https://medicalxpress.com/medications-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Clinical pharmacology A Cleveland Clinic first-in-human clinical trial has shown that a one-time infusion of a gene-editing therapy using CRISPR-Cas9 was effective and safe in reducing LDL ("bad") cholesterol and triglycerides in people with medication-resistant lipid disorders through one year of follow-up across all doses. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-crispr-gene-therapy-safely-lowers.html Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:20:02 EDT news707745661 A lab-grown micro bladder may explain why urinary tract infections (UTIs) return so frequently, according to a study led by researchers at UCL, the University of Oxford and the University of Leicester. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-micro-bladder-clues-recurrent-utis.html Fri, 04 Sep 2026 05:00:01 EDT news707653211 Although the number of U.S. children under age 12 with obesity who are prescribed the weight-loss drugs Saxenda, Wegovy and Zepbound remains low, it was 310 times higher in June 2026 than in 2019, when the drugs were first prescribed, a new study shows. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-glp-young-children-obesity-rare.html Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:01 EDT news707573886 Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed microscopic peptide droplets that deliver large amounts of gene-silencing molecules into cancer and immune cells, reducing the growth of hard-to-treat colorectal tumors by about 67% in mice. The patent-pending system uses small interfering RNA, or siRNA, to disrupt the production of two proteins that cancer cells exploit to evade attacks by the immune system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-microdroplets-colorectal-tumor-growth-potentially.html Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:00:03 EDT news707665676 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 and blocks Bcl-2, a protein that not only regulates whether cells live or die but also promotes the survival of cancer cells. Similarly, Bcl-2 is a culprit in sustaining HIV cell reservoirs. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-cancer-medication-siv-reservoir-hiv.html Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:20:01 EDT news707652687 Scientists have found that targeting a particular group of proteins in the uterus muscle (myometrium) can suppress human uterine contractions in laboratory studies and delay preterm birth in a preclinical model. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-uterine-ion-channels-potential-delay.html Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:00:10 EDT news707664781 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 treatment cycles. The findings could help prevent pain, numbness and other common chemotherapy side effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-psilocybin-chemotherapy-nerve-injury-symptoms.html Thu, 03 Sep 2026 14:00:07 EDT news707486341 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 the University of Southern Denmark have now shown that they affect the brain in markedly different ways. The findings are based on brain scans in rats and suggest that the differences between psychedelic drugs may be greater than previously assumed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-psychedelic-drugs-affect-brain-differently.html Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:20:06 EDT news707659382 A new Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered a biological mechanism that may explain why a subset of tumors unexpectedly grows at an accelerated rate after being treated with certain immunotherapies, according to findings published in the journal Cancer Discovery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-uncovers-immunotherapy-tumors-faster.html Thu, 03 Sep 2026 07:20:03 EDT news707635322 Men already genetically at risk for the most common form of hair loss have a 7% added risk of losing their hair if they use drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound for type 2 diabetes and obesity, a new study shows. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-hair-loss-men-linked-weight.html Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:01 EDT news707486965 Liver cancer is difficult to treat because tumors vary greatly from patient to patient. Researchers at the University of Basel have captured this diversity by creating a collection of mini-tumors, which they use to systematically search for new treatment options. They tested more than 1,600 compounds using these organoids and used the results to develop promising drug combinations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-mini-tumors-reveal-drug-combinations.html Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:00:01 EDT news707582281 A genetic marker already used to flag the risk of a life-threatening reaction to the antibiotic vancomycin also identifies patients at risk of that reaction to lamotrigine—and it is missing from the gene panels clinicians order before prescribing the drug, Vanderbilt Health-led researchers report in JAMA Network Open. The two variants those panels do test for showed no association with lamotrigine reaction in a U.S. population. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-genetic-reaction-drug-millions.html Wed, 02 Sep 2026 11:00:06 EDT news707557077 A migraine headache can easily bring someone's usual day to a halt. The intense throbbing pain, usually on one side of the head, often comes with nausea, vision disturbances and light sensitivity. Preventive medicines work behind the scenes, aiming to reduce how often migraines strike rather than stopping an attack already underway. