA) initiative in the European Parliament. Like Make America Healthy Again, the campaign includes far-right politicians, alternative health practitioners, and anti-vaccine campaigners like Dr Robert Malone and Dr Aseem Malhotra. It should come as no surprise that such an event took place. The erosion of public trust in governing institutions has fuelled support for far-right, populist, anti-democratic, anti-science, and Eurosceptic parties in Europe.

[Correspondence] Nafithromycin in CABP: promise and precaution—authors’ reply

We thank Gupta et al. for their observations,1 however their comments suggest a certain unfamiliarity with the regulatory and scientific principles that underpin the design and approval of new antibacterial therapies such as those for community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP), a condition largely treated empirically in out-patient settings. Unlike academic or investigator-initiated studies, pivotal trials are undertaken in consultation with regulators, and in this instance, the 12.5% non-inferiority margin and the choice of moxifloxacin as comparator were fully aligned with regulatory requirements.

[Articles] Suicide-related outcomes in veterans with post-traumatic headache: a retrospective cohort study

Veterans with PTH have an increased risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts compared to veterans with TBI and without headache. There was no difference in suicide mortality between the two groups. Clinicians should be aware of heightened suicide risk among veterans with PTH and be especially diligent in terms of screening for suicide risk and related medical and mental health comorbidities that contribute to increased risk.

[Comment] Reconceptualizing access: advancing pharmaceutical equity for health system resilience in Central and South America

Persistent inequities in access to safe, effective, and affordable medicines continue to challenge health systems across Latin America.1 Despite steady progress toward universal health coverage (UHC), millions continue to incur catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditures for essential medicines.2 Shortages, fragmented procurement processes, and price volatility reveal structural vulnerabilities within pharmaceutical supply chains. Recent disruptions, including pandemics, geopolitical instability, and inflation, have exacerbated these deficiencies, demonstrating that access to medicines is a critical determinant of health system resilience.

[Review] Blood and CSF biomarkers for multiple sclerosis: emerging clinical applications

Neurofilament light chain (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1), and other protein assays are being developed as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers in multiple sclerosis. An increase in NfL concentrations reflects axonal damage resulting from the acute new inflammatory disease activity that occurs during a relapse. NfL concentrations can also reflect the occurrence of new MRI lesions. GFAP concentrations are increased in people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis, and GFAP is an emerging biomarker of progression independent of relapses.