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Asthma drug once hoped to treat alcohol use disorder fails to meet expectations in UCLA trial

A drug that once showed promise as a treatment for alcohol use disorder did not work as expected, a new UCLA clinical trial found.

3 Jun 2025

Health harm warnings found most effective in discouraging e-cigarette use

Electronic-cigarette warnings are effective in discouraging vaping, with warnings specific to health harms being generally more effective than warnings about e-cigarette addiction, according to a meta-analysis of 24 studies conducted by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and their colleagues.

2 Jun 2025

Researchers show cannabis dependence drives links to psychiatric disorders

Research uncovers genetic connections between cannabis addiction and psychiatric disorders, urging a reevaluation of cannabis legalization and treatment.

2 Jun 2025

New genetically modified fruit fly model sheds light on cocaine addiction

For the first time, researchers have created genetically modified fruit flies that can become addicted to cocaine.

2 Jun 2025

WHO calls on governments to ban flavors in all nicotine products

On World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) today launches a new publication and calls on governments to urgently ban all flavors in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, pouches, hookahs and e-cigarettes to protect youth from addiction and disease.

30 May 2025

WHO urges global ban on flavored tobacco and nicotine products

On World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) today launches a new publication and calls on governments to urgently ban all flavours in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, pouches, hookahs and e-cigarettes, to protect youth from addiction and disease.

30 May 2025

Traditional Kava rituals provide alternative pathway to PTSD recovery

Researchers reviewed pilot and qualitative evidence suggesting that combining traditional Pacific kava with talanoa dialogue may help reduce PTSD symptoms among Pacific veterans and first responders. A clinical trial is planned to formally evaluate the safety, efficacy, and cultural adaptability of this innovative, culturally grounded therapy.

29 May 2025

More family doctors choose focused practice over comprehensive care

This study examined long‑term shifts toward focused practice among family physicians in Ontario, Canada, as well as changes in the number of comprehensive family physicians relative to population growth.

27 May 2025

Researchers prolong ketamine’s antidepressant benefits to two months

Roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population is afflicted with major depressive disorder at any given time, and up to 20 percent will exhibit MDD symptoms over their lifetimes.

22 May 2025

Study identifies populations at risk for high-dose opioid prescriptions

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have shed light on what populations are more likely to be prescribed a high dose of opioid medication. This increases their risk of developing opioid use disorder.

21 May 2025

3 things to watch on mental health in Trump’s early budget proposals

Since President Donald Trump released his 2026 budget blueprint in early May, calling for $163 billion in federal spending cuts, much of the attention has focused on his slashing of foreign aid and boosting of border security.

21 May 2025

UArizona researchers uncover new way to ease postoperative pain in women

University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers identified a potential way to reduce female post-operative pain by inhibiting pituitary prolactin generated by pre-operative stress.

20 May 2025

Pod-style electronic cigarettes found to be more addictive than nicotine gum

A new paper in Nicotine and Tobacco Research, published by Oxford University Press, finds that today's pod-style electronic cigarette devices are more addictive than nicotine gum, indicating that such devices have a very high potential for abuse.

20 May 2025

Experimental drug could offer pain relief without the side effects of opioids

An experimental drug developed at Duke University School of Medicine could offer powerful pain relief without the dangerous side effects of opioids.

19 May 2025

Prisons routinely ignore guidelines on dying inmates’ end-of-life choices

Brian Rigsby was lying with his right wrist shackled to a hospital bed in Montgomery, Alabama, when he learned he didn't have long to live.

15 May 2025

Researchers uncover key role of peri-LC neurons in the brain arousal system

A small cluster of cells deep within our brains, called the locus coeruleus, affects how awake and attentive we are, how we respond to stress, how we cope with anxiety and fear, and how we create memories and learn.

14 May 2025

Early physical activity linked to mental health benefits in later childhood and adolescence

Physical activity in early childhood, especially taking part in organised sports,may ward off several mental health disorders in later childhood and adolescence, suggests research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

14 May 2025

Study highlights the growing toll of parental substance use on American children

A large percentage of American children are growing up in households with at least one parent who uses alcohol or other drugs in problematic ways-raising the risk that those children will go on to do the same, a new study suggests.

13 May 2025

Readers scrutinize federal cuts and medical debt

The recent KFF Health News article "Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.'s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump" (April 17) struck a nerve.

13 May 2025

More screen time, less happiness? New study links phones to poorer child and adolescent health

Smartphone use and symptoms of problematic smartphone use (PSU) have increased among children and adolescents between 2018 and 2024. The study links this trend to a decline in quality of life, particularly in girls and younger children, though causality remains unclear.

13 May 2025