https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Panic attacks are sudden bouts of intense fear without an obvious cause. An estimated 10% of people experience at least one panic attack in their lifetime. But between 2% and 3% of the population have such frequent and severe panic attacks that they meet the criteria for the debilitating condition "panic disorder." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-intensive-patients-panic-disorder-standard.html Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:03 EST news689592121 While lead exposure in children has been associated with cognitive and behavioral problems, few studies have examined later psychiatric symptoms. A new analysis led by researchers at Brown University's School of Public Health found that increased concentrations of lead in the blood during childhood were associated with increased depressive symptoms in adolescence. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-childhood-exposure-depressive-symptoms-adolescence.html Mon, 02 Feb 2026 14:44:47 EST news689265842 The loss of social connectedness as people age increases the odds of cognitive-related disorders and can worsen health outcomes in older populations. But is there a direct relationship between social behavior and cognition? Subhadeep Dutta Gupta, Peter Rapp, and colleagues, from the National Institute on Aging, developed a rat model to probe social cognition in the aging brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-aging-rats-social-choices-healthy.html Mon, 02 Feb 2026 13:00:01 EST news688888981 From patient portals and text messages to wearable devices and artificial intelligence, digital health technologies are becoming a significant part of medical care. But technology alone isn't enough to improve health outcomes. According to Daniel Amante, Ph.D., MPH, assistant professor of population & quantitative health sciences at UMass Chan Medical School, the most effective tools are those designed with the end user's input upfront to address specific challenges that both providers and patients face. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-digital-health-tools-patients-core.html Sun, 01 Feb 2026 11:30:03 EST news688908265 There were only 10 reported cases of Guinea worm infections confined to three countries in 2025, a historic low announced Friday by The Carter Center. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-world-closer-eradicating-human-guinea.html Sat, 31 Jan 2026 04:53:01 EST news689057552 Research by an interdisciplinary team from McGill University and Université Laval provides new insights into the links between social factors and cognitive health among aging adults. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-rich-social-environment-cognitive-health.html Tue, 27 Jan 2026 10:01:44 EST news688730402 Researchers at The University of Osaka have found that individuals in Japan who have been infected with COVID-19 are more likely to wear masks than those who have not. In a four-year-long study, they discovered this change is not driven by fear, but by a heightened perception of the risk of "silent infection," the idea that one could be infected and spread the virus without knowing. This insight could reshape public health messaging for future pandemics. The study, "The impact of COVID-19 infection experience on risk perception and preventive behaviour: a cohort study," was published in Epidemiology & Infection. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-covid-infection-linked-mask-due.html Mon, 26 Jan 2026 20:40:02 EST news688657765 While many people binge-watch their favorite shows, binge-watching addiction is associated with loneliness, according to a study published in PLOS One by Xiaofan Yue and Xin Cui from Huangshan University in China. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-people-binge-addiction-lonely.html Wed, 21 Jan 2026 14:00:02 EST news688206901 When Ichiro Kawachi established a cohort study in Iwanuma, Japan, in 2010, he thought he would be researching the predictors of healthy aging. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-today-disaster-exploring-risky-behavior.html Thu, 15 Jan 2026 14:25:25 EST news687709501 More people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are turning to coaches for guidance. Those coaches, who often have ADHD themselves, offer similar services to psychologists but don't think of their work as clinical, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-survey-adhd-boom.html Thu, 15 Jan 2026 11:00:03 EST news687601681 Cannabidiol (CBD) could become a therapeutic tool to address some of the most frequent and disabling consequences of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a condition caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy. This is one of the main conclusions of a preclinical study conducted in mice by researchers at the Institute for Neurosciences (UMH–CSIC). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-cbd-treatment-reverses-key-effects.html Wed, 14 Jan 2026 04:00:01 EST news687430921 The link between heart disease and mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is becoming so clear that some cardiology practices are offering psychological support as part of the treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-heart-condition-psychologist.html Fri, 09 Jan 2026 08:33:46 EST news687169982 Self-harming and self-sabotaging behaviors, from skin picking to ghosting people, all stem from evolutionary survival mechanisms, according to a compelling new psychological analysis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-procrastination-sabotaging-behaviors-rooted-survival.html Sun, 04 Jan 2026 19:00:01 EST news685615831 By age 16, almost two‐thirds of kids have experienced trauma, such as abuse, neglect, natural disasters or sudden loss of a loved one, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These youth have a higher risk of developing post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health difficulties, especially if they do not receive treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-methods-access-trauma-kids.html Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:24:20 EST news685117442 Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), and NHG Health's Institute of Mental Health (IMH) have mapped how brain networks differ in individuals at Clinical High Risk (CHR) for psychosis, providing a new perspective on the mechanisms underlying the disease onset. