https://medicalxpress.com/medications-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Clinical pharmacology Technology inspired by 3D printing is already being introduced in hospitals and specialized pharmacies to produce personalized medicines tailored to individual patients. In her doctoral thesis at Åbo Akademi University, Mahsa Bahman investigated how the approach can improve dosing accuracy and make customized treatments more widely available. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-technology-3d-medicines-tailored-patients.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 22:00:05 EDT news710695982 Doctors' prescribing habits are heavily influenced by payments, gifts and free meals from pharmaceutical companies, leading to more prescriptions for more expensive, less appropriate drugs, a new Cochrane review finds. This can seriously harm both individual patients and health systems. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-pharmaceutical-company-negatively.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 20:00:01 EDT news710600114 A major clinical trial involving 410 people with early Parkinson's disease has found no clinical benefit from nicotinamide riboside (NR), a compound that increases cellular levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). The findings are published in JAMA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-nad-boosting-treatment-parkinson-benefit.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:40:14 EDT news710696521 The pathogen Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is naturally present in the intestines of many people. When present in small numbers, it usually causes no symptoms. Treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics can severely disrupt the balance of the healthy gut microbiome, allowing the bacterium to multiply unchecked. The result is acute intestinal inflammation, which can also become chronic. Such infections with C. difficile (CDI) are among the leading causes of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Since the bacteria release toxins that can lead to dangerous, sometimes life-threatening intestinal inflammation with high relapse rates, new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-natural-compound-difficile-largely-healthy.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:20:04 EDT news710693581 Antipsychotics are used to treat schizophrenia, along with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. However, these medications can be associated with hyponatremia, a serious reduction in blood sodium levels. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hyponatremia-differ-generation-antipsychotics.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:20:01 EDT news710678881 Whether you're struggling with jet lag, working shifts and sleeping during the day, or dealing with more severe insomnia, you might have wondered if melatonin can help you get better sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-melatonin.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:40:12 EDT news710675941 Public health officials and law enforcement agents are facing a growing challenge in combating the fentanyl epidemic: They lack detailed and timely information on the harmful and potentially deadly substances, including anesthetics, industrial chemicals, veterinary sedatives and other adulterants, that drug suppliers increasingly mix into the illicit fentanyl supply. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-toxic-substances-fentanyl-vary.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:20:17 EDT news710674622 Cannabinol is a popular ingredient in over-the-counter sleep products, marketed as a gentle, plant-derived way to unwind at the end of the day. But new research conducted at the University of Connecticut suggests consumers should use it with caution. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-common-herbal-aid-addictive-potential.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 12:00:16 EDT news710678461 A new long-acting HIV treatment could expand options for people who have trouble taking daily pills and whose virus is resistant to some commonly used HIV drugs, according to a new UC San Francisco study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hiv-drug-combo-tackles-resistance.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:00:48 EDT news710582951 Osteoporosis weakens bones and makes them more likely to break. The disease affects about 10 million Americans over age 50, including one in five women. And those numbers are expected to rise as the share of Americans 65 and older climbs from 18.9% to 23.4% by 2060. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-qa-fda-decision-osteoporosis-drugs.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:20:01 EDT news710667481 Intranasal sufentanil-ketamine is fast-acting and appears to be well tolerated and effective at curbing acute pain for pediatric patients in the emergency department, according to a study presented at the annual European Emergency Medicine Congress, held Sept. 23–27 in Paris. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-intranasal-sufentanil-ketamine-safe-effective.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:40:09 EDT news710574505 New research shows the efficacy and safety of hydroxyurea treatment for sickle cell anemia at four low-income sites in Africa, with no increase in clinically diagnosed infections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-children-sickle-cell-safely-hydroxyurea.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:30:11 EDT news710587862 Nearly one-third of people with epilepsy who were prescribed certain hormonal contraceptives also received antiseizure medications that may make those contraceptives less effective, according to a University of Pittsburgh–led study published in Neurology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-common-epilepsy-medication-birth-combinations.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:00:10 EDT news710583350 For millions of years, parasitic worms have had to survive inside animals without being destroyed by their hosts' immune systems. To do that, they have evolved remarkably effective ways of dampening the immune response. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-parasitic-worms-key-immune-diseases.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:20:04 EDT news710596981 Naltrexone and fluoxetine demonstrated similar results in the treatment of people with compulsive sexual behavior disorder in a new study from Karolinska Institutet. Published in BMJ Mental Health, the study found no clear differences between the medications after eight weeks of treatment, although symptom patterns changed differently over time. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-medications-results-compulsive-sexual-behavior.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:40:18 EDT news710594840 A research team has developed an anticancer treatment platform that simultaneously targets cancer cells and the surrounding cells that support them while blocking communication between the two. