https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A man in his 30s arrived at the Royal London Major Trauma Centre after what sounded like a relatively minor cycling accident. He had been riding a shared ebike when he lost control and fell. By the time I met him, scans had revealed a complex fracture around his ankle where his shinbone (tibia) had pierced his skin. He would need multiple surgeries to fix his broken bone and grafts for his skin and muscles, followed by many months of rehabilitation and a prolonged period away from work. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-lime-bike-leg-doctors-ebike.html Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:00:03 EDT news700306713 An estimated 80% of the cigarettes smoked in Australia last year were illegal, according to new wastewater data from the Bureau of Statistics. We asked respiratory experts what could be in them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-cigarettes-australia-illegal.html Tue, 09 Jun 2026 20:00:02 EDT news700233152 On April 26, the United States reclassified cannabis from a Schedule I controlled substance, which lacks any medical benefits, to a Schedule III controlled substance, which has accepted medical uses and lower potential for misuse than a Schedule I substance. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-qa-expert-discusses-cannabis.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:40:02 EDT news699878043 Herbal cigarettes, widely sold in India and abroad as natural, tobacco-free, and even therapeutic alternatives to conventional cigarettes, are not safer than regular tobacco cigarettes. They produce emissions that can be comparable or even more damaging than tobacco smoke. That is the conclusion of a new study conducted by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), in collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-natural-nicotine-free-cigarettes-hazards.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:00:01 EDT news699522841 Dental implants have given tens of millions of people something dentures never could: a full set of fixed and fully functioning teeth. Unfortunately, 10% to 20% of implant patients eventually experience an aggressive jawbone infection called peri-implantitis. Antibiotics usually fail to stop the infection for reasons that researchers have not understood until now. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-titanium-particles-antibiotics-dental-implant.html Thu, 28 May 2026 16:00:06 EDT news699199321 Megan Sweet slices tumors. A normal day in the lab finds the Virginia Tech graduate student with hands deep inside a refrigerated metal box, pulling a mounted mouse-grown tumor incrementally closer to a razor-sharp blade. "It's all about fine tuning and making sure it's going to be an even slice," said Sweet, who studies biological sciences. Finally, the blade meets the pinkie nail-sized nub of tissue and slices through it with a rhythmic chunk, chunk, chunk, chunk. "This is the hardest and most time-consuming part," Sweet said. "But it's also kind of meditative." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-cancers-worse.html Mon, 25 May 2026 15:00:04 EDT news698916961 High blood pressure, formally known as hypertension, is a leading cause of heart disease in the United States, impacting nearly half of all adults. Approximately 1 in 10 of these patients experience drug-resistant hypertension that can be difficult to address, but according to researchers at Penn State, tiny devices that gently shock one of the body's most critical arteries could offer effective treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-stretchy-implants-arteries-high-blood.html Fri, 15 May 2026 10:40:01 EDT news698059501 France is mulling how to prevent people from ingesting too much of the heavy metal cadmium, after a warning their breakfast cereal and baguettes could be contaminated with the toxin. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-cadmium-french-toxin-baguettes.html Wed, 13 May 2026 22:40:01 EDT news697905689 Implanting a device into the deep temporal cortex of a mouse without damaging the brain has long been a major challenge in neuroscience research. A team at Meijo University and Dokkyo Medical University has now overcome this barrier with a flexible sheet thinner than a human hair that slides into place without penetrating the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-flexible-neural-sheet-device-deep.html Tue, 12 May 2026 14:00:08 EDT news697809301 Scientists have taken a giant leap forward with the development of tiny microneedles designed to detect subtle but critical changes in how the liver and kidneys process therapeutic drugs. The experimental technology, under development at the University of California, Los Angeles, aims to overcome longstanding limitations that have hindered wearable microneedle biosensors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-gold-coated-microneedles-subtleties-liver.html Fri, 08 May 2026 11:20:01 EDT news697456355 Results from the first randomized trial of Impella pumps during complex stent procedures, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, have shown that the pumps offer no significant benefit to patients compared to standard care. An Impella pump is a miniaturized, catheter-based pump that is inserted through an artery in the leg and designed to take over part of the heart's pumping work to help reduce strain on the heart. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-benefit-miniature-heart-complex-stent.html Thu, 07 May 2026 16:50:01 EDT news697390382 Manganese is not a metal most people think much about. Unlike lead or mercury, it has a benign reputation. Small amounts of manganese power enzymes, metabolize nutrients and keep the brain running smoothly. But it's toxic to the brain in excess, producing tremors, muscle stiffness and cognitive decline. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brain-barrier-protein-flush-excess.html Wed, 06 May 2026 16:40:04 EDT news697293060 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 A swarm of tiny, shape-changing, all-metal robots might someday deliver drugs and capture biopsy samples painlessly and then safely dissolve without the need for extraction, according to a study presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2026. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-biodegradable-metal-microrobots-drug-delivery.html Tue, 05 May 2026 00:10:07 EDT news697105141 A new analysis of chemicals in U.S. infant formula found reassuringly low levels of heavy metals, pesticides and other potential contaminants, federal health officials said Wednesday. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-fda-analysis-infant-formula-safe.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 04:23:22 EDT news696741729 When the U.S. Department of Justice moved to reclassify medical marijuana to a Schedule III drug on April 23, 2026, it set the stage for a vast amount of medical research that has been hobbled for decades by its more restrictive Schedule I classification. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-reclassification-marijuana-doors-muchneeded-medical.