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-early-brain-linked-future-psychosis.html Tue, 09 Dec 2025 14:51:25 EST news684514261 Individuals within the criminal legal system, especially those with mental illness, face challenges completing mental health treatment, despite research exploring potential reasons. A recent study by Melissa Villodas incorporates a new perspective previously not considered—that of the individuals who are receiving these treatments themselves. Villodas' exploration of participant feedback highlights the importance of input from incarcerated men about what keeps them in treatment: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-feedback-insight-mental-health-treatment.html Thu, 04 Dec 2025 12:34:22 EST news684074042 Obesity affects more than 1 billion people worldwide and is recognized by the World Health Organization as a chronic, relapsing disease associated with substantial morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-ozempic-style-weight-loss-drugs.html Mon, 01 Dec 2025 14:23:43 EST news683821381 Metal detectors and active shooter drills have become hallmarks of school safety, but many parents think educators should focus on children's mental health, a new poll reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-focusing-struggling-students-school-safety.html Wed, 19 Nov 2025 09:10:09 EST news682765553 Mobile phones and endless screen time are the bane of parents the world over. But while technology is often blamed for poor health in children and teenagers, new University of South Australia research suggests that the same devices could also be part of the solution. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-screens-good-digital-tools-kids.html Mon, 17 Nov 2025 13:07:05 EST news682607222 A new study by Assistant Professor Rachael Piltch-Loeb, Affiliated Investigator Angela Parcesepe, Distinguished Professor Denis Nash, and colleagues from the CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health (ISPH) examined whether theory-enhanced video messaging could boost COVID-19 vaccine uptake among under-vaccinated adults in the United States. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-video-messaging-insufficient-strategy-boost.html Wed, 29 Oct 2025 13:17:03 EDT news680962621 New research from the University of Birmingham shows that eating flavanol-rich foods—like tea, berries, apples, and cocoa—can protect vascular health in men from the harmful effects of prolonged sitting. The research has been published in the Journal of Physiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-flavanols-cocoa-blood-vessel-function.html Wed, 29 Oct 2025 04:00:02 EDT news680774101 A study published in the British Journal of Health Psychology reveals the negative behavioral and psychological consequences of commercial fitness apps reported by users on social media. These impacts may undermine the potential of apps to promote health and well-being. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-ai-analysis-social-media-reveals.html Wed, 22 Oct 2025 03:10:11 EDT news680194201 People who feel supported by family, friends and colleagues tend to have better mental health, perform more effectively at work and experience positive outcomes in other areas such as physical health, education and risk-taking behaviors, according to research published in the journal Psychological Bulletin. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-social-linked-multiple-life-domains.html Thu, 16 Oct 2025 09:00:01 EDT news679649821 Impostor participants threaten the integrity of health research, and by extension, the policies and clinical decisions built on it, warn experts in The BMJ today. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-impostor-distort-health-endanger-patient.html Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:30:03 EDT news679674841 A peer-reviewed viewpoint article published in Psychedelics by Prof. Xiaohui Wang and colleagues examines the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances for treating stress-related psychiatric disorders through novel neurobiological mechanisms. The article is titled "Psychedelics in the context of stress and psychiatric disorders: A new horizon in mental health treatment." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-psychedelics-therapeutic-framework-stress-psychiatric.html Tue, 14 Oct 2025 01:00:02 EDT news679564681 A new thesis from Karolinska Institutet studied how mental health problems run in families. Using nationwide Swedish registers, the researchers followed millions of parents and their children over decades, revealing several important findings about how and why mental health problems pass from parents to children, and importantly, how to interrupt this cycle. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-mental-ill-health-families-doesnt.html Mon, 06 Oct 2025 13:10:01 EDT news678973635 In a recent study published in Cell Metabolism, a research paper provides the first evidence that sperm microRNAs act as carriers of epigenetic information, enabling the intergenerational transmission of paternal exercise capacity and metabolic health, thereby exerting profound effects on offspring development. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-sperm-micrornas-enable-transmission-benefits.html Mon, 06 Oct 2025 11:00:06 EDT news678703561 A new brain imaging study led by researchers in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health in the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University, and published in JAMA Network Open, uses a specialized type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique named neuromelanin-sensitive MRI to shed light on the link between chronic depression and the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine plays important roles in many cognitive, emotional, and bodily functions and is a central cellular component to the reward/motivation system of the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-brain-imaging-reveals-dopamine-chronic.html Wed, 01 Oct 2025 14:56:03 EDT news678549361 Children in care who experience frequent changes in care placements are more than twice as likely to experience mental health problems, according to new research led by the University of Bath in the UK. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-instability-foster-mental-health-problems.html Wed, 01 Oct 2025 13:00:04 EDT news678542201 A new study from Oregon Health & Science University shows that a team-based, whole-person approach to caring for pregnant people with substance use disorders holds promise in improving health outcomes and helping keep families together. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-team-based-aids-pregnant-women.html Thu, 25 Sep 2025 16:36:04 EDT news678036962