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-experimental-cancer-treatment-disrupts-cell.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:40:01 EDT news710595061 Taking opioids for years does not seem to reduce pain or improve functioning in people with chronic back pain, according to a new Northwestern University study that compared 70 long-term opioid users with 70 similar patients not taking opioids. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-years-opioid-chronic-pain.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:20:06 EDT news710590621 New treatments that can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease could provide significant lifetime benefits to patients and society, with even greater benefits when initiated earlier, according to new research from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-alzheimer-treatment-earlier-benefits-patients.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 09:00:01 EDT news710577541 Nearly 1 in 3 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are taking a supplement-medication combination with potential for an interaction, according to a study published online Sept. 22 in Arthritis Care & Research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-lupus-supplements-medications-potential-interactions.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 17:40:15 EDT news710517781 Chronic pain can continue long after an initial injury. When a nerve outside the brain and spinal cord (a peripheral nerve) is damaged and does not heal properly, it keeps sending constant pain signals. Over time, this nonstop bombardment of pain signals changes how your spinal cord and brain process information as sensory and emotion-associated circuits become hyperreactive, turning up the volume on pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-blocking-nerve-protein-chronic-pain.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:00:11 EDT news710494423 Many pregnant women develop fungal infections, which are often treated with widely used azole-based antifungal medicines. A new study involving researchers from the DTU National Food Institute and Copenhagen University Hospital (Rigshospitalet) suggests that the use of these medicines during pregnancy may be associated with changes in fetal hormone production, with effects persisting in children after birth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-antifungal-pregnancy-link-hormone-babies.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:20:18 EDT news710510761 Antidepressant use continues to rise. In England, 96 million antidepressant prescription items were dispensed to an estimated 9.1 million patients in 2025–2026. These medicines are prescribed for depression and other conditions, including anxiety and some forms of pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-antidepressants.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:40:13 EDT news710502242 Understanding and treating chronic neuropathic pain has remained challenging due to its complex nature. New research from the lab of Clifford Woolf, MB, BCh, Ph.D., at Boston Children's Hospital's FM Kirby Neurobiology Center describes a novel approach for reducing pain by disrupting interactions within pain-sensing nerve cells called nociceptors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-nonopioid-approach-neuropathic-pain-disrupts.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:00:09 EDT news710436962 Antimalarial drugs are designed to protect people from malaria, but they may also affect the mosquitoes exposed to them during blood meals. A new Yale study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, investigates the impact of these medications on mosquitoes, laying the groundwork for future research into how the drugs may influence the malaria parasites developing within them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-antimalarial-drug-persists-mosquitoes-days.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:20:04 EDT news710495761 A cancer drug currently being tested in patients may have entered clinical trials based on an incorrect understanding of how it works, according to a new study led by the University of Sydney in collaboration with Goethe University, Oxford University and the Institute of Cancer Research, London. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-cancer-trial-drug-differently-scientists.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 05:00:08 EDT news710437321 The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends estrogen in combination with progestogen (for females with a uterus) or estrogen monotherapy (for females without a uterus) as first-line treatment for perimenopausal and postmenopausal females experiencing menopausal vasomotor symptoms (VMS), which consist of hot flashes and night sweats. ACP's new clinical guideline is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hormonal-therapy-line-treatment-menopausal.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:00:02 EDT news710163001 Researchers from Kennedy Krieger Institute, University of Rochester Medicine and five other institutions released a new publication detailing how master protocol trials could change the future of rare disease research. Using master protocol trials to research rare conditions could decrease costs, improve testing efficiency and capacity, and expedite the delivery of treatments to those facing a rare disease diagnosis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-master-protocol-trials-reimagine-future.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:20:03 EDT news710424242 Exposure to GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs around conception is not linked to a clearly detectable increase in adverse outcomes for mothers or babies, according to the largest study of its kind, involving more than 2.1 million pregnancies and led by researchers at City St George's. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-pregnancy-glp-exposure-conception-largest.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:00:09 EDT news710419321 A sedative developed for cats and dogs is turning up in Scotland's illicit drug supply. Medetomidine has been found in a fifth of heroin samples in Scotland, and there is no proven antidote if someone overdoses. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-medetomidine-dangerous-animal-sedative-scotland.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:20:16 EDT news710407621 What if checking medication levels were as simple as enjoying a lollipop? A candy-coated device called Lollylab could provide the answer. In ACS Sensors, researchers describe how the lollipop's stem transfers saliva to a sensor that measures acetaminophen levels. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-candy-coated-lollylab-saliva-medication.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:20:13 EDT news710410561