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CBD shows promise, but this review warns the hype is outpacing the science

A Neuropsychopharmacology Circumspectives article argues that cannabidiol has genuine therapeutic potential, especially in treatment-resistant pediatric epilepsy, but evidence for most other uses remains limited, heterogeneous, and not yet mature enough for broad clinical adoption. The authors also warn that poor retail product quality, inaccurate labeling, contaminants, hepatotoxicity risk, and drug interactions are major barriers to safe and effective real-world use.

20 Apr 2026

Eating oranges daily may shift lipid patterns in fatty liver disease

A 4-week trial on 'Navelina' oranges shows potential effects on lipid metabolism in fatty liver disease, revealing intriguing but non-significant patterns.

20 Apr 2026

AGA update calls for better surveillance of hepatocellular carcinoma

A new update from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) urges stronger prevention efforts and better early-detection tools for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the leading cause of cancer-related death in patients with cirrhosis, and the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide.

17 Apr 2026

Synthetic biology approach boosts growth of implanted liver tissue

In patients developing end-stage liver disease, the damage has become too severe for the liver's normally extraordinary regenerative capacity to repair or compensate for it. Once this "point of no return" has been reached, the only option is an organ transplant.

17 Apr 2026

Age shapes melanoma progression and immune response

Cancer risk increases with age and is often more aggressive and difficult to treat in older adults. However, fewer than 10% of mouse studies use aged animals, with most relying on mice roughly equivalent to humans in their early 20s.

17 Apr 2026

Obesity, GLP-1s, and metabolic care

An interview with Professor Thomas Forst, Chief Medical Officer, hVIVO

From hVIVO 17 Apr 2026

Circulating exosomal microRNAs offer a non-invasive biomarker for MASLD

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has become a global public health challenge with rapidly rising prevalence, especially in China. Despite advances in treatment, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood. A new research article published in the Chinese Medical Journal on March 16, 2026, provides critical insights into the role of exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) in MASLD pathogenesis.

17 Apr 2026

Donor-derived dendritic cells teach the immune system to accept new livers

UPMC and University of Pittsburgh clinician-scientists have weaned and kept multiple liver transplantation patients off of all immunosuppressant drugs for more than three years through a first-in-human clinical trial of a unique "immune priming" therapy.

17 Apr 2026

New roadmap links liver cancer biology to immunotherapy and precision medicine

A new review from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona provides one of the clearest roadmaps to date for understanding and treating liver cancer, one of the deadliest cancers worldwide.

17 Apr 2026

Researchers use tiny glass capillaries to sample living cancer cell parts

A new analytical method could improve how cancer treatments are designed - by allowing scientists to track, for the first time, exactly where inside a living cell a drug accumulates. Researchers from the University of Surrey and King's College London developed the method, which detects trace amounts of metal inside individual living cells and their internal compartments without the need to kill the cells first

17 Apr 2026

Study explains the link between NDMA-contaminated water and childhood cancer

A new study from MIT suggests that a carcinogen that has been found in medications and in drinking water contaminated by chemical plants may have a much more severe impact on children than adults.

17 Apr 2026

Researchers discover a molecular signature to flag dysfunctional aging cells

UCLA researchers have identified a rogue population of immune cells that quietly accumulates in aging tissues and in the livers of people with fatty liver disease. Clearing these cells, they found, dramatically reduced inflammation and reversed liver damage in mice - even while the animals remained on an unhealthy diet.

16 Apr 2026

BMI increases in early childhood may reflect muscle growth, not fat

A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Society for Nutrition, offers new insights into a decades-old puzzle in childhood obesity. The study found that while body mass index (BMI) starts to rise in early childhood during a stage known as adiposity rebound, when BMI increases after an initial decline, the waist-to-height ratio, a measure that better reflects body fat, continues to drop. This suggests that the BMI increase at this age mainly reflects growth in lean tissues such as muscle and bone, rather than extra body fat.

16 Apr 2026

Gut-liver changes drive foodborne infection severity in fatty liver disease

A research team led by the University of California, Irvine's Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health has uncovered a critical biological link explaining why individuals with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), or fatty liver disease, face significantly worse outcomes from certain foodborne infections.

15 Apr 2026

Semaglutide improves liver function independently of weight loss

Researchers at Toronto's Sinai Health have found that semaglutide – the active ingredient in popular weight loss drugs that mimic the gut hormone GLP-1 – acts directly on a subset of liver cells to improve organ function and does so independently of weight loss.

15 Apr 2026

Liver cancer burden rising globally amid shift to metabolic risks

Primary liver cancer continues to pose a major global health challenge, ranking as the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.

15 Apr 2026

Gaining weight before age 30 tied to higher mortality

The study reveals that weight gain before 30 years is associated with increased mortality risk, underscoring the need for early obesity intervention strategies.

15 Apr 2026

Waist-to-height ratio outperforms BMI in predicting hypertension risk

New waist-to-height cut-offs to assess fat mass and obesity predicted the risk of hypertension better than body mass index, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University in the US.

14 Apr 2026

Hepatologists effectively deliver palliative care to patients with liver disease

Advanced liver disease (ALD) occurs when significant scarring causes the liver to lose function. Patients with ALD often have serious health challenges but have limited access to palliative care that could improve their quality of life.

13 Apr 2026

Protein complex cohesin found essential for guiding cell identity decisions

Temporarily disabling a protein complex that organizes DNA into loops inside the cell's nucleus drastically disrupted the three-dimensional structure of the genome, but surprisingly most genes continued to function as usual, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers found.

13 Apr 2026