<![CDATA[Clinical AI in psychiatry falters when designers miss ward realities; better ethnographic UX research reduces alert fatigue, cognitive load, and boosts meaningful adoption.]]>
[Comment] Being AWaRe: benchmarking antibiotic use
In this issue of The Lancet Public Health, Aislinn Cook and colleagues1 present modelled estimates of optimal antibiotic use for 186 countries, territories, and areas (CTAs). The authors first estimated optimal antibiotic use, both overall and by WHO Access, Watch, Reserve (AWaRe) category,2 using publicly available data on disease burden and antibiotic resistance. Then, accounting for socioeconomic characteristics, they identified benchmark CTAs for each of four clusters of CTAs, grouped by income.
[Editorial] Ebola: lessons from the past
On May 17, 2026, WHO declared the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus affecting DR Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). WHO’s decision reflected the evidence of cross-border transmission, uncertainty about the scale of the outbreak, the absence of licensed vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo Ebola strain, and the need for urgent international action. As of July 1, 2026, WHO reported a total of 1460 confirmed cases and 452 deaths in DR Congo.
[Articles] Global, regional, and national trends in the morbidity gap and contributing diseases, injuries, and risk factors, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023
The expansion of the morbidity gap across nearly all locations indicates that improvements in survival have consistently outpaced reductions in non-fatal health loss across geographies, SDI levels, and sexes, with most populations now spending a decade or more of life in poor health across the lifespan. Progress towards healthy ageing should therefore be assessed not only by reduced mortality, but also by declines in years lived in poor health, with emphasis placed on extending healthspan.
[Articles] Estimating optimal levels of WHO Access, Watch, Reserve (AWaRe) antibiotic use in 186 countries, territories, and areas on the basis of clinical infection and resistance burden
We present estimates for optimal AWaRe antibiotic use for 186 CTAs. After accounting for CTA-specific needs, the UN General Assembly’s target of 70% of global antibiotic use being from the Access group seems globally appropriate. Benchmarking the use of AWaRe antibiotics enables estimates of their underuse and overuse in individual CTAs, helping to inform national policies.
[Comment] Retraction and republication—Oral health and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis
On March 19, 2026, The Lancet Public Health published online the results of Oral health and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.1
<![CDATA[New rapid-acting and long-acting injectables help bridge hospital-to-community care, cutting post-discharge nonadherence and relapse risk.]]>
<![CDATA[Clinicians outline ways to boost schizophrenia outcomes: team-and-family collaboration, early detection, medication access, measurement-based care.]]>
Comparison of subject-to-template registration schemes using CT and MR radiotherapy images with brain lesions
IntroductionVoxel-based analyses have been used more widely in radiotherapy in recent years. The purpose of this study is to compare eight different methods of registering images on to a template space for such analyses. A novel way, using both CT and MR data, is proposed.MethodsCT and MR brain images from 85 participants in the CoDe-B-Rad study (NCT06466720) were registered on an age-specific template. The registration schemes used included sCT-Template (linear and non-linear); MR-Template (linear, non-linear, masked, and enantiomorphic); and Dual-Template (linear and non-linear). The registrations were compared qualitatively and quantitatively against the template MR images with scores ranging from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) and quantitatively (via Jaccard, ASD, and HD95).ResultsQualitatively, the best registration scheme was the Dual-Template-non-linear registration, with 60 participants scoring above 4. The second best was the MR-Template-enantiomorphic, with 53 participants scoring above 4. Quantitatively, the Dual-Template-non-linear method outperformed on the mean (±SD) for the ASD and HD95, with 0.918 (±0.1774) and 2.965 (±0.5392) respectively. For ASD the difference compared to other methods was significant (p = 0.03). The MR-Template-masked outperformed on the Jaccard mean (±SD), median (IQR), and ASD, achieving values of 0.567 (±0.0557), 0.555 (0.055), and 0.808 (0.162) respectively. The Dual-Template-non-linear and MR-Template-masked and non-linear had the same result for the median HD95: 2.639. The performance of all linear schemes was inadequate both quantitatively and qualitatively. All non-linear registration schemes had issues with distortions of tissue and landmarks, however, for the Dual-Template scheme these were minimal.ConclusionThe Dual-Template-non-linear registration scheme is a new way of registering lesioned brain images for use with voxel-wise techniques in radiotherapy, which utilises both CT and MR image data. The scheme provides fidelity of the underlying soft tissue as well as the surrounding skull, minimising anatomical and dosimetric distortions.
Spinal cord stimulation for concurrent improvement of consciousness and spasticity following severe traumatic brain injury: a case study
BackgroundSpasticity frequently complicates disorders of consciousness (DoC) after severe brain injury, yet effective treatments addressing both conditions remain limited. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has shown promise in treating each condition independently, but its application in patients with concurrent DoC and spasticity has rarely been systematically investigated.MethodsWe report a 30-year-old man with prolonged DoC and severe limb spasticity following traumatic brain injury who underwent dual-level percutaneous SCS lead implantation. Frequency screening was performed to identify optimal stimulation parameters, followed by 21 days of continuous stimulation. Assessments included the Coma Recovery Scale–Revised (CRS-R), Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Hip Adductor Tone Scale (HATS), surface electromyography (sEMG), electroencephalography (EEG), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).ResultsFrequency screening identified 80 Hz as the optimal parameter for spasticity reduction. After 21 days of stimulation, the CRS-R score increased from 5 to 10, MAS improved from 3–4 to 1–1+ , and HATS decreased from 3 to 1. sEMG showed reduced muscle activity and spectral shifts consistent with decreased spasticity. EEG demonstrated enhanced frontotemporal functional connectivity and increased spectral power. TMS motor evoked potential latency was significantly shortened. Clinical improvements were sustained at the 6-month follow-up.ConclusionThis case suggests that 80 Hz SCS may be associated with concurrent improvement in consciousness and spasticity in patients with DoC following severe brain injury, accompanied by electrophysiological correlates of altered neural connectivity and corticospinal function.