https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. For highly aggressive types of blood cancer, stem cell transplantation is often the only potentially curative therapy, yet even after a transplant, these cancers often return. Now a clinical trial, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, shows that a stem cell transplant in which the donor cells have been genetically engineered to remove a particular protein helps prevent toxic side effects and potentially improves the effectiveness of therapies given after a transplant to help prevent cancer recurrence. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-gene-stem-cell-transplant-aggressive.html Tue, 12 May 2026 05:00:08 EDT news697735621 A team led by metabolism researcher Prof Timo D. Müller at Helmholtz Munich has developed a new approach for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes: a hybrid molecule uses the well-known GLP-1/GIP signaling pathway as a "door opener" and delivers an additional metabolic modulator specifically into the target cells. In laboratory experiments, mice subsequently ate less, lost more weight, and showed improved blood-glucose values compared with reference treatments. The researchers published their preclinical results in the journal Nature. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-molecule-effects-drug-concept-obesity.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:00:05 EDT news696690841 Genetic modification of viruses has long been used as a strategy to treat and prevent different types of diseases. Specifically, it consists of exploiting certain characteristics of viruses that make them suitable tools for making vaccines or for recognizing and attacking specific cells (e.g., tumor cells). This requires space within the viral genome to load the necessary genetic tools without compromising the survival of the virus or affecting the capabilities that are to be exploited. Since the viral genome is very compact, being able to genetically modify it effectively is a major genetic engineering challenge. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-unexplored-vaccinia-genome-regions-therapeutic.html Wed, 18 Feb 2026 16:56:51 EST news690656161 Mount Sinai researchers have identified a cellular mechanism linking infections from influenza A viruses (IAVs) to cardiovascular disease, providing critical insights on how influenza can damage the heart and increase the risk of a heart attack or other major cardiovascular event. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-flu-season-strain-heart-mrna.html Mon, 09 Feb 2026 11:00:05 EST news689593021 University of Oklahoma researchers have created a new drug delivery system that helps cancer cells take in much more of a treatment, improving its ability to kill tumors. The findings are published in Science Advances. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-trojan-horse-delivery-gold-nanoparticles.html Thu, 05 Feb 2026 07:00:06 EST news689493029 Scientists are calling for urgent action on free-living amoebas—a little-known group of microbes that could pose a growing global health threat. Here's what you need to know. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-scientists-urgent-action-amoebas.html Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:29:56 EST news689423341 In the quest to cure Alzheimer's, the protein known as beta-amyloid has long taken center stage, driving development of a long list of drugs aimed at breaking up amyloid plaques in the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-alzheimer-protein-neurodegenerative-tauopathies.html Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:24:44 EST news689423042 Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed an experimental immunotherapy that takes an unconventional approach to metastatic cancer: instead of going after cancer cells directly, it targets the cells that protect them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-experimental-car-therapy-tumor-immune.html Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:19:13 EST news688310281 A research team led by Professor Chen Peng from the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at Peking University has developed a novel cancer immunotherapy strategy that forces tumors to expose themselves to the immune system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-immune-evasion-cancer-vaccine-strategy.html Tue, 13 Jan 2026 19:40:02 EST news687526740 Six people have died and 25 have been hospitalized across 18 states from illness caused by food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes since an outbreak linked to precooked meals was first reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July 2025. Listeriosis is the third-leading cause of death from food poisoning in this country, and it's particularly dangerous for people who are over 65, pregnant, or immune compromised. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-listeria-outbreak.html Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:48:06 EST news683286482 Cancer-fighting antibody drugs are designed to penetrate tumor cells and release a lethal payload deep within, but too often they don't make it that far. A new study shows how this Trojan Horse strategy works better by exploiting calcium differences outside and inside cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-calcium-sensitive-boosts-efficacy-cancer.html Tue, 25 Nov 2025 05:20:09 EST news683270399 The malignant pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma is driven by proteins deep within the cancer cells, for which there are often no effective drugs available. Researchers at Uppsala University have identified a new genetic technique that enables targeting of tumor cells with elevated levels of such proteins. The technique could be used to eliminate cells responsible for tumor relapse. The hope is to develop an effective drug against recurrence of this disease within a few years. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-genetic-technique-enable-precision-treatment.html Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:10:06 EST news682002602 Everyone knows that the fall brings flu season, replete with aches, pains and a new version of the vaccine. But why is cold weather synonymous with this virus? Virologist and William & Mary Associate Professor of Biology Kurt Williamson recently talked with W&M News on the science behind this pathogen and hypotheses for why infections have a seasonal spike. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-qa-flu-hardest-fall-winter.html Tue, 04 Nov 2025 11:24:05 EST news681477842 In a preclinical study, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists have developed a highly targeted gene therapy that could revolutionize treatment for cancers linked to a common herpesvirus, with minimal side effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-genetic-trojan-horse-cancer-cells.html Wed, 01 Oct 2025 15:18:04 EDT news678550681 Republican support for in vitro fertilization, after surging in the wake of a 2024 Alabama Supreme Court decision that threatened the procedure, may be splintering as President Donald Trump retreats from his IVF promises and more far-right voices gain ground. