https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. As travelers prepare to set off on summer trips, scorching temperatures lie in wait. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-stay-safe-extreme.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:20:05 EDT news700149772 Researchers found postoperative delirium was strongly associated with long-term cognitive decline and the effect was not explained by rehospitalizations, highlighting the long-term impact of delirium on brain health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-delirium-surgery-strong-predictor-cognitive.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:00:06 EDT news699884881 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 New research shows that among people at clinical high risk for psychosis, cannabis and tobacco co-use was associated with lower cognitive performance compared to healthy controls. The novel study appearing in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging fills a critical gap in research, providing clinicians and scientists with vital new insights into the risks associated with cannabis and tobacco co-use and the potential impact on vulnerable adolescents. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-cannabis-tobacco-linked-brain-adolescents.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:00:01 EDT news699624183 MIT engineers have developed a noninvasive pacemaker that stimulates the heart using ultrasound. The design could one day provide a surgery-free alternative to traditional cardiac implants. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-ultrasound-based-pacemaker-noninvasively-steadies.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:00:08 EDT news699618423 Virtually every living thing on Earth, from Patagonian penguins to newborn human babies, has been touched by the synthetic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a sample of human blood, tissue, or breast milk without detectable levels of at least one type of PFAS. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-pfas-fingerprints-blood-clues.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:00:01 EDT news699528902 The largest and most comprehensive study of memory and cognition in new parents has found no evidence for "baby brain" in mums and dads. New mums often complain about having "baby brain," where memory and cognition become vague and unreliable. Now a Monash University study—the largest ever done comparing cognitive ability in new mums and dads—has unequivocally found no evidence that "baby brain" reflects underlying problems with cognition that result from becoming a parent. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-baby-brain-myth-parents-cognition.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:40:10 EDT news699529307 Researchers have discovered how part of the body's immune system could better combat a leading cause of death for people with cystic fibrosis (CF). A team led by The University of Queensland's Professor Peter Sly and Dr. Abdullah Tarique has identified how macrophages—the white blood cells that fight infection in the body—function differently in people with CF, compared to others. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-pac-cells-deadly-infection-people.html Tue, 26 May 2026 08:40:03 EDT news699002822 Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in behavior, social interactions, communication, and sensory perceptions. Some autistic individuals find communicating and connecting with others more challenging than others, yet how these differences in social functioning emerge remains poorly understood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-autism-social-differences-emerge-early.html Wed, 20 May 2026 07:40:01 EDT news698420043 Millions of people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease each year, comprising 60% to 70% of dementia cases worldwide. While cognitive impairment and structural brain changes are indicative of Alzheimer's disease progression, the process to accurately predict who will develop Alzheimer's is time-consuming and requires a variety of techniques, including brain imaging, blood biomarkers, and neurocognitive testing by a neuropsychologist. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-baseline-mri-ai-alzheimer-cognitive.html Mon, 18 May 2026 16:20:06 EDT news698337001 Diabetic ulcers, which occur in patients with diabetes, are dangerous complications that can lead to amputation if the treatment window is missed. A research team has developed a wireless, battery-free optoelectronic multi-modal sensor patch for diabetic ulcer management. It can monitor wound conditions in real time. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-real-diagnostic-smart-patch-diabetic.html Thu, 14 May 2026 11:50:12 EDT news697978141 University of California, Irvine researchers have invented a wearable, wireless, battery-free, bioelectronic sensor to monitor users' health by analyzing molecular biomarkers in human sweat. The device is called the In-Situ Regeneratable, Environmentally Stable, Multimodal, Wireless, Wearable Molecular Sweat Sensing System, or IREM-W2MS3, and is described in a study published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-wearable-sensor-multiple-biomarkers-days.html Wed, 13 May 2026 15:51:33 EDT news697906218 Researchers at the TechMed Center of the University of Twente have built a swallowable soft robot that samples stomach fluid and measures acidity in real time. The robot has no battery, chip, nor any other electronics. Health care workers can move it with a handheld magnet, while it glides through the stomach like a penguin on its belly. The researchers published their work May 8 in Science Advances. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-robotic-penguin-endoscopy-optional.html Mon, 11 May 2026 08:35:59 EDT news697707326 Experiences of cognitive problems such as memory loss or difficulty concentrating, known as "brain fog," may not predict relapse in depression, according to a new study that has confounded researchers' expectations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-cognition-higher-relapse-depression-remission.html Thu, 07 May 2026 08:00:05 EDT news697357921 Researchers from National Jewish Health have conducted what is believed to be the largest systematic review of silicosis in mineral miners. Silicosis is an irreversible lung disease caused by the inhalation of respirable (breathable) crystalline silica dust, and—while preventable—it is not treatable and can be disabling. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-disease-global-pits-demand-critical.html Tue, 05 May 2026 16:00:06 EDT news697214461 Breast cancer impacts over two million women around the world each year. Following radiotherapy or chemotherapy, breast-conserving surgery is the first line of intervention for early-stage breast cancer. This surgery aims to remove the tumor while preserving as much of the healthy tissue as possible, but since precise tumor mapping during surgery is challenging, sometimes the tumor is not fully extracted. