Feature Channels: Story Ideas: Medicine

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A new universal flu vaccine constructed with key parts of the influenza virus offers broad cross protection against different strains and subtypes of influenza A viruses in young and aged populations, according to a new study by researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

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Suppressing enzyme that removes oxygen from methionine sparks metastatic spread of cancer.

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Sleep duration is now considered an essential component for ideal heart and brain health. Life’s Essential 8™ cardiovascular health score replaces Life’s Simple 7™, according to a new Presidential Advisory, Life’s Essential 8—Updating and Enhancing the American Heart Association’s Construct on Cardiovascular Health, published today in Circulation, the Association’s flagship, peer-reviewed journal.

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About 80% of people in the U.S. have low to moderate cardiovascular health based on the American Heart Association’s new Life’s Essential 8™ checklist according to a new study published today in Circulation, the Association’s flagship, peer-reviewed journal. Life’s Essential 8™, also published today in Circulation, details the Association’s updated guidance to measure cardiovascular health, adding healthy sleep as essential for ideal heart and brain health.

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In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, new UVA Health research reveals that a factory-calibrated continuous glucose monitor (CGM) may be sufficiently accurate for use by people on dialysis, a group often plagued by dangerous swings in blood-sugar levels.

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Black and Hispanic populations have high rates of deficiency

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In Biomicrofluidics, scientists reveal their development of a new type of prosthetic using microfluidics-enabled soft robotics that promises to greatly reduce skin ulcerations and pain in patients who have had an amputation between the ankle and knee. They started with a recent device that uses pneumatic actuators and miniaturized the actuators by designing a microfluidic chip with 10 integrated pneumatic valves to control each actuator. The control box is small and light enough to be worn as part of the prosthesis.

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Researchers from Osaka University find that infection with SARS-CoV-2 activates the IRF1 gene and impairs insulin/IGF signaling in the lung, liver, adipose tissue, and pancreatic cells

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A long-term study has shown a common bone density scan can also show calcified plaque build-up in the abdominal aorta - revealing if someone is at increased risk of developing dementia

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Along with high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking, environmental factors such as air pollution are highly predictive of people’s chances of dying, especially from heart attack and stroke, a new study shows.

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The American Thoracic Society applauds the FDA’s decision to remove Juul products from the U.S. marketplace. This decision is long overdue.

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New drugs and technologies covered by insurance plans can be much more profitable than those not covered, which may lead to bias in CEAs funded by pharmaceutical or other medical industry firms. The research team gleaned its data by analysing the results of more than 8,000 CEAs published between 1976 and March 2021. Nearly 30 per cent of these CEAs were sponsored by industry.

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An estimated one-quarter of adults in the U.S. have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), an excess of fat in liver cells that can cause chronic inflammation and liver damage, increasing the risk of liver cancer. Now, UT Southwestern researchers have developed a simple blood test to predict which NAFLD patients are most likely to develop liver cancer.

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There is a long history of confusion and controversy regarding the use of polypropylene mesh materials for pelvic floor disorders in women, such as stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or pelvic organ prolapse (POP). So what option would specialist surgeons choose if they were to undergo these procedures themselves? That's the question asked in a survey study in Urology Practice®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

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A University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) student says his examination of the combined influence of dust and smoke on surface atmosphere temperatures in sub-Saharan Africa likely applies to conditions in the American West, now in its worst drought in over 1,200 years.

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Médica Sur, the first international member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, and Mayo Clinic will deepen their relationship by working together to advance cancer care at Médica Sur. The new collaboration will begin July 1.

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It's especially important to stay hydrated now that the weather is hot, but many people may not be aware of how much water to drink, how often to drink, if there are significant differences between water brands, and more. To help, we spoke with Dr. Lucas Couch of Carroll Health Group.

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COVID-19 rebound following Paxlovid treatment likely due to insufficient drug exposure, UC San Diego researchers find after showing rebound patient did not show drug resistance or impaired immunity.

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Four international medical societies have collaborated on consensus statements for physicians, published in the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, about how to treat pre-invasive lesions of the vulva. The journal is part of the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

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Wistar scientists identified that inhibiting therapeutic target KDM5A boosts a person’s immune response to tumors.

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Long COVID syndrome, also known as post-COVID, is more than fatigue and shortness of breath. Symptoms such as headaches, brain fog and ringing in the ears have been reported, and recently, physicians are seeing more patients with gastrointestinal problems.

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Dr. Michael Stifelman, chair of Urology at Hackensack Meridian Health, shares the latest and greatest in prostate cancer screenings and treatments.

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New understanding of protein function also has implications for immunotherapies

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DETROIT (June 20, 2022) – As robotic surgical systems continue to evolve and assist surgeons with improving surgical precision, a Henry Ford Health study found that robotic-assisted surgery for hip replacement had lower rates of complications than the traditional method. The findings, published in The Journal of Arthroplasty, are believed to be the first from a large series of patients with several years of follow-up to evaluate post-surgical complications between the two surgical options, adding to the growing body of research in the hip replacement field.

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The cost of brand-name drugs for epilepsy increased by 277% from 2010 to 2018, according to a study published in the June 15, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The cost of generic drugs for epilepsy decreased by 42% over the same period.

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A study published in JAMA Pediatrics shows how frequently childcare insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and the effect it had on parental job loss.

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Elementary school-aged children enrolled in remote learning experienced greater behavioral, learning-related, and sleep difficulties compared with children receiving in-person instruction, according new findings.

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Irvine, Calif., June 9, 2022 — Cancer starts when cells start dividing uncontrollably. Scientists have known that taking aspirin can help protect against the development of colorectal cancer – cancer afflicting the colon or rectum – but the exact reason aspirin has this effect has been mostly a mystery. In a new study published in the journal eLife, researchers at the University of California, Irvine reveal for the first time that aspirin changes the way colorectal cancer cell populations evolve over time, making them less able to survive and proliferate.

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An international team of researchers, led by scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh, report promising results from the largest case series yet of patients treated with bacteriophage therapy for antibiotic-resistant infections.

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A drug currently used in just 1% of cancers has significant potential against the remaining 99%, according to a new study from UH Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University, published in the prestigious journal Nature Cancer. Ivosidenib, or AG-120, is currently used against cancers that have a mutation in the IDH1 gene. However, study results show that Ivosidenib is also effective against unmutated, or “wild-type” IDH1. The protein coded by the IDH1 gene in cancers helps cancer cells survive in a stressful tumor environment, so any inhibitor medication that could weaken this defense mechanism is considered a promising therapy. UH and CWRU scientists discovered that under conditions present in the tumor microenvironment, drugs previously believed to be selective for the mutant enzyme have activity against the normal protein. Specifically, low glucose and magnesium levels enhance drug activity. The team has now tested Ivosidenib in mouse models of pancreatic, colorectal, o

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An inhaled immunotherapy successfully treated cancer in some companion dogs as part of a clinical trial conducted by UC Davis oncology and veterinary researchers. Recently published study results show potential for fighting cancer in humans as well.

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As a worldwide shortage of contrast dye for medical imaging continues, a new UC San Francisco research letter in JAMA quantified strategies medical facilities can employ to safely reduce dye use in computed tomography (CT) by up to 83%. CT is the most common use for the dye.

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Aortic dissections are among the most dire repercussions of unhealthy lifestyle choices like smoking. But a Penn State Health cardiac surgeon says a new treatment can improve the outlook for some patients.