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-republicans-spar-ivf-obscure-maha.html Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:40:01 EDT news676109897 Researchers at Columbia Engineering have built a cancer therapy that makes bacteria and viruses work as a team. In a study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering, the Synthetic Biological Systems Lab shows how their system hides a virus inside a tumor-seeking bacterium, smuggles it past the immune system, and unleashes it inside cancerous tumors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-bioengineered-platform-bacteria-viruses-tumors.html Fri, 15 Aug 2025 11:49:05 EDT news674477342 A new study published in Nanotechnology offers new hope for less harmful breast cancer therapy by combining two powerful, non-invasive cancer treatments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-07-dual-action-therapy-combines-iron.html Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:09:30 EDT news672487765 It is estimated that more than 5 million people worldwide suffer from ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammation of the colon that often progresses in stages whose causes have not yet been fully investigated. A new international study with the participation of researchers from the Medical University of Graz and the University of Graz has now yielded groundbreaking findings regarding the development of this disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-chronic-inflammation-ulcerative-colitis.html Mon, 19 May 2025 10:20:04 EDT news666868801 A new cancer drug called trastuzumab deruxtecan, also known as Enhertu, has just been approved in the UK. This drug is designed to help adults with certain types of advanced cancer that cannot be removed by surgery, or which has spread to other parts of the body. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04-enhertu-drug-uk-advanced-cancers.html Tue, 15 Apr 2025 13:45:04 EDT news663943501 At night, Alex Mercado could feel the walls closing in. The 28-year-old living in Dallas, far from his family in Ciudad Juarez, struggled with insomnia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-ulysses-syndrome-immigrants.html Thu, 13 Mar 2025 08:40:01 EDT news661071389 Antimalarial drug resistance is a pressing issue in combating the spread of malaria worldwide. In a new study, researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have discovered a key process where malarial parasites take up a human blood cell enzyme, which could provide a new approach for antimalarial treatment. The findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide new insights into how to design drugs that more effectively treat patients affected by this devastating infectious disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-trojan-horse-approach-enable-antimalarial.html Wed, 05 Mar 2025 16:10:06 EST news660413401 Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest of all cancers. Only 12% of men diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are alive five years after diagnosis; for women it is 14%. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-01-effective-treatment-deadly-pancreatic-cancer.html Tue, 21 Jan 2025 14:35:04 EST news656692501 In patients with high-risk HER2-positive breast cancer, post-surgery, or adjuvant, treatment with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) reduced the long-term risk of death or invasive disease by 46% and improved survival compared to trastuzumab alone, according to the final results of the Phase III KATHERINE clinical trial led by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-01-phase-iii-trial-trastuzumab-emtansine.html Wed, 15 Jan 2025 17:00:01 EST news656156581 Scientists have developed new potential therapies that selectively remove aggregated tau proteins, which are associated with Alzheimer's disease, and improve symptoms of neurodegeneration in mice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-therapy-destroys-tau-tangles-alzheimer.html Fri, 13 Sep 2024 11:00:02 EDT news645435554 In a study published in the Journal of Oral Microbiology, ADA Forsyth scientists found that FP 100 (Hygromycin A), a first-in-class, small molecule, narrow-spectrum antibiotic, successfully eradicates Fusobacterium nucleatum without harming the oral or gut microbiomes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-narrow-spectrum-antibiotic-successfully-fusobacterium.html Wed, 04 Sep 2024 13:14:55 EDT news644674491 Scientists at Southwest Research Institute have developed a new screening method to identify drug formulations that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), to facilitate treatment of brain diseases and conditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-screening-method-blood-brain-barrier.html Thu, 22 Aug 2024 16:45:03 EDT news643563901 A new study has revealed important information about how a patient's testosterone level can help protect them from severe COVID-19. Previous research involving Swansea University investigated how sex hormones are likely to be important determinants of COVID-19 severity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-experts-proof-role-testosterone-plays.html Fri, 09 Aug 2024 10:27:51 EDT news642418067 New research led by The George Institute for Global Health and published today in Appetite, found that more than half (56%) of Australian teenagers aged 15–17 surveyed agreed zero alcohol products looked appealing, and said the packaging was attractive (54%). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-australian-teenagers-alcohol-free-products.html Tue, 16 Jul 2024 12:35:21 EDT news640352119 Sneaking by cancer's defenses, by disguising tumor-fighting antibodies inside the molecules cancer uses to nourish tumor growth, is the basis of a novel therapy from Yale Cancer Center researchers at the Yale School of Medicine (YSM). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-scientists-potential-stealth-cancer-therapy.html Tue, 16 Jul 2024 09:13:04 EDT news640339982 Varicella zoster virus (VZV) can cause chickenpox, as well as shingles and severe complications. When one comes into contact with VZV for the first time, the virus enters the body through the airways, reaching the mucous membranes in the nasopharynx and adjacent lymphatic tissues, from where VZV infects T lymphocytes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-07-seemingly-paradoxical-strategy-varicella-zoster.html Fri, 12 Jul 2024 08:54:03 EDT news639993242