Chronic News and Research

RSS

Mediterranean diet may protect health through mitochondrial microproteins

A new study led by researchers at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology suggests that the benefits of the Mediterranean diet may be driven, in part, by tiny proteins hidden within our mitochondria, opening a new window into how diet shapes aging and disease risk.

23 Mar 2026

Study highlights neurological and psychiatric impacts of long COVID

Nearly three years after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was declared over, conservative estimates suggest that between 80 million and 400 million people worldwide have long COVID.

23 Mar 2026

AI-driven atlas reveals how mouth fibroblasts regulate structural immunity

Researchers at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center are leading an international study that advances the understanding of the immunoregulatory nature of human tissues, offering breakthrough insights into how fibroblasts serve as the core regulators of structural immunity in the mouth.

23 Mar 2026

Existing medication could improve the health of people living with HIV

HIV exhausts the body's immune system by overactivating it, despite effective antiviral treatment.

23 Mar 2026

Machine learning speeds up AMP discovery for treating ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease characterized by recurrent intestinal inflammation, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

23 Mar 2026

Fluorescent imaging enables real-time observation of Toxoplasma gondii's growth

It infects nearly one-third of the global population, yet its microscopic size makes the Toxoplasma gondii parasite difficult for scientists to study.

23 Mar 2026

AI-driven OCT imaging system enables precise wound healing assessment

No matter the size or severity, wounds on human skin are difficult to monitor while they heal. Biopsies disrupt the wound site and are too invasive for routine, repeated monitoring, and most medical imaging devices that could do the job are large, expensive and booked up with more pressing diagnostics.

23 Mar 2026

Early adulthood hypertension linked to heart and kidney disease later in life

Higher blood pressure during young adulthood is likely linked to a higher risk of heart disease and kidney disease later in life, reinforcing the importance of maintaining healthy blood pressure at younger ages, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's EPI|Lifestyle Scientific Sessions 2026.

23 Mar 2026

Major UK clinical trial finds surfactant therapy ineffective for severe bronchiolitis

A major UK-led clinical trial has found that a treatment commonly used to help premature babies breathe offers no benefit for infants on life support with severe bronchiolitis - a seasonal viral illness that hospitalizes thousands of babies each year.

23 Mar 2026

Chronotherapy offers new hope for timing pain relief to match body cycles

Time plays a key role in our perception of pain and administering pain relief and medication for chronic pain-related depression may be more effective at certain times of day, UCL and University of Toronto researchers say.

23 Mar 2026

Researchers explore "block and lock" strategy for functional HIV cure

For millions of people living with HIV, a daily regimen of medications is a lifelong necessity. If they stop taking the drugs-commonly referred to as antiretroviral therapy-the virus usually rushes back within weeks.

23 Mar 2026

New NYU study identifies lower heat risk thresholds for vulnerable older adults

Nationally, heat-related mortality has risen by nearly 17 % per year since 2016. As a result, New York City now issues heat alerts and opens cooling centers when the heat index is forecast to reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for at least two consecutive days or a heat index of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for any length of time.

23 Mar 2026

U.S. study links ultra-processed foods to lower odds of fertility

A cross-sectional NHANES study of 2,582 U.S. women found that higher ultra-processed food intake was associated with lower odds of being classified as fertile based on self-reported infertility history. Greater Mediterranean diet adherence was linked to higher odds of fertility in adjusted models, but that association was no longer significant after accounting for obesity.

22 Mar 2026

Hepatitis C drug may prevent hepatitis E virus replication

A drug that is already in clinical trials against hepatitis C virus can also prevent hepatitis E virus from replicating.

22 Mar 2026

Do artificial sweeteners increase appetite or food intake?

The study evaluates artificial sweeteners' role in appetite regulation, showing no significant effects on hunger or energy intake during weight management.

20 Mar 2026

Study links gut microbiome imbalance to worsening kidney disease

Researchers at UC Davis School of Medicine have uncovered how an imbalanced gut microbiome escalates the production of metabolic byproducts by certain gut bacteria.

19 Mar 2026

Blood-based test helps personalize breast cancer care for older patients

For women age 70 and over with a common form of breast cancer, determining "the right size" of treatment can be challenging, in part because clinicians have limited tools to guide individualized treatment decisions.

19 Mar 2026

Hydration programs found insufficient to reduce kidney stone recurrence

Kidney stones can cause some of the most intense pain people ever experience, affecting daily life and leading many to hospital emergency visits.

19 Mar 2026

Doctors urge smarter use of universal donor blood amid shortages

As blood banks across the U.S. report dangerously low supplies of O-negative blood (red blood cells) - commonly called the "universal donor" - anesthesiologists are calling for increased donation and changes in how hospitals use the "universal donor" blood type, according to a new Innovation in Practice article published online in Anesthesiology Open, an official journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

19 Mar 2026

Researchers use AI to reveal the true scale of COVID-19 mortality in the US

A machine learning model applied to US death certificate data estimated that over 155,000 COVID-19 deaths were unrecognized between March 2020 and December 2021, suggesting total mortality was about 19% higher than official counts. These undercounted deaths disproportionately affected marginalized populations, including racial minorities, lower-income groups, and residents of the Southern United States.

19 Mar 2026