Medical Xpress news
Medical Xpress / Diabetes drug metformin could be repurposed to help slow aging mechanisms
Metformin, a widely prescribed, safe and inexpensive drug for type 2 diabetes, is a first-line treatment that lowers blood sugar and improves the body's response to insulin. The drug appears to trick cells into sensing an ...
Medical Xpress / Cannabis edibles can impair driving, even with blood THC below legal limits
The feeling of being "high" on cannabis primarily comes from its psychoactive compound, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Alongside it is its more subdued companion, cannabidiol (CBD), often used for its potential therapeutic ...
Medical Xpress / Cancer cells release antioxidants to prevent immune cells from destroying them
Molecules called reactive oxygen species, which include so-called "free radicals," have long been viewed as damaging byproducts of our body's metabolism—a reason antioxidant supplements have been considered a potential way ...
Medical Xpress / Psilocybin prevents chemotherapy-related nerve injury and associated symptoms in preclinical models
In a breakthrough study, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered that psilocybin given before chemotherapy prevented the onset of nerve injury in preclinical models, even after repeated ...
Medical Xpress / Key path to Alzheimer's-like brain damage starts outside the brain
Immune cells that normally protect the body from damage by attacking foreign or infected cells are found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders at much higher levels than in healthy brains. ...
Medical Xpress / Over 90% of people carry this virus—and it can cause more than chickenpox and shingles
New research published in Nature Reviews Disease Primers is shedding light on the surprisingly broad range of neurological and systemic diseases that can be caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), the virus that causes chickenpox ...
Medical Xpress / Healthy aging shaped by more varied biology than previously thought
Molecular changes in aging are far more unique than previously thought, meaning two healthy individuals of identical age can experience significantly different aging journeys.
Medical Xpress / Cancer medication helps reduce SIV reservoir, increasing hope for HIV cure
Emory University researchers have provided the first proof of concept in a nonhuman primate model for eliminating HIV-infected cells with venetoclax, a clinically approved cancer medication. Venetoclax effectively targets ...
Medical Xpress / Pig kidney xenotransplant successfully bridges patient with end-stage kidney disease to human transplant
In January 2026, Tim Andrews, who had received a genetically edited pig kidney in January 2025, became the recipient of a human kidney. A new Mass General Brigham paper, published in The Lancet, details Andrews' experience ...
Medical Xpress / How meal timing programs the liver's daily rhythms
Deep inside the brain, a master clock synchronizes thousands of molecular clocks scattered throughout the body, and together, they anticipate signals such as the rising sun, the coming night and the daily rhythms of life. ...
Medical Xpress / How the developing human brain takes instructions: Two studies reveal what guides its most important stem cells
As the human brain takes shape before birth, a remarkable type of stem cell helps give it many of the features that make it distinctly human. These cells, called radial glia, make billions of decisions that determine which ...
Medical Xpress / Three psychedelic drugs affect the brain differently, brain scans in rats suggest
In recent years, psychedelic drugs have attracted growing interest as potential treatments for conditions including depression, anxiety and addiction. Although these drugs are often considered one group, researchers from ...
