https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. An unexpected lab observation has led a team of scientists to discover how diet can influence survival in animal models of glioma, one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children's Hospital and collaborating institutions report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences how limiting a single nutrient, the amino acid methionine, in the diet destabilized DNA organization and led to cancer cell death and increased animal survival. These findings open new possibilities for treating one of the most challenging forms of brain cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-diet-remodels-chromatin-survival-glioma.html Wed, 10 Jun 2026 18:20:08 EDT news700329661 For patients diagnosed with IDH-mutant glioma, an incurable brain tumor that often affects adults in their 30s and 40s, treatment typically works at first. However, the cancer almost always returns, and when it does, it frequently stops responding to treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-recurring-brain-tumors-paths-revealing.html Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:40:01 EDT news700234797 Our brain prepares the body for an incoming meal before we even take the first bite. The aroma of food simmering on the stove, for instance, can trigger the brain to send signals to the pancreas, which in turn releases insulin into the bloodstream. A new Nature Metabolism study reveals how a key group of neurons helps mediate this process. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-brain-mechanism-reveals-food-aroma.html Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:40:07 EDT news700234239 When heart cells burn fat without normal metabolic controls, they can deplete a lipid needed to keep mitochondria functioning properly, according to a study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, identify a mechanism linking disrupted energy metabolism to heart failure and point to potential strategies for earlier intervention. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-disrupted-metabolism-linked-heart-failure.html Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:20:02 EDT news700228982 By their nature, cancer cells have different nutritional needs than healthy cells. "Cancer cells have a distinct metabolism," said Gary Patti, the Michael and Tana Powell Professor of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis and a professor of genetics and medicine at WashU Medicine. Cancer cells are also ravenous eaters. Patti is trying to turn their hunger against them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-cancer-cells-hunger-reveal-ways.html Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:50:01 EDT news700233797 An international research team, led by Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU), the Institute for Lung Health (ILH) in Giessen, and the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, has identified a promising mechanism for combating lung cancer. The researchers discovered that a specific endogenous metabolic process can induce the immune system to directly attack tumor cells and stop their growth. This opens new avenues for targeted therapies. The results have been published in the journal Cell Metabolism. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-metabolic-lung-cancer-reprograms-immune.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:20:06 EDT news700156441 Chromosomal instability is a common feature in many solid tumors and is associated with greater aggressiveness. For years, its main contribution to cancer was thought to be driving the evolution of tumor genomes, causing cells to gain chromosomes with growth-promoting genes or lose chromosomes with tumor-suppressor genes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-tumors-healthy-neighboring-cells-reveals.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 16:20:01 EDT news699875179 Creatine, the organic acid that is popularly taken as a supplement by athletes and bodybuilders, supercharges a critical class of immune cells that activate and prepare the body's key cancer-fighters, according to new UCLA research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-creatine-supercharge-immune-cells-key.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:00:02 EDT news699881579 Published in Nature, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center report a previously unrecognized change in how the cell's genetic material is packaged into structures called chromosomes that helps explain how some aggressive cancers sustain unlimited growth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-unexpected-chromosome-interaction-fuels-aggressive.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:00:14 EDT news699608341 Cancer researchers highlighted several treatment breakthroughs during their annual summit in Chicago that concluded Tuesday, including preliminary but encouraging data on potential benefits of weight loss medications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-cancer-advances-emerging-treatments.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 04:04:34 EDT news699678172 A novel pill helped people with advanced pancreatic cancer live longer, researchers reported Sunday, raising hopes of long-needed better treatments for one of the deadliest types of cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-experimental-pill-deadly-pancreatic-cancer.html Sun, 31 May 2026 16:14:47 EDT news699462826 Oncologists have discovered that lung cancer cells can change their identity to resist treatment. Research published in Molecular Oncology reveals how lung cancer cells can become more aggressive and harder to treat by reactivating a process involved in early lung development. The paper is titled "Developmental programmes drive cellular plasticity, disease progression and therapy resistance in lung adenocarcinoma." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-lung-cancer-cells-revert-identity.html Wed, 27 May 2026 13:40:01 EDT news699100202 For most children diagnosed with medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor, survival rates are encouraging. But for a subset, remission is not the end of the story. Roughly 30% of patients will see their cancer return, and once it does, outcomes are often devastating. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-blocking-cancer-pathways-curb-medulloblastoma.html Tue, 26 May 2026 16:00:06 EDT news699029432 As women navigate hot flashes, sleep issues and changing waistlines, there's another quieter change that can often occur during perimenopause and post-menopause that deserves just as much attention: heart health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-hot-menopause-heart.html Tue, 26 May 2026 09:20:01 EDT news699005281 For many people living with HIV, today's treatments can suppress the virus and dramatically improve health. But even when HIV is controlled, damage to the gut caused by the disease can persist, fueling chronic inflammation linked to serious health problems. A new Tulane University study published in JCI Insight helps explain why. