https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. The Journal of Medical Internet Research released a feature story on the accuracy and utility of consumer wearables that estimate so-called biological age in its News and Perspectives section. In "Sorting Science From Marketing in the Era of Data-Driven Biological Aging Clocks," JMIR Correspondent Jenna Congdon breaks down the gimmick—how biosensor-enabled devices use proxy data to approximate age, the differences between consumer models and research-grade clinical clocks, and how users can best interpret these metrics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-biological-aging-clocks-insights-diagnostics.html Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:20:06 EDT news700306743 Antiretroviral drugs for HIV infection have enabled most people living with the virus to live long and healthy lives. However, a small portion of people experience detectable—and worrisome—traces of the virus that causes AIDS despite strict adherence to long-term treatment regimens and the absence of symptoms. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-defective-hiv-persistent-blood-treatment.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:00:07 EDT news699868442 As we age, our cells acquire cancer-causing mutations, but mutations alone are rarely enough to start a tumor. An environmental trigger, such as exposure to air pollution from sources such as combustion engines, coal burning and cigarette smoke may be needed to tip mutant cells into cancer. Currently, lung cancer screening is offered only to people over a certain age who have previously smoked, missing never-smokers and individuals exposed to high levels of pollutants who may also be at risk of the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-blood-proteins-lung-cancer-years.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:40:01 EDT news699806042 A pioneering clinical trial has successfully enabled two patients with end-stage kidney disease to receive previously improbable kidney transplants. These individuals were considered among the most difficult in the nation to match with a compatible donor kidney due to harmful antibodies they had developed ("sensitized"). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-car-treatment-door-patients-kidney.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:00:05 EDT news699715466 An AI-assisted model based on 71 different blood proteins could help doctors better predict retinal degeneration in diabetic patients before symptoms occur, according to a study published in PLOS Medicine by Huangdong Li from the Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-blood-proteins-flag-diabetic-retinal.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 14:00:01 EDT news699546421 Trace elements are needed only in small amounts, but they can have large effects on the developing brain. A research team led by Niigata University has now reported that copper, an essential trace element, may help connect metabolic changes in the body with white matter development and social behavior in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-copper-imbalance-autism-social-symptoms.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:20:09 EDT news699615241 Different types of liver disease are leading to distinct signatures of muscle loss, according to a new study that could help pave the way for more personalized treatments for sarcopenia in people with end-stage liver disease. The research was led by scientists at the University of Birmingham and published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. The study reveals for the first time that the underlying cause of liver disease shapes how muscle loss develops and how it may respond to treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-muscle-loss-liver-disease-varies.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:40:07 EDT news699531122 Researchers at Monash University and The Alfred are pioneering a method of analyzing blood samples to diagnose concussion in people aged over 60, the world's most at-risk group for the condition. Concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a significant and escalating public health problem, and older adults experience the highest rates related to hospitalizations and deaths. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-blood-samples-uncover-concussion-older.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:40:08 EDT news699531961 A new study has revealed a group of blood proteins that are altered in people who go on to develop multiple sclerosis (MS), in some cases more than a decade before diagnosis. The findings offer hope that a simple blood test could one day identify people at high risk of MS in time to act before damage occurs. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-blood-proteins-flag-multiple-sclerosis.html Sat, 30 May 2026 08:00:01 EDT news699019070 A Mount Sinai-led research team has demonstrated that autoimmunity, in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues, is responsible for the often-debilitating and confounding symptoms of long COVID in a subset of people. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-scientists-validate-link-autoimmunity-covid.html Thu, 28 May 2026 11:00:05 EDT news699120421 With less time and more work, chronic fatigue has become a moniker of modern society. However, this not only reduces the quality of life but also constitutes a social issue that affects work efficiency and leads to accidents. On the surface, the cause of fatigue is often attributed to not getting enough rest, but there may be another underlying issue—the lack of proper nutrition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-chronic-fatigue-plate-blood-marker.html Thu, 28 May 2026 10:00:04 EDT news699179505 The effects of cannabis on the hormonal system and male fertility remain controversial within the scientific community. A study conducted by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), in collaboration with the Swiss Center for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT), provides a new answer by showing that cannabis use does not reduce testosterone levels in young men and may even increase its testicular synthesis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-cannabis-testosterone.html Thu, 28 May 2026 08:40:01 EDT news699175982 Alzheimer's disease (AD) often begins long before it is clinically recognized, with subtle brain changes emerging years before noticeable memory loss or cognitive decline. Among the earliest regions affected are the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, areas essential for spatial navigation. This has led researchers to look beyond memory and explore navigation ability as a potential early indicator of the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-virtual-reality-pathfinding-errors-flag.html Wed, 27 May 2026 13:00:05 EDT news699100082 New research from the University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka has uncovered another clue to potentially identifying Alzheimer's disease early. Using data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study's age 45 assessments, researchers investigated a specific biomarker in blood plasma, ptau181, which has been shown in other studies to be strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease in later life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-early-alzheimer-disease.html Thu, 21 May 2026 09:40:04 EDT news698574062 Alzheimer's disease begins to weave a web in the brain and remodel neuronal tissue 15 to 20 years before the first symptoms appear. From the time this happens, however, until the disease is diagnosed and, later, enters an advanced phase, it progresses along a continuum of changes to the brain. Now, an international team with Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) participation has developed a method for detecting variations in this continuum, which makes it