OCT News and Research

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New chip restores reading ability for macular degeneration patients

A tiny wireless chip implanted in the back of the eye and a pair of high-tech glasses have partially restored vision to people with an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration. In a clinical trial led by Stanford Medicine researchers and international collaborators, 27 out of 32 participants had regained the ability to read a year after receiving the device.

21 Oct 2025

Study reveals protein plaques in neurodegeneration function as enzymes, breaking down ATP

A new study led by Rice University's Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede has revealed that protein clumps, or plaques that clog the brain, associated with Parkinson's disease are not merely waste; they can actively drain energy from brain cells.

21 Oct 2025

Novel combination therapy shows promise for advanced neuroendocrine tumors

A novel combination therapy pairing a DNA-synthesis inhibitor with a targeted radiopharmaceutical may improve outcomes for patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors, according to new clinical trial data presented this week at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2025.

21 Oct 2025

Digital health program increases lung cancer screening rates in high-risk individuals

A new study led by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and MD Anderson Cancer Center, has found that a direct-to-patient digital health program can significantly increase lung cancer screening rates among people at high risk.

20 Oct 2025

Prima implant offers new hope for vision restoration in atrophic AMD

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) causes progressive vision loss in many elderly people, and no treatment is available for the so-called atrophic form of the disease.

20 Oct 2025

Study reveals high sudden cardiac death rates in female bodybuilders

Sudden cardiac death is responsible for an unusually high proportion of deaths in female bodybuilders worldwide, according to research published in the European Heart Journal today (Tuesday).

20 Oct 2025

Belzutifan demonstrates strong clinical activity in two rare neuroendocrine tumors

A multicenter Phase II clinical trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center demonstrated significant tumor shrinkage and disease control in patients with advanced pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL), two rare and potentially life-threatening neuroendocrine tumors.

18 Oct 2025

Study reveals how a microglial mutation increases risk for Alzheimer's disease

Dominika Pilat, PhD, and Ana Griciuc, PhD, of the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital are the lead and senior authors of a paper published in Neuron, "The Gain-of-Function TREM2-T96K Mutation Increases Risk for Alzheimer's Disease by Impairing Microglial Function."

17 Oct 2025

Study highlights the emotional and social challenges of stroke recovery

Nirupama Yechoor, MD, MSC, of the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is the senior author of a paper published in JAMA Network Open, "Coherence of Stroke Survivors' Lived Experiences and the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale."

17 Oct 2025

CRATERs identified as key sites for T cell-mediated tumor destruction

Like the surface of the moon, new research published today in Cell finds the existence of craters on the surface of melanoma cells that serve as immune hubs, becoming major sites for tumor killing. These craters could serve as good markers for immunotherapy success.

17 Oct 2025

New 3D human brain tissue platform integrates all major brain cell types into a single culture

A new 3D human brain tissue platform developed by MIT researchers is the first to integrate all major brain cell types, including neurons, glial cells and the vasculature into a single culture.

17 Oct 2025

How task engagement reshapes the brain’s auditory processing

When we are engaged in a task, our brain's auditory system changes how it works. One of the main auditory centers of the brain, auditory cortex, is filled with neural activity that is not sound driven – rather, this activity times the task, each neuron ticking at a different moment during task performance.

17 Oct 2025

Research reveals how immune cells orchestrate the release of toxic granules

When immune cells strike, precision is everything. New research reveals how natural killer and T cells orchestrate the release of toxic granules – microscopic packages that destroy virus-infected or cancerous cells.

17 Oct 2025

Scientists discover why a powerful leukemia drug fails in most patients

Researchers from Rutgers Health and other institutions have discovered why a powerful leukemia drug eventually fails in most patients – and found a potential way to overcome that resistance.

17 Oct 2025

Osimertinib plus chemotherapy improves survival in EGFR-mutated lung cancer

Treatment with osimertinib plus a platinum–pemetrexed chemotherapy combination resulted in statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed EGFR-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to osimertinib alone.

17 Oct 2025

New insights reveal persistent genome structure during cell division

Before cells can divide, they first need to replicate all of their chromosomes, so that each of the daughter cells can receive a full set of genetic material.

17 Oct 2025

Improving logical reasoning in large language models for medical use

Large language models (LLMs) can store and recall vast quantities of medical information, but their ability to process this information in rational ways remains variable.

17 Oct 2025

Study: Hidden fat inside the abdomen and liver may damage arteries

A new study led by researchers at McMaster University reveals that hidden fat deep inside the abdomen and liver may quietly damage arteries, even in people who appear healthy.

17 Oct 2025

New framework aims to improve surgical quality improvement efforts

New study findings show the vast majority of small-scale quality improvement (QI) projects in surgery suffer from poor planning that can doom the effort from the start.

16 Oct 2025

Machine learning advances drug discovery through generalizable models

The drug development pipeline is a costly and lengthy process. Identifying high-quality "hit" compounds-those with high potency, selectivity, and favorable metabolic properties-at the earliest stages is important for reducing cost and accelerating the path to clinical trials.

16 Oct 2025