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-broccoli-compounds-hiv-linked-gut.html Mon, 25 May 2026 14:20:01 EDT news698933282 While many American adults are trying to reduce cholesterol levels, certain cancerous tumors have a relentless appetite for the metabolite. Some tumor cells use as much cholesterol as they can access to accelerate their growth beyond the capabilities of normal cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-cholesterol-craving-cancers-lipid-enzymes.html Fri, 22 May 2026 14:00:07 EDT news698676749 Real-world data show that GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) may reduce metastatic progression of certain obesity-related cancers, namely lung, breast, colorectal, and liver cancers. In addition, GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) expression was associated with overall survival, suggesting that GLP-1 signaling could be involved in the progression of these cancers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ozempic-glp-ras-cancers.html Fri, 22 May 2026 08:20:03 EDT news698648401 Scientists at the Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience (SBIMB) at Wits University are exploring whether bacteria in saliva could offer a low-cost warning signal for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, where late diagnosis leaves palliative care as the only option. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-saliva-flag-deadliest-baffling-cancers.html Wed, 20 May 2026 11:40:06 EDT news698494321 Despite impressive innovations in medicine, most advanced-stage cancers still carry a grim prognosis. Developing more effective treatments requires a deeper understanding of the cellular processes that drive the formation and growth of common cancers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-drug-hard-cancers.html Wed, 20 May 2026 07:20:08 EDT news698479718 Researchers at Georgetown's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a mechanism that may help explain a key reason why older people experience worse outcomes from breast cancer. The study implicates RAGE (Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products), a cell surface receptor that amplifies inflammatory signaling, and which also becomes increasingly active with metastatic progression. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-breast-cancer-deadly-age.html Fri, 15 May 2026 06:00:02 EDT news697973341 Friendly skin bacteria could hold the key to stopping eczema in its tracks, according to a breakthrough by a team of UK and Japanese scientists. Their new study reveals harmless microbes living on our skin release powerful molecules that can shut down the inflammatory chaos triggered by Staphylococcus aureus, the bug long known to wreak havoc in eczema. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-friendly-skin-bacteria-inflammatory-driver.html Thu, 14 May 2026 11:03:28 EDT news697975322 A study published in the journal Scientific Reports has shown a strong correlation between the concentration of particulate matter in the air of São Paulo, Brazil—primarily emitted by vehicle fuel combustion—and kidney disease. The study estimated the risk of hospitalization for three kidney conditions based on the levels of this type of air pollution from 2011 to 2021. Men across different age groups were found to be at the highest risk of hospitalization. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-fine-particle-pollution-hospitalizations-kidney.html Wed, 13 May 2026 16:16:45 EDT news697907761 A next-generation cancer therapy being developed at McMaster University has shown early promise as a treatment candidate for glioblastoma, the most aggressive and most common type of primary brain cancer in adults. In preclinical research, published in Science Translational Medicine, scientists have shown that the newly developed drug candidate can eliminate deadly glioblastoma tumors, which typically resist standard treatments and often recur rapidly, even after surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-drug-candidate-reprograms-immune-brain.html Wed, 13 May 2026 15:45:50 EDT news697905661 For decades, physicians and scientists thought metformin, the leading type 2 diabetes medication taken by millions worldwide, mainly targets the liver to suppress glucose production. But a new Northwestern University study in mice has found this "wonder drug" instead focuses primarily on the gut, acting to prevent glucose levels rising in the blood by driving glucose utilization inside cells lining the intestine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-metformin-real-power-gut.html Fri, 08 May 2026 05:00:03 EDT news697367583 By 2030, the population in the United States aged 65 and older is expected to reach 71 million or about 20% of Americans. This growth is likely to increase the burden of age-related diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD), affecting about 1 in 9 adults over 65. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-obesity-alzheimer-linked-disease-metabolic.html Tue, 05 May 2026 10:20:04 EDT news697193941 National Eye Institute (NEI) scientists have found that the way the retina metabolizes glucose directly controls which genes get switched on and off in light-sensing photoreceptors. The findings suggest that metabolic disruptions seen in aging and disease may directly destabilize the gene expression needed to keep photoreceptors healthy, opening new avenues for treating retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss. The work is published in PLOS Genetics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-sugar-fuels-sight-glucose-metabolism.html Mon, 04 May 2026 13:40:03 EDT news697117741 If you're over the age of 10, the World Health Organization recommends that you consume at least 25 grams of fiber every day. The best fiber-containing foods come from plants: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-fiber-strong-indigestibility-digestive-healthy.html Mon, 04 May 2026 11:40:01 EDT news697109762 Loss of an enzyme necessary for a process called lipoylation disrupts the way cancer cells copy their DNA, increasing their vulnerability to a class of anticancer drugs known as PARP inhibitors, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-metabolic-cancer-dna-machinery-lethal.html Mon, 04 May 2026 09:20:03 EDT news697103401 Scientists at The Wistar Institute and clinical researchers from ChristianaCare's Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute have discovered a vulnerability in pancreatic cancer that could be targeted as a potential therapy. In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they show how defective mitochondria within cells spark a process that triggers inflammation. They also show how cancer cells become so dependent on this inflammation to grow that without it, they die. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-blocking-cellular-inflammation-result-effective.html Sun, 03 May 2026 08:00:05 EDT news696609713 Blocking energy production pathways in an aggressive type of brain cancer in children could be a promising new therapeutic strategy, according to research in mice by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigators. The paper is published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-blocking-energy-metabolism-aggressive-pediatric.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 19:40:01 EDT news696783181