Medicine Central
Clinical evidence moves faster than guidelines. Our medical team filters, curates, reports and educates on what has changed and how it impacts primary care practice. Providing you a trusted central reference point you can come back to, so you're always current.
Editor's picks
A study of 1.4 million women in England shows that pregnancy records should be part of heart health discussions, not just antenatal notes.
A London study of nearly 159,000 patients indicates the programme might do more than just spot high blood pressure early.
Iatrogenic menopause is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, while menopause before 45 is associated with higher cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.
Type 2 Diabetes
Diagnostic criteria, risk tools, annual care processes and referral pathways.
Chronic Kidney Disease
CKD staging, eGFR monitoring, renal protection and referral pathways.
Obesity
BMI classification, weight management tiers, risk stratification and referral pathways.
Cardiovascular Health
CVD risk assessment, hypertension management, lipid modification and referral pathways.
Asthma
Diagnostic criteria, risk stratification, annual review checklist and referral pathways per NG245.
COPD
Diagnosis, severity staging, smoking cessation, annual review and referral pathways per NG115.
Around one in five adults have abnormal liver blood results. However, in the BALLETS primary care group, only 2.5% had a specific liver disease.
CKD is common, but progression is not inevitable.
A prespecified exploratory analysis of the FIND-CKD trial reports slower eGFR decline with finerenone in chronic kidney disease due to glomerular diseases.
97.3% sensitivity, 94.1% specificity, and NICE still calls its accuracy in primary care unclear. Here is why both things are true.
This is a chance for women to get their mojo back.
AI is arriving in care homes — wearables, fall sensors, pain recognition apps. The potential is real. But two compounding problems are not getting enough attention: the data gap and the deployment gap.
Preclinical studies show sustained molecular responses to GLP-1 receptor stimulation in pancreatic cell models. What does that mean for primary care, and what does it not show?
New MASH licences clarify the fibrosis stages they cover, while the staging pathway remains the practical question for primary care.
In focus
From semaglutide to tirzepatide: the evidence on weight management medications is moving fast. Our clinical team breaks down what the latest trials mean for prescribing in primary care.
Read the GLP-1 coverage
This week, our expert insights will guide you through a case study from Jan Brassington’s webinar, ‘Managing Pain in Palliative Care.’ You can now watch it as an on-demand video on our CPD Webinars page!
Medicine Central | Clinical Update. Safety warnings from MHRA on the use of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, sometimes referred to as DHT blockers.
Dr Fatima Tahir explains the safeguards that underpin clinical trials in general practice, from ethical review and informed consent to Good Clinical Practice and ongoing safety monitoring.
The February 2026 NG28 update rewrote type 2 diabetes care for UK GPs. What changed, why it matters, and the four other NICE updates from the past year worth knowing.
Three practices searched their records for patients on long-term PPIs and invited them for a capsule sponge test. Nearly 9 in 10 eligible, interested patients took it. About 1 in 25 had Barrett’s oesophagus.
A large US matched cohort found lower recorded cerebrovascular, hospital-use and mortality outcomes among people with OSA exposed to GLP-1 receptor agonists. The finding is promising, but observational and not a replacement for standard OSA care.
Across 19 papers published since 2022, a consistent picture emerges on MART versus conventional ICS/LABA plus SABA. The headline benefit is concentrated in exacerbation prevention - but the size of the gain depends heavily on baseline exacerbation risk.
Why Medicine Central
Medicine Central is curated especially for UK primary care, with contributions from guest expert clinicians.
Peer-reviewed sources only, with study design and limitations reported alongside the headline.
CPD-eligible webinars let you log time against your appraisal portfolio.
Key publications in 50 words
Women increasingly bring app data to appointments. A UK realist synthesis (19 studies, 22,266 participants) found symptom-reporting tools help women recalibrate what a "normal" period is and give GPs access to objective, longitudinal data for history-taking; 56% of PIPPA users were referred to gynaecology. But 15 of 19 studies were cross-sectional, and no evidence yet shows a shorter time to diagnosis.
In a single-practice audit of 581 adults with coded CKD, uACR was missing in 30.1%, including 12 with G4/G5 disease. Women were twice as likely to lack uACR data (37.7% vs 22.1%). Over half of records flagged for stage change had sustained change; 38 uncoded cases were found by biochemistry alone. A practice-level search will find yours.
In TRIUMPH-1 (2,339 adults with obesity, no diabetes, mean BMI 40), once-weekly retatrutide 4, 9 and 12 mg produced mean weight loss of 17.6%, 23.7% and 25.0% at 80 weeks versus 3.9% with placebo. Over a third on 12 mg lost 30% or more. Adverse-event discontinuation reached 11.1%. The drug is unlicensed in the UK.
Post hoc analyses of the two SURMOUNT-OSA phase 3 trials report that tirzepatide was associated with reductions in apnoea-hypopnoea index across every baseline subgroup examined, including age, sex, BMI, neck circumference and OSA severity. Improvement of at least one severity category occurred in 68% to 79% of tirzepatide-treated participants, against 30% to 36% on placebo. These analyses are descriptive and hypothesis-generating only.
Participants with long COVID were randomised to nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (15 or 25 days) or placebo across cognitive, autonomic, and exercise phenotypes. Neither regimen improved primary outcomes versus placebo, and secondary endpoints were also unchanged. No safety concerns emerged: no deaths occurred, and serious adverse events were similar, indicating no benefit in any subgroup.
This week's edition
This week's key publications, each summarised in 50 words by our clinical team.
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