Medical Xpress news

Medical Xpress / Common antidepressant offers fresh hope for people looking to reduce methamphetamine use

For the first time, people who want to stop using crystal methamphetamine may be able to treat their addiction with a cheap and readily available medication, say researchers at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Center ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / A safer opioid? DFNZ discovery suggests pain relief with minimal addictive properties

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a novel, highly potent opioid that shows potential as a therapy for both pain and opioid use disorder. In a study published in Nature, the team observed ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / Urban vs. rural exercise habits: Why walking dominates, yet many miss activity targets

In a recent study of U.S. adults, walking was—by far—the most popular leisure-time physical activity, while rural residents also enjoyed gardening, hunting and fishing, and urban residents more commonly reported running, ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / Shortage of synapses predicts severity of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia, study reveals

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder affecting about 1% of the population worldwide, and is notoriously difficult to treat. Current treatments successfully target the disorder's positive symptoms, such as hallucinations ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / Language processing requires rapid cross-talk across brain regions, researchers discover

Multiple regions of the brain engage in fast-moving conversations to understand language, UTHealth Houston researchers have discovered, dispelling a prior school of thought that only one region of the brain was responsible ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / The body's internal clock can be determined from a hair sample

A research team at Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin has developed a test that can determine a person's chronotype based on their hair roots. It is intended to lay the foundation for circadian medicine—that is, medicine ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / Gene editing therapy shows success against severe sickle cell disease

New results from a clinical trial show promising outcomes for a gene-edited treatment for severe sickle cell disease, a genetic blood disorder with few curative options. After research conducted as part of the multicenter ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / Uncovering cellular drivers of increased brain signal activity

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered new insights into how high gamma activity—an informative, widely studied brain signal—is generated, findings that can impact how past and future neurological studies using ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / Natural compound nigericin reduces endotrophin tied to obesity, study shows

Obesity is known to be a major risk factor that exacerbates metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes. A key molecule involved in this process is endotrophin, a signaling protein that links excess fat accumulation to metabolic ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / Molecular 'brake' limits axonal regeneration after injury to nerves or spinal cord

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a molecular switch in neurons that limits the regrowth of damaged axonal fibers. The findings, published in the journal Nature, show that blocking ...

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / Common metabolic enzyme could predict cancer immunotherapy benefits—and help more patients respond

Immunotherapies have transformed cancer treatment by helping the immune system recognize and attack tumors. They work for only about 20% of patients, though, and doctors still struggle to predict who will benefit.

Apr 1, 2026
Medical Xpress / Long COVID is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease

People with long COVID are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in eClinicalMedicine. The results show that the risk of conditions such as cardiac ...

Apr 1, 2026