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:00:08 EDT news696684602 Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have developed soft, flexible sensors that help restore a surgeon's sense of touch during minimally invasive (keyhole) surgery. These procedures allow for faster recovery and less pain, but surgeons lose the ability to feel how much force they are applying through long instruments. This makes it harder to safely handle delicate tissue. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-smart-soft-sensors-surgeons-minimally.html Tue, 28 Apr 2026 18:10:07 EDT news696615601 Counties near coal ash storage facilities are more likely to report higher cancer rates, raising questions about regulation and long-term health risks of such installations, a new study concludes. University of Mississippi public health professor and senior author Kristina Zierold worked with researchers from the University of Louisville on a study that found cancer rates are consistently higher in counties and communities that surround coal ash impoundments. They published their findings in Environmental Geochemistry and Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-coal-ash-sites-linked-elevated.html Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:40:01 EDT news696513241 Wildfire smoke is no longer confined to distant regions. It is increasingly affecting communities throughout the United States, raising urgent questions about air quality, public health, and long-term risk. Researchers at Rutgers University are studying how wildfire smoke affects the body and how to reduce its impact. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-wildfire-health-threat.html Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:20:09 EDT news696498482 Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report that early-life exposure to common environmental metals may influence brain development and behavioral health more than a decade later. The study, published in Science Advances, is the first to combine naturally shed baby teeth with advanced brain imaging to pinpoint specific weeks during pregnancy and infancy when the developing brain appears most vulnerable to environmental exposures. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-baby-teeth-brain-imaging-reveal.html Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:00:06 EDT news696161701 Researchers at City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment organization, and the University of California, Berkeley, have created a novel microfluidic platform that can assess women's breast cancer risk at the cellular level. The first-of-its-kind platform squeezes individual breast epithelial cells, creating a taxing environment to measure how they deform, recover, and behave under stress, according to a new study published in eBioMedicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ai-individual-breast-cells-cancer.html Thu, 23 Apr 2026 19:30:01 EDT news696167581 A gut-lung connection influences susceptibility to infection by Acinetobacter baumannii, a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, according to a new study led by researchers at Vanderbilt Health and the University of Chicago. The investigators found that antibiotics disrupt the gut microbiota (microorganisms that live in the intestines) in an animal model; suppress protective immune system pathways in the lungs; and increase the severity of A. baumannii pneumonia. The findings are reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-disrupted-gut-microbes-weaken-lung.html Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:50:01 EDT news696182822 A new sub-study suggests that using a sirolimus-eluting balloon (SEB), a drug-coated balloon, can reduce the number of stents a patient may need, making it a safe and effective way to treat certain heart attacks or unstable chest pain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-strategy-drug-eluting-stent-heart.html Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:20:04 EDT news696153721 Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), long known as chronic fatigue syndrome, is now recognized as a complex, multi-system disease. However, it remains a medical enigma whose underlying causes are poorly understood, leaving those affected with few effective treatment options. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-glimmer-people-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:20:02 EDT news696072421 Cancer treatments can take a toll on a person's body. A patient's treatment may cause nausea, changes in appetite, taste and smell, diarrhea, or constipation, making it harder to meet their nutritional needs. Fortunately, there are strategies that patients and caregivers can use to cope with these side effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-diet-cancer-treatment.html Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:00:09 EDT news695572618 A study published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry by University of Technology Sydney (UTS) researchers showed that even short-term vaping at exposure levels below typical daily human use resulted in measurable accumulation of toxic metals in lung tissue—including lead, copper and nickel. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-cigarette-devices-expose-users-toxic.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:20:05 EDT news695627041 Air pollution just isn't what it used to be. While levels of lead and sulfur dioxide have dropped due to environmental regulations, other threats to air quality persist. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-limit-health-posed-polluted-air.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:40:02 EDT news695281624 Injectable peptides are the new anti-aging trend sweeping the beauty industry. These compounds are promoted on social media as tools for skin repair, collagen production and "cellular rejuvenation." They are widely available online from overseas sellers, despite many peptides being unregulated in Australia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-peptides-antiaging-trend-evidence-theyre.html Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:00:04 EDT news694950542 Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have developed smart molecules that can both detect and treat cancer, offering a safer and more precise approach to care. The research, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, focuses on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a widely used tool that allows doctors to see tumors inside the body. While MRI agents are commonly used for diagnosis, they do not typically play a role in treatment. The NYU Abu Dhabi team designed molecules that combine both functions in a single system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-smart-mri-molecules-cancer.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:20:03 EDT news694796521 Photodynamic treatment of cancer is based on administering an initially inactive substance that is only activated in the tumor via targeted light irradiation. It then generates reactive oxygen species that kill the cancer cells. However, this method reaches its limits when no oxygen is present, as is the case with many fast-growing tumors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-tumors-independently-oxygen-photodynamic-therapy.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:40:04 EDT news694794061