https://medicalxpress.com/medications-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Clinical pharmacology For more than 70 years, the drug 6-thioguanine (6-TG) has been used to treat leukemia. Although its clinical effects have been studied extensively, scientists are still uncovering the molecular mechanisms that determine whether cells succumb to the drug or survive its attack. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-layer-decades-leukemia-drug.html Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:00:01 EDT news705766741 Leucovorin prescriptions for children spiked after federal officials claimed the drug was an effective treatment for autism during a September 2025 press conference, according to a new Michigan Medicine-led study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-leucovorin-prescriptions-children-federal-autism.html Wed, 12 Aug 2026 17:00:03 EDT news705758342 Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system reacts to gluten. More than 1% of the population in Germany is affected. In these individuals, gluten proteins found in wheat, rye and barley trigger inflammation in the small intestine, which can damage the intestinal villi and promote disease outside the intestinal tract. Despite following a gluten-free diet, up to 30% of patients with celiac disease still experience symptoms. This is usually due to unavoidable gluten contamination in their daily diet. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-humanized-mouse-significantly-preclinical-drugs.html Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:00:01 EDT news705747157 Lung inflammation and injury can quickly turn into acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in patients with pneumonia, COVID-19 and other conditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-salmon-fatty-fish-treatments-severe.html Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:10:02 EDT news705740924 Restarting obesity medications, including glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, soon after sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is associated with greater one-year weight loss than surgery alone in adolescents, according to a research letter published online July 22 in JAMA Surgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-reinitiating-obesity-meds-bariatric-surgery.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:40:06 EDT news705678812 The skin is the body's largest organ. It is a protective shield that keeps harmful pathogens out and vital fluids inside. These very properties make it a tough engineering challenge to design wearable health sensors because many internal chemical signals cannot easily pass through it. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-origami-implant-health-beneath-skin.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:20:05 EDT news705670400 New research at Aston University has shown that a variety of compounds are responsible for the antimicrobial action of mānuka honey, not just the sugar content and methylglyoxal (MGO) alone, as previously thought. The paper is published in Microbiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-multiple-bioactive-compounds-antimicrobial-properties.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:40:04 EDT news705662761 Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have been proposed as a therapeutic approach to shut down the production of faulty proteins in a wide variety of diseases, including cancer. In a study published in the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), researchers at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute and the University of Glasgow identify a pathway by which ASOs enter cells and reach their targets, suggesting new ways to enhance the effectiveness of antisense therapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cell-surface-receptors-antisense-therapy.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:00:05 EDT news705586562 For decades, obesity medications produced only modest weight loss. But in recent years, Ozempic and related GLP-1 therapies have transformed the field, enabling sustained weight loss of 10% to 15% or more. Despite their success, however, scientists have not fully understood how these drugs work in the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-unexpected-brain-mechanism-assumptions-glp.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 14:00:04 EDT news705583922 Researchers at UC San Francisco have developed a new method to predict how different types of breast cancer will respond to treatment, using patient data from the I-SPY2 breast cancer trial and rapid testing on lab-grown mini tumors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-patient-derived-organoids-reveal-breast.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:40:03 EDT news705583741 Researchers have identified genetic changes in malaria parasites that may reduce the effectiveness of key antimalarial medicines, highlighting the need for continued surveillance. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-reveals-malaria-drug-resistance-ethiopia.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:20:09 EDT news705583621 DIY peptide injections, which promise to boost everything from weight loss and muscle-building to longevity and sexual health, are a high-risk wellness fad that keeps growing. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-diy-peptide-risky.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 10:40:01 EDT news705570542 When the World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May, scientists around the world mobilized to help. Among them were researchers at Dalhousie University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ebola-variant-potential-treatment.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 07:40:07 EDT news705562501 Scientists from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center report that the investigational anticancer agent FL118 functions as a dual molecular glue degrader that directly targets and degrades the proteins DDX5 and UbE2T, two emerging therapeutic targets linked to cancer survival mechanisms. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-experimental-drug-dismantles-key-proteins.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 07:20:03 EDT news705561902 Every year, more than 120,000 newborns worldwide contract HIV, creating a global health burden that requires lifelong treatment for millions of people—assuming they have access and can afford it. New research led by Oregon Health & Science University suggests another possibility: a one-time regimen of therapies given to newborns within three days of birth to permanently clear the virus. The research is published today in the journal Nature Microbiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-triple-dose-regimen-permanently-hiv.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:00:03 EDT news705246781 Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine are investigating how to keep opioids' pain-relieving benefits while reducing their addictive potential. In a study published in Nature, they report a step toward that goal. