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Recent advancements in the development of models to study primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare non-communicable disorder that affects the liver. Chronic inflammation in and around the bile duct is followed by the development of fibrotic obstructions within the duct, causing bile to accumulate within the liver.

19 May 2026

Common allergy medication may also help fight aggressive cancers

A drug widely used to treat asthma and allergies may also help fight aggressive cancers, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study that uncovered how tumors hijack common white blood cells to evade immunotherapy.

19 May 2026

Researchers use living human cells on a chip to study memory loss

A University of Bath-led project has secured £500,000 to develop a first-of-its-kind 'organ-on-chip' device that replicates connections between the brain, gut and pancreas.

19 May 2026

Popular analysis technique hides patient variability in Alzheimer's drug trials

A statistical approach being used to support a new class of Alzheimer's drugs may lead to overstated claims about how the drugs work, according to a new study led by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health.

19 May 2026

Combination therapy shows promise in maintaining lower suicidal thoughts over time

New research published online today in the American Journal of Psychiatry finds that low-dose buprenorphine, given after a single ketamine infusion, significantly sustained reductions in suicidal ideation in adults with major depressive disorder.

19 May 2026

UCLA researchers identify potential drug target for treating Fragile X syndrome

UCLA Health researchers have identified a potential drug target for treating Fragile X syndrome, the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism that affects roughly 1 in 2,000 boys.

18 May 2026

Multi-institutional trial explores new lifeline for advanced prostate patients

For men with advanced prostate cancer that no longer responds to standard hormone therapies, treatment options are limited – and time matters. As the disease progresses, the window for effective, less intensive treatments begins to close.

15 May 2026

New mechanism to enhance precision in cancer drug development

Researchers at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) have identified how a key enzyme called ATR protects DNA from breaking when cells copy damaged genetic material, a discovery that could affect how certain cancer drugs are developed.

15 May 2026

Psilocybin offers fast-acting alternative to traditional antidepressants

A single dose of the psychedelic substance psilocybin can provide rapid relief from depressive symptoms – within just a few days. This is shown by the first randomised, double-blind study in Sweden of psilocybin for depression. The effect persisted for over three months, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

15 May 2026

GLP-1 weight loss medications linked to significant drop in asthma flares

New research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey (12-15 May) shows the use of the new GLP-1 class of obesity drugs in people with asthma is associated with a 26 % fall in the number of asthma exacerbations and a 14% drop in use of asthma inhaler reliever use. The study is by Simon Høj and Dr Kjell Erik Julius Håkansson, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark and colleagues.

15 May 2026

New research reassures mothers on NSAID safety during the first trimester

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, taken during the first trimester of pregnancy are not associated with an increased risk of major birth defects, according to a new study published May 14th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Sharon Daniel of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Clalit Health Services, Beer-Sheva, Israel, and colleagues.

15 May 2026

Study identifies breakthrough drug combination for early-stage Peyronie’s

Combining two widely prescribed drug classes could provide the first effective treatment for early-stage Peyronie's disease, according to a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

15 May 2026

New obesity medications offer a potent tool for combating hypertension

A meta-analysis of 32 studies and 43,618 adults presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey (12-15 May) shows that use of new classes of obesity drugs for weight loss is associated with a clinically relevant drop in blood pressure (BP): a 0.34 mmHg reduction in systolic BP per 1\% weight loss.

15 May 2026

New technology reveals how RNA shapes influence protein production and stability

Researchers from A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore (A*STAR GIS) have developed a new method, called 'sm-PORE-cupine', to study individual RNA molecules and reveal how their structures influence gene regulation, a fundamental process that affects how cells function in health and disease.

15 May 2026

Clinical trial challenges long held beliefs about treating brittle bone disease

Increasing bone density in patients with a rare genetic condition that causes bones to break easily does not prevent fractures, a large clinical trial has found.

14 May 2026

Retinal stimulation via contact lenses effective as antidepressants in mice

Materials scientists have designed brain-stimulating contact lenses that are as effective as Prozac at treating depression in mice. The soft, transparent contact lenses have in-built electrodes that deliver mild electrical signals to the brain via the retina to stimulate specific brain regions associated with depression.

14 May 2026

New tool estimates the risk of driving under the influence of medicine

Researchers from the SABIEN group at the ITACA Institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), in collaboration with several partner institutions, have developed a new tool to estimate the risk of using medicines while driving.

14 May 2026

Art history may help doctors better understand obesity stigma

Understanding how obesity has been portrayed in art across the ages can make doctors more empathic and less judgmental, which should lead to their patients achieving better outcomes, new reasearch at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026) argues.

14 May 2026

Obesity drugs and surgery linked to greater fat-free mass loss

A new systematic review and meta-analysis of studies presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey (12-15 May) shows that diet and exercise interventions result in a lower proportion of fat-free mass loss compared with obesity surgery or obesity drugs among people undergoing a weight loss of 10% or more.

13 May 2026

Semaglutide significantly reduces obesity in treatment-resistant young adults

A weekly dose of semaglutide (2.4 mg) leads to a clinically significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) and related health outcomes in young adults with severe obesity who are treatment resistant following hospital-based non-pharmacological obesity care during childhood, according to a randomized controlled trial being presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Istanbul, Turkey (12-15 May).

13 May 2026