https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us provides the latest news from University of Rochester Medical Center Antibiotics save newborns every day, but new research shows they also leave a lasting mark on a baby's developing immune system. University of Rochester Medicine scientists found that early antibiotic exposure disrupts babies' natural gut bacterial balance and that the disruption "travels" to the lungs, fundamentally rewiring how lung immune cells are programmed and influencing lung repair and the ability to fight infections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-antibiotics-babies-affect-gut-lungs.html Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:40:01 EDT news695996732 If you've been thinking about ditching your glasses or contacts, you might be wondering: Is now a good time for LASIK surgery? Is there a "best age?" Should you wait until your prescription stops changing? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-lasik-age-eligibility-recovery.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:40:01 EDT news694947541 Understanding how the brain works requires more than studying single regions in isolation. The cerebral cortex depends on long-distance connections that link specialized areas into coordinated networks. But scientists have had limited tools for selectively turning these specific connections "on" or "off" in animal models that most closely resemble the human brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-brain-method-neural-pathway-communication.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:00:03 EDT news693836101 Researchers have discovered an antioxidant, glutathione, that cancer cells appear to be "addicted to" as fuel, opening new pathways for investigation and a potential drug that can restrict the way tumors use this nutrient. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-antioxidant-unexpected-food-source-tumors.html Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:00:12 EDT news692960821 A novel team approach founded on a culture change among clinicians and doctor-patient communication successfully reduced post-surgical opioid use, a new study led by University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) researchers shows. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-team-approach-interventions-major-reduction.html Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:29:46 EDT news692274444 Twenty years. That's how long Robert Oman has been cancer-free, thanks to a clinical trial offered at the University of Rochester's Wilmot Cancer Institute. And he isn't alone: 70% of patients in the trial who had advanced-stage follicular lymphoma survived at least 15 years after completing a standard treatment regimen of immunotherapy and a chemotherapy combination, known as CHOP. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-twenty-years-cancer-free-story.html Sun, 01 Mar 2026 16:00:03 EST news691410886 Scientists may have new answers to why pop-ups or notifications grab our attention. Turns out our attention is on a cycle, shifting seven to 10 times per second. This rhythmic occurrence may be crucial for survival, as it prevents us from becoming overly focused on one thing in our environment. It could help us to see a car backing up in a parking lot while we search for where we parked, or to duck to avoid a low-hanging tree branch on a walk while watching a kid ride a bike. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-frequently-distracted-brain-rhythms-blame.html Wed, 25 Feb 2026 19:20:01 EST news691260002 Brain fog is a term people use to describe a group of cognitive symptoms, including trouble concentrating, slower thinking, forgetfulness, and feeling mentally worn out. People experiencing brain fog often recognize that their thinking should feel sharper, which adds to the frustration. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-brain-fog.html Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:38:39 EST news690114601 What's safe, what's not, and when to get your OB involved. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-medications-safe-pregnancy.html Thu, 29 Jan 2026 10:51:34 EST news688906262 In a basic science study last year, researchers discovered that taurine, available in energy drinks and as a supplement, feeds the growth of leukemia stem cells. A new study recently published by the same Wilmot Cancer Institute team expands that work and suggests that as taurine fuels leukemia, it becomes less available for other normal cells and may result in weaker bones in mice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-taurine-fuels-leukemia-impact-bone.html Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:45:56 EST news688653863 Historically, marginalized children would benefit from better connection to specialists https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-specialty-children-uncontrolled-asthma.html Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:40:02 EST news688217941 Though the U.S. population is aging, nursing home capacity has declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic began. According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine this week, one quarter of U.S. counties experienced declines of 15% or more, with the greatest declines reported in rural areas. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-decline-nursing-home-capacity-covid.html Fri, 16 Jan 2026 08:15:36 EST news687773702 Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors age faster than their peers who did not have cancer, according to a new study, which also describes how accelerated aging occurs both at the cellular level and in brain function, such as memory, attention, and ability to process information. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-young-cancer-survivors-faster-aging.html Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:00:59 EST news687020413 More than 7 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, and two-thirds of them are women, according to the Alzheimer's Association. The O'Banion Lab at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester has long been studying this disease and is looking more closely at the differences between male and female brains. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-brain-immune-cells-females-males.html Tue, 30 Dec 2025 06:45:20 EST news686299455 People aged 80 and older with a common type of lymphoma can take a half-dose of chemotherapy and be cured or significantly extend their survivorship with fewer toxic side effects, a new study shows. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-chemotherapy-lymphoma-patients-80s.html Wed, 17 Dec 2025 15:20:01 EST news685199482 Children who grow up in farming communities have long been known to develop far fewer allergies than their urban peers. A new study from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), offers one possible reason why: their immune systems may mature faster, and breast milk appears to play an important supporting role. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-farm-families-earlier-immune-maturation.html Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:46:23 EST news684668761 A new national analysis shows that over the past two decades, inpatient care for children with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) has become far more intensive—and is now overwhelmingly concentrated in urban teaching children's hospitals. The authors argue that these shifts necessitate changes in pediatric training, staffing, and Medicaid policy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-complexity-pediatric-patients-reshaping-hospital.html Tue, 02 Dec 2025 11:00:01 EST news683809861 The national shortage of primary care physicians has been a concern for years, and a new study in the Annals of Family Medicine underscores how urgent the problem is and where the biggest pain point lies: in rural parts of the country that are seeing the largest population spikes in nearly a century. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-physician-shortage-rural-worsened-reveals.html Mon, 24 Nov 2025 17:00:04 EST news683198431 A new, inexpensive urine test that measures two sugar alcohols, sorbitol and xylitol, is making it easier, faster, and far less expensive to identify a common inherited nerve disorder called SORD-related neuropathy. The test, developed through a partnership that includes the University of Rochester, Mayo Clinic, and the Clinic for Special Children in Pennsylvania, can detect people that some genetic tests miss and could speed access to emerging treatments and trials. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-simple-clarity-families-inherited-neuropathy.html Mon, 17 Nov 2025 14:43:05 EST news682612982 Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) is the most common germ to afflict humans, and one of the most damaging: it causes diseases like osteomyelitis (bone infection), endocarditis (heart inflammation), and skin infections that trigger devastating health consequences, including septic shock and death. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-protein-clues-crippling-bone-infections.html Wed, 12 Nov 2025 11:55:05 EST news682170902 Reaching for CBD-infused lotion or oil may seem like a low-risk way to find pain relief, but little is actually known about the impact that CBD has on the nervous system. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-nano-encapsulated-cbd-potential-pain.html Fri, 07 Nov 2025 11:00:06 EST news681724861 Batten disease is a rare inherited condition that affects brain development and function. CLN3 disease is the most common type of this disease. The symptoms are life-changing. They usually begin between the ages of four and seven. Children will experience vision loss, problems with cognition, movement, seizures, and difficulties with speech. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-sex-age-batten-disease-brainwave.html Thu, 06 Nov 2025 15:23:03 EST news681664981 Lung cancer screening might be the best-kept secret in health care today. Only about 16% of those who are eligible in the U.S. get screened for lung cancer, but a study appearing in NEJM Catalyst provides a roadmap for how health systems can improve those numbers. The study details how the UR Medicine primary care network reached a nearly 72% lung cancer screening rate. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-lung-cancer-screening-multidisciplinary.html Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:00:01 EDT news679677895 Experts from the University of Rochester's Eastman Institute for Oral Health underscore the safety, effectiveness, and enduring public health benefits of community water fluoridation in a commentary published in The Journal of the American Dental Association. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-community-fluoridation-experts-debunk-myths.html Tue, 14 Oct 2025 11:30:01 EDT news679658858 In a new JAMA Viewpoint, Lainie Friedman Ross, MD, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Health Humanities and Bioethics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and Mark Navin, Ph.D., chair of Philosophy at Oakland University, argue that America's vaccine policy demands a new approach. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-middle-ground-framework-vaccine-policy.html Wed, 01 Oct 2025 11:00:17 EDT news678526021 What happens when you listen to speech at a different speed? Neuroscientists thought that your brain may turn up its processing speed as well. But it turns out that at least the auditory part of the brain keeps "listening" or clocking in at a fixed time. That is the key finding of new research appearing in Nature Neuroscience. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-millisecond-windows-key.html Thu, 18 Sep 2025 05:00:01 EDT news677343601 New research has demonstrated that a combined regimen of growth hormone and testosterone is safe, well-tolerated, and is associated with meaningful improvements in muscle mass, strength, and mobility for men living with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Researchers believe that this regimen could benefit patients with other forms of muscular dystrophy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-hormone-combination-strength-function-fshd.html Mon, 08 Sep 2025 16:15:04 EDT news676566901 The genetic disorder Fragile X syndrome occurs when individuals don't make the Fragile X protein known as FMRP. Essential for normal brain development, FMRP helps control when and where proteins are made in the brain, supporting its ability to change and adapt in response to things we experience and the environment around us. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-fragile-syndrome-cellular-molecular-cognitive.html Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:21:05 EDT news675591661 Making a smoothie, going for an evening walk, or having empathy for a loved one are all examples of executive functions that are controlled by the brain's frontal cortex. This area of the brain goes through profound change throughout adolescence, and it is during this time that abnormalities in maturing circuits can set the stage for neurodevelopmental disorders, such as schizophrenia and ADHD. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-immune-cells-brain-adolescent-neural.html Tue, 26 Aug 2025 17:01:04 EDT news675446462 A cardiac device trial published in eClinicalMedicine shows that improving enrollment of females in such trials can better guide care for all patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-females-cardiac-device-trials-benefit.html Mon, 25 Aug 2025 13:10:06 EDT news675345604