Medical Science News

RSS

Acupuncture regulates immune function through specific neural circuit activation

Traditional explanations of acupuncture often emphasize direct acupoint-organ relationships, focusing on local stimulation or endpoint physiological changes.

22 Apr 2026

Patient outcomes vary by drug class despite achieving clinical remission

A study published in Rheumatology & Autoimmunity challenges the assumption that achieving clinical remission in rheumatoid arthritis is sufficient, showing that patient-reported outcomes vary significantly by drug class even when disease activity is comparable.

22 Apr 2026

Survey of families suggests high risks for electroconvulsive therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which involves passing electricity through the brain under general anesthesia to cause a seizure, usually between six and twelve times, is used to varying degrees around the world for patients with depression and other mental conditions.

22 Apr 2026

Breast milk sugars promote beneficial bacterial balance in infant guts

Sugars contained exclusively in breast milk are helping to feed an important balance of bacteria in babies' developing gut microbiomes, a new study has found.

22 Apr 2026

Large brain mapping dataset expands with new set of cognitive tasks

The Individual Brain Charting (IBC) project has released its fifth and largest update of high-resolution fMRI data, adding a new set of cognitive tasks to one of the most detailed brain-mapping datasets available today.

22 Apr 2026

Cleveland Clinic expert proposes global heart allocation to address health inequities

Today at the 46th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), Eileen Hsich, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, outlined a bold vision for the future of heart transplantation that moves beyond national borders to address global inequities in organ allocation.

22 Apr 2026

Study shows older lung recipients can achieve outcomes comparable to youth

Today at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) 46th Annual meeting and Scientific Sessions, transplant specialists Brian Keller, MD, PhD, and Thomas Egan, MD debated an ethically fraught question: How old is too old for a lung transplant?

22 Apr 2026

Tumor immune cell patterns predict melanoma immunotherapy response

A new UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center study suggests that the way immune cells are organized inside melanoma tumors may help researchers better understand which patients will benefit from combination immunotherapy after standard anti-PD-1 treatment stops working - and which may not.

22 Apr 2026

New molecule weakens glioblastoma and enhances immune response

A team of researchers from Brown University Health and Brown University has uncovered an important clue in the fight against glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer in adults.

21 Apr 2026

New guideline recommends combined therapies for chronic insomnia treatment

A new clinical practice guideline from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine provides evidence‑based recommendations on the combined use of behavioral‑psychological and pharmacological therapies to treat chronic insomnia disorder in adults.

21 Apr 2026

Calcium signals in microglia drive anxiety and compulsive behaviors

Researchers had previously discovered a population of immune cells within the brain that can act as accelerators and brakes for anxiety in mice. N

21 Apr 2026

New method predicts cancer patient survival using advanced molecular data

Oregon Health & Science University researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind method to predict cancer patient survival using advanced molecular data from individual cells.

21 Apr 2026

Cancer-linked mutations in the brain cells may drive Alzheimer’s disease

As the body ages, cells naturally accumulate dozens of genetic mutations each year. New research from Boston Children's Hospital, published in Cell, finds that the brain's resident immune cells, microglia, amass mutations in specific cancer-driving genes yet they don't manifest as cancer.

21 Apr 2026

Pinecone-inspired conduit enables suture-free repair of nerve injuries

As the authors detail, PNI is a prevalent neurological condition that often causes permanent sensory and motor dysfunction, severely impairing patient's quality of life.

21 Apr 2026

Cognitive decline may signal heart trouble years before a cardiovascular event

In a large ASPREE and ASPREE-XT nested case-control study of older adults without prior cardiovascular disease, people who later experienced a CVD event showed faster cognitive decline beginning roughly 3 to 8 years before the event. Processing speed declined earliest, suggesting that subtle cognitive changes may emerge well before overt cardiovascular disease.

21 Apr 2026

Stem cell model recreates early human embryo with yolk sac

For the first time, a stem cell model has produced a structure resembling an early human embryo with a yolk-sac-like structure, from a single starting stem cell population and without direct genetic manipulation.

21 Apr 2026

Real-time tracking reveals gaps in recalled alcohol use symptoms

When young adults are asked to recall their drinking habits, their recollections may not always match what actually happened in their day-to-day lives, a new study suggests.

21 Apr 2026

Scientists develop MIND approach to predict and reshape microbiomes

University of California San Diego researchers have developed a new tool for understanding and modifying any microbiome, including the human microbiome.

21 Apr 2026

Gut microbiome clues may help spot Parkinson’s disease in its earliest phase

Researchers found that a Parkinson’s disease-related gut microbiome pattern appears not only in people with diagnosed Parkinson’s, but also in some non-manifesting GBA1 variant carriers and a subset of healthy individuals. The findings suggest that gut microbiome changes may help flag people who are closer to Parkinson’s disease development, although longitudinal studies are still needed to confirm predictive value.

21 Apr 2026

Why do the deadliest cancers still get less NIH research funding?

Researchers found that NIH funding for major US cancers does not consistently align with lethality, with highly fatal cancers such as pancreatic cancer and small-cell lung cancer receiving far less funding per estimated death than breast or prostate cancer. The study argues that incidence alone is not enough and that funding decisions should better incorporate mortality, survival, and mortality-to-incidence ratios.

21 Apr 2026