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-migraine-treatment-rethink-prioritizes-patient.html Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:20:07 EDT news707557396 Patients with type 2 diabetes who have high blood glucose levels, low body weight or a history of ketoacidosis are at increased risk of developing this serious condition when treated with so-called SGLT2 inhibitors. A study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet also shows that the risk persists throughout the entire course of treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-highlights-groups-severe-side-effect.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 18:30:01 EDT news707474095 When drops of oil are added to water, the oil and water remain separate. Within cells, biological molecules cluster together in a similar way, separating themselves from the rest of the cell. And while they don't have a membrane, they are their own distinct compartments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-screening-platform-links-molecule-clusters.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 15:20:04 EDT news707485025 A region of the brain called the striatum is critical for many cognitive and motor functions, including decision-making, movement control, habit formation and reward processing. It also plays a role in addiction and is significantly affected by Huntington's disease, schizophrenia and other disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-atlas-brain-striatum-drug-treatments.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 11:00:13 EDT news707476441 The way cancer-causing proteins accumulate in tumors may influence how effectively a promising new generation of medicines can remove them, a study suggests. Researchers found that PROTAC (Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras) drugs were more effective at removing proteins that build up because they are not broken down properly than proteins that cancer cells continually produce in large amounts. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-protein-buildup-cancer-drug-response.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 11:00:01 EDT news707474252 Recent discoveries have revealed that breast cancer cells are more flexible than previously thought. Some can change from a differentiated state, when a mature cell has taken on a specific function, back to a more stem-like state. From there, they can become more invasive and resistant to treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-dose-thc-breast-cancer-cells.html Tue, 01 Sep 2026 10:30:01 EDT news707474794 Mass General Brigham Heart and Vascular Institute researchers have found that high-risk patients who had not previously experienced a heart attack or stroke had a lower risk of death after taking the cholesterol-lowering drug evolocumab (on top of standard cholesterol-lowering therapy) as part of a clinical trial, compared with those taking a placebo. Results were presented at the ESC Congress 2026 and simultaneously published in Circulation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ldl-cholesterol-lowering-medication-linked.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:00:03 EDT news707399581 There is no link between the widely used diabetes and obesity medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists and increased suicidal thoughts, depression or other serious psychiatric harm, based on an integrative review of current scientific evidence conducted by researchers at New Mexico State University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-glp-1s-major-psychiatric.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:00:01 EDT news707398682 Results from a clinical trial and published today in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases show that the antiviral drug Paxlovid, commonly prescribed to treat acute COVID-19, does not affect long COVID symptoms compared with a placebo. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-paxlovid-ease-covid-symptoms-person.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:30:01 EDT news707400518 Ketamine, a drug approved for medical use in 1970 as a short-acting anesthetic, including during the Vietnam War for battlefield surgery, is still a pharmacological mystery. For a long time, scientists knew that ketamine, which is highly valued for treating severe pain and treatment-resistant depression, primarily works by blocking NMDARs, major receptors in the brain. However, this didn't fully explain why ketamine provides rapid pain and depression relief while drugs with similar actions didn't. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-3d-atomic-snapshots-reveal-ketamine.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 14:00:03 EDT news707399589 Potent antiplatelet therapy increased bleeding without signs of benefit regarding cardiovascular events in patients with atrial fibrillation after a heart attack. This was the main finding of the EPIDAURUS trial presented in a Hot Line session at ESC Congress 2026 and published simultaneously in Nature Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-potent-antiplatelet-drugs-major-af.html Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:40:01 EDT news707390101 A joint research team led by the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), in collaboration with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New York University and Newcastle University, has found that a combination of policies and service measures could enhance the value and affordability of esketamine nasal spray, a novel rapid-acting treatment for adults with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in Hong Kong. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-policy-esketamine-treatment-resistant-depression.html Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:20:05 EDT news707140922