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Antisense oligonucleotides reverse rare neurodevelopmental disorder in preclinical models

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have found they can reverse the effects of HNRNPH2-related neurodevelopmental disorder using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) in preclinical models. ASOs are short synthetic nucleic acid strands that target specific messenger RNA.

22 Apr 2026

Experimental drug kills aggressive breast cancer by toxic fat buildup

An experimental drug targeting triple-negative breast cancer overwhelms cancer cells with toxic fats, according to new tests on human-derived tumors in mice.

22 Apr 2026

Paxlovid speeds recovery but does not reduce severe COVID outcomes in vaccinated adults

Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) does not reduce hospital admissions or deaths in vaccinated adults at higher risk of severe COVID-19, despite helping them recover faster, according to results from two national trials published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

22 Apr 2026

Triple combination pill reduces recurrent stroke risk

Treatment with GMRx2, a single pill combination of three low-dose blood pressure medicines, significantly reduced the risk of another stroke in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and high blood pressure.

22 Apr 2026

Blood protein levels shift significantly from childhood through early adulthood

Blood protein levels change markedly already during childhood and adolescence, and differences between girls and boys become increasingly pronounced with age.

22 Apr 2026

COVID-19 virus not retained in placenta after maternal recovery

A new Yale study published in JAMA Network Open finds that the virus that causes COVID-19 does not linger in placental tissue weeks to months after a pregnant woman recovers from infection - offering important reassurance for clinicians and patients alike.

22 Apr 2026

Study links common herbicide to rising early-onset colorectal cancer risk

Researchers used DNA methylation-based “epigenetic fingerprints” as proxies for lifelong exposome-related patterns and found that early-onset colorectal cancer was associated with lower Mediterranean diet adherence, lower education, smoking-related signatures, and higher picloram-related exposure signals. They then supported the picloram association in nine independent cohorts and with 21 years of US county-level pesticide-use data, while noting that the findings show association rather than proof of causation.

22 Apr 2026

Low-plastic diets cut plastic-linked chemicals in urine within 7 days, study finds

A Nature Medicine study found that healthy Australian adults were widely exposed to plastic-associated chemicals, with processed, packaged, and canned foods emerging as important modifiable contributors to urinary phthalate and bisphenol levels. In a 7-day pilot randomized trial, low-plastic food interventions reduced several urinary plastic-associated chemicals without lowering daily energy intake.

22 Apr 2026

Acupuncture regulates immune function through specific neural circuit activation

Traditional explanations of acupuncture often emphasize direct acupoint-organ relationships, focusing on local stimulation or endpoint physiological changes.

22 Apr 2026

Gut microbiome characteristics predict treatment response in IBS-D patients

In a new study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the low FODMAP diet and the antibiotic rifaximin provided similar and significant relief for patients with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D).

22 Apr 2026

Rural and urban children face distinct mental health challenges

A study in Pediatric Investigation found that rural and urban children and adolescents tend to experience different mental health issues, with those living in the country showing more emotional problems and those in the city demonstrating more behavioral issues.

22 Apr 2026

Prostate cancer overdiagnosis risk increases substantially in older men

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have found that the likelihood of prostate cancer overdiagnosis – the detection of a cancer that would never have been diagnosed during a patient's lifetime but for PSA screening – is low in younger men but rises substantially with old age.

22 Apr 2026

Researchers identify high rates of untreated hypertension in young veterans

Approximately half a million post-9/11 U.S. veterans who served in the military have had high blood pressure, and among them, about half were undiagnosed and one quarter were untreated, according to a new study published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

22 Apr 2026

Study reveals genetic factors influencing SYNGAP1 encephalopathy disease severity

SYNGAP1 encephalopathy is a rare genetic disorder for which there is no treatment, causing epilepsy, intellectual disability, psychomotor delay and, frequently, autism.

22 Apr 2026

Immunotherapy drug helps bladder cancer patients avoid major organ removal

A drug that helps the immune system find cancer cells also helps patients avoid having their bladders surgically removed (cystectomy), a new study shows.

22 Apr 2026

New algorithms help surgeons make high-stakes transplant decisions in minutes

A new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools could help save more patients who need heart transplants by making better use of donor hearts that are currently discarded, according to research presented today by Brian Wayda, MD, at International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) 46th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions.

22 Apr 2026

Large brain mapping dataset expands with new set of cognitive tasks

The Individual Brain Charting (IBC) project has released its fifth and largest update of high-resolution fMRI data, adding a new set of cognitive tasks to one of the most detailed brain-mapping datasets available today.

22 Apr 2026

Federal housing support improves survival odds for prostate cancer patients

Older men with prostate cancer who receive federal housing assistance at the time they are first diagnosed have better two-year survival chances compared to demographically and clinically similar men without that assistance, new UCLA-led research suggests.

22 Apr 2026

Cleveland Clinic expert proposes global heart allocation to address health inequities

Today at the 46th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), Eileen Hsich, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, outlined a bold vision for the future of heart transplantation that moves beyond national borders to address global inequities in organ allocation.

22 Apr 2026

Study shows older lung recipients can achieve outcomes comparable to youth

Today at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) 46th Annual meeting and Scientific Sessions, transplant specialists Brian Keller, MD, PhD, and Thomas Egan, MD debated an ethically fraught question: How old is too old for a lung transplant?

22 Apr 2026