JAMA Highlights 2025 Studies Reshaping Modern Medicine

Medicine advances not only through sensational headlines, but also through discoveries that gradually change daily clinical practice . In 2025, the scientific journal JAMA selected a series of studies that, due to their impact on healthcare, shaped the international medical conversation.

The JAMA list reflects a year in which prevention, therapeutic innovation, and the critical review of new technological tools coexisted with equal importance. But among all the outstanding research, two findings stand out for their scope: the cardiovascular effect of GLP-1 drugs and the unexpected link between a classic shingles vaccine and a reduced risk of dementia.

JAMA’s list includes the GLP-1 discovery

The first major focus of the selection is on GLP-1 receptor agonists, which have been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization or death by more than 40% in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). This is an increasingly common condition, especially due to the global rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes, and one that has historically had few therapeutic options capable of modifying its course.

The observational study, which included more than 58,000 patients, compared outcomes between those who received semaglutide or tirzepatide and those who used sitagliptin. The data showed that patients treated with GLP-1 inhibitors had a clear reduction in risk compared to the other group, suggesting a clinically relevant effect beyond metabolic control.

Mary McDermott, associate editor of the study, emphasized that these results could have broad implications for the millions of people with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). She also stressed that GLP-1 receptor agonists are already dramatically influencing medical practice and public health, not only because of their role in weight loss, but also because of additional benefits that could reshape the approach to complex cardiovascular diseases.

Shingles vaccination

In the second key finding, an Australian study with over 100,000 participants observed that the shingles vaccine was associated with a reduced risk of dementia. This research was supported by a specific decision from Australia’s National Immunization Program, which began offering the vaccine free of charge to people aged 70 to 79 starting November 1st, 2016.

The study design allowed for a comparison between those eligible based on their birth date and those who were not. After nearly seven years of follow-up, the risk of receiving a new dementia diagnosis was almost two percentage points lower in the eligible group, with no similar protective effect found for other conditions.

The authors concluded that shingles vaccination could be a cost-effective and highly beneficial intervention for reducing the burden of dementia. Dr. Preeti Malani, associate editor, emphasized that these results raise important questions about the role of viral infections in the brain and noted that the finding is “one more reason to get vaccinated.”

JAMA: A list that reflects the current health map

JAMA’s selection also included research that points to other major challenges in modern medicine: from the inadequacy of artificial intelligence tools in healthcare, to the US POINTER trial, which confirmed the benefits of lifestyle interventions in older adults with cognitive risk.

In addition, advances were highlighted in genomic sequencing in newborns, the identification of the optimal transfusion threshold in acute brain injuries, a new approach to treating low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ, a more effective vaccine against hepatitis B in people with HIV, and new hope for treatment-resistant hypertension.

Thus, this year has brought with it studies on such important topics as the influence of GLP-1 or the shingles vaccine, demonstrating that medicine still holds unexpected effects where they were least expected.

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(Featured image by Nappy via Unsplash)

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