A Duke study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation found that clonal hematopoiesis—age-related mutations in blood stem cells—is common in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms and correlates with faster disease progression. The researchers identified how Tet2 mutations drive this process through macrophage reprogramming and showed that existing bone-health drugs like alendronate may suppress this pathway in mice. This matters because AAAs are silent killers with few non-surgical options; if the mechanism holds in humans, repurposing approved drugs could offer a new preventive strategy. The study is preliminary in humans—the therapeutic potential is demonstrated in animal models, not yet in patient trials.