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-held-cancer-probe-surgeons-tumors.html Tue, 05 May 2026 11:40:01 EDT news697198797 Medical imaging devices such as endoscopes transmit their data via cables to monitors and hospital information systems. In collaboration with partners, Fraunhofer researchers in the OWIMED project are working to make data cables superfluous in the operating room of the future. The project team has developed a prototype for an endoscope that uses light to transmit the images from a laparoscopic procedure in the abdominal cavity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-powered-link-wireless-endoscope-stream.html Mon, 04 May 2026 13:20:06 EDT news697112101 A research team led by Prof. Jerald Yoo from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University (SNU) has developed a skin-conformal wearable health care system, "SkinECG," capable of measuring electrocardiogram (ECG) signals without a battery. By combining energy harvesting with human body–coupled power transfer, the study presents a new solution to one of the most critical challenges in wearable devices: power supply. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-battery-free-skin-conformal-wearable.html Fri, 01 May 2026 14:00:04 EDT news696851821 Led by researchers from Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University and the University of California, San Francisco (U.S.), an international team has evaluated a novel approach for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. The method enables detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis without laboratory infrastructure, within a markedly shorter time frame than conventional diagnostics, and using a simple swab. The test demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy as well as feasibility for use by minimally trained personnel. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-swab-paves-tuberculosis-diagnosis.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:40:01 EDT news696774242 It's revision season. If you're a student preparing for upcoming exams, you might be tempted to put aside sport or other physical activity for a while in order to dedicate more time to learning. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-exams-boost.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:00:06 EDT news696764641 Drugs to treat tuberculosis have been around for more than 75 years, yet it remains the world's top infectious disease killer. A big obstacle has been testing. It's either inaccurate—missing up to half of all cases—or requires expensive laboratories that are not widely available in the countries where most people with TB live. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-handheld-tb-lab-accuracy-minutes.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 17:00:09 EDT news696670441 Vanderbilt researchers led by Xiaoguang Dong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, have developed a novel device that can be used remotely to continuously monitor the airway stents of patients with diseases like lung cancer. The research was published in Science Advances on April 15, with Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. student Yusheng Wang as the first author and co-authors from Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Texas A&M University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-battery-free-airway-device-stent.html Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:40:04 EDT news696512941 Erectile disorder (ED) refers to a persistent difficulty achieving or maintaining an erection sufficient for satisfying sexual activity. It affects millions of men worldwide, including up to 1 in 4 in the United States. Beyond physical functioning, erectile difficulties can impact sexual confidence, self-esteem, relationship satisfaction, and quality of life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-erectile-disorder-science-viagra.html Sun, 26 Apr 2026 10:30:02 EDT news696163102 More than 207,000 pairs of 32 Degrees heated socks are being pulled from shelves after users reported burns linked to the product, according to a notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-socks-sold-costco-recalled.html Fri, 24 Apr 2026 13:40:01 EDT news696255961 Yale School of Medicine (YSM) researchers have tested a new and potentially more sensitive neuroimaging tool for diagnosing behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). They reported their findings on April 9 in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-dementia-neuroimaging-technique.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:40:02 EDT news695558822 Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes tremors, body stiffness and other difficulties with movement and balance, which progressively worsen over time. While there is currently no cure for PD, one treatment that has proved promising for alleviating symptoms of the disorder is deep brain stimulation (DBS). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-imaging-deep-brain-parkinson-disease.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 13:00:02 EDT news694090157 A rare group of neurons can reconnect broken spinal circuits and trigger leg muscle activity after spinal cord injury—a discovery that could help refine future stem-cell therapies for paralysis. The findings, published in Nature Communications, show that certain neurons derived from transplanted neural stem cells can integrate into the spinal cord's motor networks and relay signals to muscles responsible for walking. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-rare-graft-neurons-reconnect-spinal.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:00:01 EDT news694103095 A new study from the University of Chicago taps an ingredient most often used in the lithium-ion batteries that power our devices to open new avenues in biomedical technology. Lithium plays vital roles in the body, but taking it orally can have unwanted side effects—so a pair of UChicago chemistry labs teamed up to find a way to deliver lithium only to the exact places where it's needed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-battery-tech-tissue-lithium-ions.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:20:05 EDT news694100761 Implanting living cells as long-term drug producers could transform treatment for numerous diseases, but it is difficult to house the tiny workers in quantities high enough to ensure dosage needs are met while also keeping the cells alive and thriving. Researchers at Rice University and collaborators at Carnegie Mellon University and Northwestern University have now successfully integrated solutions to several persistent challenges to implantable drug factories into a single device. According to a new study, the Hybrid Oxygenation Bioelectronics system for Implanted Therapy, or HOBIT, shields a sufficient number of cells from the host immune system in a comfortably small volume while also providing access to oxygen and nutrients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-oxygen-problem-cell-based-drug.html Sat, 28 Mar 2026 12:10:02 EDT news693834809 The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging countries to move faster to detect and treat one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases: tuberculosis (TB). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-guidance-aims-tuberculosis.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 22:50:03 EDT news693753147