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-method-opioid-pain-relief-reward.html Sun, 09 Aug 2026 06:20:01 EDT news705376931 In science, the suffix "phage" means to devour. Thus, the name bacteriophage might conjure images of tiny creatures that "eat" bacteria. While that conception isn't 100% scientifically accurate, bacteriophages are lethal killers of bacteria nonetheless, and scientists are excited about engineering phage DNA as a path to new antibiotics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ai-coli-killer-ways-antibiotic.html Sat, 08 Aug 2026 07:40:01 EDT news705314866 Malaria kills more than half a million people a year, most of them young children in Africa. Two vaccines are now recommended by the World Health Organization: RTS,S and R21. Both are helpful interventions, but neither works as well or as long as public health officials would like. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-malaria-vaccine-ons-antibody.html Sat, 08 Aug 2026 06:00:01 EDT news705376423 Psychedelics like psilocybin (from magic mushrooms), LSD, DMT and mescaline profoundly alter how we perceive, feel and think. After decades of neglect, they are again the subject of serious scientific inquiry, largely because of their promise for treating depression, anxiety, addiction and other conditions. But this therapeutic promise has run ahead of a more basic understanding: While a great deal of attention has gone to whether psychedelics help treat mental disorders, far less has gone to what they actually do in a general sense—the fundamental way they change perception, thought and consciousness. Only by understanding these basic mechanisms can we ever make sense of the therapeutic effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-psychedelics-amplify-brain-serotonin-receptors.html Fri, 07 Aug 2026 18:00:01 EDT news705324052 Like all consumer products, sofas come with instructions for how best to use and maintain them. But it may surprise you that many furniture companies warn medicines can seep out in your sweat or body oils and damage your leather sofa. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-drugs-leach-sofa.html Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:20:01 EDT news705326221 A combination of omega-3 and low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) produced results comparable to antibiotics in treating severe periodontitis. This conclusion is based on a study conducted by researchers affiliated with Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, Guarulhos University (UNG), the University of Taubaté (UNITAU), and the Ribeirão Preto School of Dentistry at USP (FORP-USP) in Brazil, as well as Harvard University in the United States. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-omega-dose-aspirin-antibiotic-results.html Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:00:05 EDT news705319681 In 1970, ketamine was approved as an anesthetic. It works by blocking receptors in the brain. Suicidal tendencies are among the dangers that accompany severe depression. Doctors have found that a low dose of ketamine, much lower than what is used for anesthesia, can quickly ease depression and suicidal thoughts. It often works within hours to a day, much faster than conventional antidepressants. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ketamine-triggers-morning-cortisol-surge.html Fri, 07 Aug 2026 07:40:05 EDT news705235353 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Orzeyful (oveporexton) tablets to treat narcolepsy type 1 in adults. Orzeyful marks the first medication approved for the full range of symptoms associated with narcolepsy type 1 and is the first approved drug to directly target the loss of orexin signaling that causes the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-fda-drug-full-range-narcolepsy.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:00:03 EDT news705255962 Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic, painful joint disease and a leading cause of disability. Despite its prevalence, therapies for osteoarthritis are limited and focus on symptom management. Now, researchers are combining genetic studies of Utah families with AI-based molecular biology tools to find new medications that may ultimately help treat OA at its source. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-osteoarthritis-medicines-ai-genetics.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:00:05 EDT news705159841 A group of researchers has uncovered why one common antibiotic works for urinary tract infections but often fails elsewhere, offering greater insight into how the body's own chemistry can determine whether antibiotics succeed or fail. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-antibiotic-infection.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:20:05 EDT news705240601 An international team of researchers has developed an innovative strategy for producing new vaccines. They created a genetically modified version of the chikungunya virus that replicates only once yet still trains the immune system to defend itself without causing disease. In tests conducted on mice, a single dose of the formulation containing the modified immature virus was sufficient to generate antibodies and protect the rodents against lethal infection. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-vaccine-strategy-chikungunya-mice-platform.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:40:06 EDT news705237781 The first randomized controlled trial in the U.K. has found that a single dose of psilocybin, the active compound found in "magic mushrooms," produced significant improvements in depression compared with a placebo. This is the first publicly funded randomized trial of its kind to deliver the treatment within an NHS setting in England, and it found promising results. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-dose-psilocybin-depression-results-uk.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:20:05 EDT news705229862 Chemotherapy remains a cornerstone of treatment for head and neck cancers, the seventh-most-common type of cancer worldwide. However, the disease is often diagnosed at a late stage, once it has already spread to other organs, and the majority of patients receiving active treatment will develop resistance to chemotherapy within months, underscoring the need for more effective care strategies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-mda-restrains-neck-tumor-growth.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 07:20:01 EDT news705213962 Adding the GLP-1 receptor agonist drug tirzepatide (marketed as Mounjaro) to standard care for patients with type 2 diabetes and heart disease is associated with a lower risk of a major cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, finds a study published by The BMJ today. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-glp-drug-linked-heart-benefits.html Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:30:01 EDT news705074821 Psychedelic drugs are best known for altering perception and producing vivid hallucinations, but scientists are increasingly interested in what else they might do. A growing body of research suggests that these mind-altering substances could hold real promise as treatments for mental health conditions like depression, acting faster and requiring far fewer doses than standard antidepressants. Despite their promise, today's psychedelic treatments are often hampered by off-target effects that can cause unwanted side effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-psychedelic-candidate-gut-brain.html Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:00:01 EDT news705161781