Medical Xpress news

Medical Xpress / Common asthma drug may turn off tumor 'switch' tied to immunotherapy resistance

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.

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / A new way to strengthen the body's defense against respiratory viruses

Researchers have discovered a new method to boost the body's natural ability to fight respiratory viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), one of the leading causes of severe lung infections worldwide.

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / Three-minute video game can help identify patients with depression

An experimental diagnostic tool in the form of a computer game was able to quickly identify patients with depression based on anhedonia, a key feature of the disease, a new study shows.

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / Protecting the brain: How clumps of protein might actually be saving your cells

What if the very structures we thought were destroying the brain are actually trying to save it? A new study reveals that protein clumps, long considered toxic markers of diseases like Huntington's, act as a vital "quarantine" ...

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / How early brain activity may shape speech-linked circuits before babies ever speak

Communication begins long before children learn to speak. Researchers at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) in Taiwan have now uncovered how early brain activity helps build developing communication circuits ...

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / Neutrophils manufacture schizophrenia-linked protein, according to new research

The most common white blood cells in your body—immune cells called neutrophils—can make a protein nobody knew they were making, Stanford Medicine investigators have discovered. That unexpected sighting joins a growing list ...

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / BMI alone does not fully capture health risks linked to obesity, new study finds

Obesity is commonly diagnosed using BMI, but this approach has several limitations. Researchers at Lund University and AstraZeneca show that integrating measurements such as body fat percentage and waist circumference captures ...

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / Therapy at your fingertips: New study finds AI could transform mental health care

A new study from Reichman University, published in JAMA Network Open, has found that an AI-based conversational support platform can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, form a meaningful therapeutic alliance ...

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / A 'bet-hedging' strategy that helps gut bacteria survive and recover

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and collaborators have discovered that many gut bacteria use a flexible survival strategy to withstand disruptions such as antibiotics and diet changes.

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / What we now know about how smoking stiffens lungs

For the first time, scientists have directly measured how smoking changes the mechanical behavior of human lung tissue. Published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, the study, directed by UC Riverside mechanical ...

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / Nervous system helps lung cancer evade the immune system, study reveals

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have revealed that sensory nerve signals interfere with the immune system's response to lung cancer. This previously unrecognized neuroimmune connection could be targeted to improve ...

May 19, 2026
Medical Xpress / Newly designed peptides suggest safer immunotherapies are within reach

Calcium is widely known for its role in maintaining strong bones and teeth, but it is also one of the body's most important cellular messengers. Calcium signals help regulate muscle contraction, neural function, immune cell ...

May 19, 2026