possible to accurately assess the progression of dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-index-uneven-atrophy-brain-regions.html Thu, 21 May 2026 09:20:05 EDT news698572658 A new study from the University of Waterloo uses mathematical modeling to examine how Vitamin C affects chemical reactions in the digestive system that are linked to cancer development. Over the last several decades, North American diets have seen a steady increase in exposure to nitrates and nitrites: compounds found in cured meats as well as fruits and vegetables grown using polluted soil and water. While nitrates and nitrites play important roles in neurological and heart health, in the stomach, they can undergo a chemical reaction known as "nitrosation" and form chemicals that many scientists suspect increase cancer risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-vitamin-cancer-dietary-patterns-quality.html Wed, 20 May 2026 13:20:04 EDT news698499002 A new study by researchers from NHG Health's Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and NTU Singapore Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) has identified blood-based proteomic biomarkers that may help predict who among the at-risk group is at increased risk of developing psychosis. These biomarkers refer to specific patterns of proteins circulating in blood plasma, which reflect underlying biological processes and may provide objective indicators of disease risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-blood-based-markers-psychosis-asian.html Wed, 20 May 2026 12:00:01 EDT news698494441 DZNE researchers have generated new insights into how the human genome shapes the chemical composition and concentration of blood lipids. Across the genome, they identified more than 50 regions whose relevance to lipid metabolism has not been known before. The findings are based on blood samples from more than 8,000 individuals and may provide a better understanding of aging processes and pathological conditions like Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular dysfunctions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-genetics-blood-lipids-unprecedented-precision.html Tue, 19 May 2026 18:20:04 EDT news698428621 The most common white blood cells in your body—immune cells called neutrophils—can make a protein nobody knew they were making, Stanford Medicine investigators have discovered. That unexpected sighting joins a growing list of hints tying schizophrenia, a disorder of the brain, to events occurring elsewhere in our bodies. The findings are summarized in a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-neutrophils-schizophrenia-linked-protein.html Tue, 19 May 2026 18:00:07 EDT news698428441 Calcium is widely known for its role in maintaining strong bones and teeth, but it is also one of the body's most important cellular messengers. Calcium signals help regulate muscle contraction, neural function, immune cell activation and many other physiological processes. Because cells rely on calcium signals to decide when and how strongly to respond, the movement of calcium must be tightly controlled. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-newly-peptides-safer-immunotherapies.html Tue, 19 May 2026 15:40:05 EDT news698419681 Giving whole blood or the component parts of blood are equally effective options for paramedics and emergency medical technicians to use in treating patients with severe, traumatic bleeding before arriving at the hospital, according to a large, nationwide trial directed by University of Pittsburgh and UPMC clinicians and scientists. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-prehospital-trauma-flexible-option-blood.html Mon, 18 May 2026 15:10:02 EDT news698325241 Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Bristol Myers Squibb, and the University of Oxford have discovered a way to give worn-out immune cells a second wind in the fight against multiple myeloma. In two studies published this month in Blood Journal, they found that using the drug mezigdomide (a cereblon E3 ligase modulator developed by Bristol Myers Squibb) can help these cells regain their strength and better destroy cancer by restoring the immune system's ability to attack cancer and significantly improving the effectiveness of next-generation immunotherapies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-reversing-cell-exhaustion-effectiveness-myeloma.html Mon, 18 May 2026 12:40:03 EDT news698322722 Having a biological age older than chronological age is associated with a greater likelihood of developing dementia, a new study has shown. By combining measures of biological aging and genetic risk, researchers have identified individuals at a higher risk of developing dementia and those who will develop the disease at a younger age. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-simple-blood-dementia-earlier-combining.html Wed, 13 May 2026 07:00:03 EDT news697793904 For decades, scientists have known that estrogen protects cardiovascular health, but exactly how that protection works—and what happens when it disappears—has remained unclear. New research from University of Texas at Arlington points to the liver and the immune system as critical players. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-estrogen-liver-inflammation-cholesterol-heart.html Tue, 12 May 2026 16:00:04 EDT news697815347 Aging is a complex process, and precisely measuring how the human body declines has long been a challenge. Two people of the same chronological age can have very different health trajectories. Scientists have also struggled to move beyond identifying aging markers to pinpointing what actually drives aging itself. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-digital-aging-twin-age-adulthood.html Mon, 11 May 2026 23:00:02 EDT news697734085 Frozen shoulder can make simple tasks—such as lifting your arm, sleeping on your side, getting out of bed, putting on a bra, driving or playing with your kids—painful and challenging. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-frozen-shoulder-surgery.html Mon, 11 May 2026 12:00:08 EDT news697715221 Man-made "forever chemicals" have been detected in 98.8% of blood tests, in a new study which examined more than 10,500 samples. The findings are the latest indication to suggest that nearly every single person in the US is living with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)—and usually multiple—in their system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-multiple-chemicals-people.html Fri, 08 May 2026 08:40:06 EDT news697447801 Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and The University of Texas at Austin have identified specific blood-based genomic biomarkers that distinguish inflammatory breast cancer from other subtypes, providing a new and less invasive method for early diagnosis, disease progression monitoring and treatment development for patients with this aggressive disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-scientists-blood-based-biomarkers-inflammatory.html Wed, 06 May 2026 10:40:04 EDT news697279622 Despite affecting half of the world's population, menopause has historically been understudied and misunderstood, both in biomedical research and clinical practice. However, with the increase in life expectancy, the number of women in the postmenopausal stage continues to grow and, in 2021, those over 50 already represented 26% of the world's population, according to the WHO. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-age-alike-ai-unveils-molecular.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 05:00:03 EDT news696589510 Subtle biological changes linked to Alzheimer's disease may begin as early as the late 50s—decades before memory loss or other symptoms appear—according to new research from Mayo Clinic. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-age-alzheimer-disease-decades-symptoms.html Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:00:06 EDT news696596161