Medicine News and Research

RSS

New $20 million NIH grant aims to uncover the secrets of the human virome

Unlocking knowledge about the vast and varied collection of viruses that live in and on our bodies is the goal of a $20 million grant from the Common Fund of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to researchers, including a team at UTHealth Houston.

23 Jan 2025

Research shows sharp growth in sedative and anxiety medication use disorders in youth

The prevalence of diagnosed disorders from recurrent use of sedative, hypnotic and antianxiety medications in adolescents and young adults has increased sharply since 2001, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

23 Jan 2025

Two-thirds of people with post-COVID-19 syndrome experience long-term effects

Two-thirds of people with post-COVID-19 syndrome have persistent, objective symptoms – including reduced physical exercise capacity and reduced cognitive test performances – for a year or more, with no major changes in symptom clusters during the second year of their illness, according to a new study published January 23rd in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Winfried Kern of Freiburg University, Germany, and colleagues.

23 Jan 2025

Study reveals post-pandemic rise in child deaths

While child deaths in England fell temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have now risen to new heights, a new study from researchers at the University of Bristol and based on unique National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) data has found.

23 Jan 2025

Study reveals abelacimab’s potential to improve anticoagulation safety for AFib patients

Abelacimab, a factor XI inhibitor, demonstrated a 62–69% reduction in major bleeding compared to rivaroxaban in atrial fibrillation patients at moderate-to-high stroke risk, with comparable safety and efficacy. While ischemic stroke rates were slightly higher, they were not statistically significant, warranting further phase 3 trials for confirmation.

23 Jan 2025

Metronomic chemotherapy offers hope for children with neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children, with nearly 50% of cases diagnosed at an advanced stage, often with metastatic disease.

23 Jan 2025

Study links chemesthetic sensitivity to food preferences and consumption

Oral chemesthesis, or chemically induced tactile sensation in the mouth area, affects the consumption and recalled pleasantness of certain foods and drinks, such as chilli sauce and alcoholic beverages.

23 Jan 2025

New genomic insights could transform bipolar disorder treatment

Study published in Nature identifies nearly 300 genomic regions associated with bipolar disorder, and 36 key genes involved in the disease.

23 Jan 2025

What causes behavioral side effects in popular weight loss drugs?

The study of GLP1R variants shows associations with cardiometabolic traits and behavioral changes, highlighting indirect effects of GLP1RA on mental health.

23 Jan 2025

Singapore’s respiratory health gets a boost with $10 million research grant

The Academic Respiratory Initiative for Pulmonary Health (TARIPH) Centre, a national research platform led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore's (NTU Singapore) Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine), will lead a multi-institutional research programme after being awarded Singapore's first national research grant for respiratory health.

23 Jan 2025

Multiple sclerosis linked to increased risk of perinatal mental illness

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) face a significantly higher risk of perinatal mental illness compared to those with other chronic conditions, according to a new study analyzing over 890,000 births in Ontario.

23 Jan 2025

Study reveals potential drug links to Dementia risk

Findings from a large-scale review indicate certain medications may influence dementia risk, offering insights for prevention and drug repurposing strategies.

23 Jan 2025

New method enables simultaneous multi-color imaging with bioluminescent proteins

Imaging live cells with fluorescent proteins has long been a crucial technique for understanding cellular behavior. While bioluminescent proteins offer several advantages over fluorescent proteins, the limited availability of color variants has made it difficult to observe multiple targets simultaneously.

23 Jan 2025

Prehabilitation may improve surgical recovery and reduce complications

A new study published in The BMJ suggests that prehabilitation (also called prehab) may be able to reduce complications and length of hospitalization after surgery, while also improving quality of life and physical recovery.

23 Jan 2025

Real-world effectiveness and safety of olaparib in HRD-positive BRCA wild-type ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer, a deadly gynecologic malignancy, has seen a significant shift in its treatment paradigm with the introduction of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, which are now standard in the maintenance setting following first-line chemotherapy.

23 Jan 2025

New Factor XI inhibitor shows superior safety in treating atrial fibrillation

Patients with atrial fibrillation are typically prescribed an anticoagulant, or blood thinner, to reduce the risk of stroke, but many may discontinue them or never receive a prescription due to concerns of increased risk of bleeding complications.

22 Jan 2025

Penn researchers develop optimized framework for COVID-19 vaccination distribution

Engineering and medical researchers at Penn have developed a groundbreaking framework that can determine the best and most computationally optimized distribution strategy for COVID-19 vaccinations in any given community.

22 Jan 2025

New technique identifies SARS-CoV-2 in blood and other fluids with high sensitivity

Investigators from Mass General Brigham have found that a method originally designed for cancer detection can also identify and monitor even tiny amounts of SARS-CoV-2 intact viral particles in blood and other fluids from patients with acute COVID-19 infections, creating the potential for guiding future treatment of patients.

22 Jan 2025

Maternal vitamin D deficiency may accelerate fetal aging and impact newborn health

Maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is linked to accelerated epigenetic gestational age in infants at birth, suggesting improper fetal development influenced by low vitamin D levels. The study also found associations between maternal age, birth height, and epigenetic aging, though cord blood vitamin D showed no significant impact.

22 Jan 2025

Research reveals 31% increased risk of long COVID in women

Females have a 31% higher associated risk of developing long COVID, with women aged 40 to 55 years having the highest propensity, according to a study led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) funded by the National Institutes of Health.

22 Jan 2025