Medical Xpress news

Medical Xpress / Funding cuts to syringe programs could drive thousands of preventable US deaths

A new study published in JAMA Network Open projects that reductions in federal funding for syringe service programs (SSPs) could lead to substantial increases in mortality among people who inject drugs in the United States.

3 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Global clinical trial reveals safest, most effective antibiotics for golden staph bloodstream infections

An international clinical trial has identified the optimal antibiotics for golden staph bloodstream infections, a breakthrough set to reshape treatment for the life-threatening condition. The SNAP Trial found that the standard ...

4 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Microplastics may worsen fatty liver disease, new study suggests

Microplastics—minuscule pieces of plastic broken down from larger plastic waste—are a growing concern for human health, especially for the liver. A study from the University of Oklahoma, published in Science Advances, demonstrates ...

4 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Rhythmic drug dosing may boost safety and efficacy in chronic liver disease

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are progressive chronic liver diseases linked to abnormal bile acid metabolism. Although ...

3 hours ago
Medical Xpress / A method to prevent falls before they happen

The risk of a fall is typically discussed with patients after they have experienced a fall or reported poor balance. For researcher James Richardson, M.D., a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at University ...

3 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Update to 89-year-old motor homunculus model shows brain's motor cortex isn't as neatly organized as previously thought

For almost a century, budding neuroscientists have been taught that the headband-like strip of brain tissue over our ears that controls our movements, called the motor cortex, contains an orderly map of our bodies. Brain ...

5 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Better heart 'digital twins' could help target treatment for atrial fibrillation

A cross-university paper led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, published in the Journal of Physiology, shows how better "digital twins" could help doctors treat people with atrial fibrillation.

6 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Teenagers whose parents are more distracted by phones may be more insecure

We worry about the time kids spend using screens—but what if the time their caregivers spend on phones is also harmful? Scientists working on digital mental health noticed increasing reports of teenagers struggling with their ...

14 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Americans' ability to afford health care falls to 5-year low

New research released from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America finds that fewer than half of Americans (49%) are considered "Cost Secure," meaning they can consistently afford health care and prescription ...

14 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Legalizing cannabis increases use and addiction, unless it is tightly controlled, says research

Removing criminal penalties for possessing cannabis for personal use, or introducing tightly controlled legalization of cannabis, does not appear to increase levels of cannabis use. However, the commercial sale of cannabis ...

20 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Colorectal tumors use mitochondrial complex II to stockpile iron, but eliminating it causes cell death

Scientists know that colorectal cancer cells require large amounts of iron and that as cancer becomes more aggressive, the cells have even higher amounts of iron. Normal cells with high levels of iron would undergo a type ...

22 hours ago
Medical Xpress / Pakistani genomes reveal 34,000 knockouts that could explain why mouse-based drugs fail in humans

A comprehensive analysis of 173,303 genomes from Pakistan, published today in Nature, is upending how scientists understand human genetics and drug development. By identifying 34,000 people who are "human knockouts," with ...

23 hours ago