'The Cat Is Out Of The Bag': What We Heard This Week
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MedPage Today published a weekly roundup on Oct. 25, 2026, featuring seven comments from clinicians and researchers on health news and studies. The topics included dengue outbreaks, pregnancy exposure to dupilumab, menopause-related sleep problems, advance care planning and early-stage Parkinson’s research.

MedPage Today published its Oct. 25, 2026, “What We Heard This Week” roundup, collecting comments from clinicians and researchers on seven health topics, including dengue outbreaks, pregnancy exposure to a medication, menopause treatments and Parkinson’s research. The piece is a weekly quotes recap, not a single new study or policy announcement; its brief excerpts point readers to a range of developing medical questions.

One of the quotes concerned dengue outbreaks in Florida. Adam Waickman, a researcher at SUNY Upstate Medical University, said, “The cat is out of the bag,” while discussing the outbreaks and warning of further spread across the United States. The roundup provides no outbreak figures, locations beyond Florida, or public health agency data alongside his remark, so it should be read as an attributed warning rather than a detailed assessment of transmission.

Other excerpts addressed research and clinical care. Christina Chambers of the University of California San Diego called it “an open question” whether early-life exposure to dupilumab (Dupixent) could reduce children’s longer-term risk of atopic conditions; the roundup says data indicated exposure during pregnancy appeared safe, but supplies no study details. JoAnn Manson of Harvard Medical School described as “good news for women” a meta-analysis suggesting non-hormonal menopause drugs may ease sleep disturbances.

The remaining comments covered an incorrect multiple sclerosis diagnosis discussed by Cleveland Clinic’s Marisa McGinley; an exceptionally rare infant case involving a second colon, described by Lynn Sinitsky of West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; a video tool that increased advance care planning documentation in people nearing kidney failure, according to Dartmouth Health’s Angelo Volandes; and a small trial linking psilocybin with lower markers of inflammation and mitochondrial stress in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to Ellen Bradley of the University of California San Francisco. The roundup gives no trial sizes, effect estimates or follow-up periods.

At a glance
recapWhen: Published October 25, 2026
The developmentMedPage Today published its Oct. 25, 2026, weekly collection of quotes from reporters’ coverage of health research and clinical issues.

Seven Quotes, Several Open Questions

The collection brings together topics with different levels of evidence and immediate relevance. Dengue’s potential spread has a public health dimension, while questions about medication exposure in pregnancy and treatment of menopause symptoms can affect clinical conversations. The excerpts, however, are not substitutes for the underlying reporting or research: readers cannot establish the strength of evidence from the quotes alone.

The roundup also highlights issues in diagnosis and care planning. McGinley’s comment frames an incorrect multiple sclerosis diagnosis as something that can occur in the field, while Volandes emphasized recording what matters to patients alongside medical problems. Those remarks point to diagnostic accuracy and patient preferences as concerns, but the article excerpt does not quantify how often these problems occur or establish outcomes from the decision-support research.

For the Parkinson’s finding, Bradley’s wording is explicitly exploratory: the biological markers raise questions for future research. A small trial can generate hypotheses, but the supplied material does not show that psilocybin improves symptoms or changes the course of the disease. Keeping those distinctions clear helps prevent preliminary findings from being mistaken for established treatment guidance.

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From Outbreaks to Early Research

The source is MedPage Today’s recurring weekly “What We Heard” feature, described as a collection of quotable remarks heard by its reporters. The Oct. 25 edition spans infectious disease, pregnancy and medication safety, neurological diagnosis, menopause care, advance care planning and experimental research. It compresses those subjects into short excerpts rather than presenting full study summaries.

The source attributes each statement to a named medical professional and gives their institution or organization. It does not provide links or detailed methods for the studies mentioned in the supplied text. The roundup therefore confirms that these comments were included and identifies their speakers, but the underlying evidence and surrounding reporting would be needed to evaluate the studies or claims in depth.

““This is good news for women.””

— JoAnn Manson, MD, MPH, DrPH, Harvard Medical School

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Evidence Behind the Excerpts

The roundup does not supply the study designs, sample sizes, numerical results or publication details for the research it references. It is not possible from the supplied text to judge how strong or generalizable the findings are, or whether they have been independently replicated. The statement that pregnancy exposure to dupilumab appeared safe is not accompanied by details about the population or duration of follow-up.

The dengue warning likewise lacks case counts, dates, geographic breakdowns or attribution to a public health authority. The source does not establish how much spread has occurred or whether additional U.S. outbreaks are expected. It also gives no further details on the misdiagnosis or rare infant case. The quotations are confirmed as content of the roundup, but broader conclusions about risks, causes or clinical recommendations remain outside the information provided.

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The Underlying Reports Matter

The next step for readers seeking detail is to consult the full MedPage Today reports and the studies or official data behind each excerpt. Those sources would clarify methods, limitations and whether findings have been peer-reviewed or replicated. For dengue developments, public health updates would be needed to track cases and assess any change in risk.

No follow-up announcement, publication date or policy action is identified in the roundup. Until additional information is available, the comments on pregnancy exposure, menopause therapies and psilocybin should be treated according to the evidence described in the underlying research—not as stand-alone medical advice or established treatment recommendations.

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Key Questions

What did MedPage Today publish?

It published a weekly quotes roundup on Oct. 25, 2026, collecting comments from clinicians and researchers on seven health topics.

Did the roundup announce a new dengue case count?

No. It quoted Adam Waickman discussing large Florida outbreaks and warning of further spread, but the supplied text gives no case numbers or surveillance data.

What did the article say about dupilumab exposure during pregnancy?

The roundup said data showed pregnancy exposure appeared safe and described possible effects of early-life exposure on later atopic conditions as an open question. It provided no study details.

Does the psilocybin finding establish a Parkinson’s treatment?

No. The excerpt refers to a small trial and biological markers; it does not establish that psilocybin improves symptoms or treats Parkinson’s disease.

Where can readers find more evidence?

Readers can consult the full reports and original studies referenced by MedPage Today. The roundup itself does not include methods, sample sizes or detailed results.

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