https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. I still vividly remember the first time we observed neurons responding not to audible sound, but to concentrated, precisely calibrated ultrasonic pulses. On the screen in front of us, calcium signals from brain cells began to rise and fall in little waves. It was less about forcing the brain to adapt and more about listening to the brain and responding subtly. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-communicate-neurons-focused-ultrasound.html Tue, 03 Feb 2026 06:30:01 EST news689253511 Patients with CaV2.1 channelopathies face severe and often debilitating symptoms, such as seizures, migraines, tremors, and developmental delays. Although some symptoms overlap among these rare neurological conditions, patients often have different underlying mutations. In a recent study published in The FASEB Journal, researchers report the effects of two human CaV2.1 channelopathy mutations in a rat model, the findings of which could result in personalized therapies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-mutation-specific-defects-neurological-disorders.html Thu, 29 Jan 2026 17:00:41 EST news688928401 In an unexpected finding, a UCLA-led team has discovered that bacteria are present inside the most common type of kidney stone, revealing a previously unrecognized component involved in their formation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-previously-unknown-bacterial-component-kidney.html Mon, 26 Jan 2026 17:35:34 EST news688671302 A faulty ion channel function is a consistent biological feature of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), providing long-awaited validation for hundreds of thousands of Australians living with the debilitating illness. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-people-mecfs-faulty-cellular.html Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:12:28 EST news687532321 Patients who start their blood pressure treatment with angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) drugs continue with the same medicine to a greater extent than patients who start out with other drugs. Choosing the right drug from the outset can therefore improve both health and quality of life—as well as bringing down health care costs. This is shown in a new study based on data from 340,000 patients. The research is published in the journal eClinicalMedicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-blood-pressure-drug-health.html Mon, 22 Dec 2025 15:15:26 EST news685638901 Researchers have identified a previously unknown mechanism by which the kidney precisely controls calcium excretion. The claudin-14 protein plays a key role in this process: It displaces the paracellular transport protein claudin-16 in the tight junctions of the kidney, thereby altering the flow of calcium. The findings have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-kidney-calcium-network-tight-junctions.html Tue, 16 Dec 2025 21:20:02 EST news685114017 Many people stop taking cholesterol-lowering statins because they experience muscle aches, weakness, and fatigue. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-statins-muscle-aches.html Mon, 15 Dec 2025 13:03:20 EST news685026182 Giving adolescents living with HIV high-dose Vitamin D and calcium supplements can help improve their bone density and reduce the risk of fractures, a new study suggests. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-chewable-supplements-bone-density-adolescents.html Fri, 12 Dec 2025 12:11:14 EST news684763861 Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia worldwide and continues to be one of the greatest public health challenges. New research, published in the journal Aging, reveals that blood from aged mice can accelerate the progression of the disease, while young blood may have protective effects. The study was led by researchers from Instituto Latinoamericano de Salud Cerebral (BrainLat) at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in conjunction with MELISA Institute, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Universidad Mayor. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-transfusing-blood-mice-alzheimer-animal.html Thu, 11 Dec 2025 14:48:29 EST news684686881 As we enter our 50s, it's time to reassess our intake of calcium, which helps mitigate bone loss, and vitamin D, which helps us absorb calcium. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-older-adults-vitamin-d-calcium.html Thu, 11 Dec 2025 10:17:31 EST news684670622 A new study from Flinders University offers insight into how two of the world's most popular beverages, coffee and tea, may influence bone health in older women. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-tea-linked-stronger-bones-older.html Thu, 11 Dec 2025 05:32:12 EST news684653522 University of Virginia School of Medicine scientists have obtained important new insights into how our bodies regulate our blood pressure by revealing how our cells turn off a key hormone. The findings could open the door to new treatments for hypertension (high blood pressure) and kidney diseases, the researchers report. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-blood-pressure-discovery-door-hypertension.html Wed, 03 Dec 2025 09:33:33 EST news683976721 High levels of calcium are toxic to cells and contribute to loss of neurons in Alzheimer's disease. A new study published in JCI Insight identifies a mechanism through which the young brain protects itself against high calcium levels, and it could help scientists learn how to protect the brain from this devastating neurodegenerative condition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-brain-alzheimer-disease.html Wed, 03 Dec 2025 07:34:27 EST news683969642 Researchers from Stellenbosch University have found strong evidence from large trials that calcium supplementation during pregnancy does not reduce the risk of preeclampsia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-12-evidence-benefit-calcium-supplements-pregnancy.html Tue, 02 Dec 2025 20:00:01 EST news683912101 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 For just a few hours, shimmering waves of calcium move through cells in the developing eyes of fruit flies. These spontaneous waves serve a purpose, enabling communication between cells and shaping the eye structure, according to a new study published in Science. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-shimmering-calcium-eye-fruit-fly.html Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:00:08 EST news682790168 Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a condition that weakens bones, making them brittle and prone to fracture. Taking the hormone estradiol can reverse these effects, but it may also increase endometrial and uterine cancer risks. Researchers publishing in Nano Letters developed a two-layer shell to encapsulate the hormone so it bypasses the uterus and releases only within an osteoporotic bone. Tests of the drug-delivery system showed improved bone density in treated mice without uterine side effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-bone-estrogen-delivery-reverses-postmenopausal.html Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:30:02 EST news682705801 A joint study by the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) and the University Hospital Würzburg provides new insights into why heart muscle cells lose their rhythm in atrial fibrillation. Disrupted calcium signaling between key cellular structures in the heart may be a critical underlying mechanism. The findings are published in the journal Circulation Research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-disrupted-calcium-heart-rhythm.html Thu, 13 Nov 2025 10:00:01 EST news682250179 The first ever "humanized" model for aortic valve calcification paves the way for testing potential treatments. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-humanized-heart-valve-stiffness.html Wed, 12 Nov 2025 13:12:04 EST news682175521 In a new study of more than 40,000 patients, researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City have found that patients who have no evidence of calcium in their coronary arteries are not only significantly less likely to die from heart conditions—including heart attacks and heart failure—but also are at reduced risk of death from non-cardiac medical conditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-coronary-artery-calcium-predictor-mortality.html Sat, 08 Nov 2025 13:30:01 EST news681665641 Coronary artery calcium (CAC) CT scans are becoming a more commonly used tool to effectively determine a patient's future risk of heart disease and heart attack. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-minimally-invasive-coronary-calcium-ct.html Sat, 08 Nov 2025 12:30:01 EST news681666061 Researchers at Göttingen Campus, Germany, have succeeded for the first time in examining the tiny synapses in the inner ear—the points of contact between the hair cells and the auditory nerve cells—at the molecular level. They were able to show that ion channels and other synaptic proteins essential for hearing are organized in specific patterns. This arrangement ensures optimized transmission of auditory information to the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-teamwork-ear-based-grouping-proteins.html Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:18:04 EST news681646682 More than 70% of people over 70 years old will one day develop cardiovascular disease, highlighting the need for effective diagnosis, treatment, and care for this population. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-heart-disease-dementia-older-adults.html Fri, 31 Oct 2025 07:30:04 EDT news681114601 Researchers in Göttingen, Germany, have elucidated the structure and function of otoferlin, a protein that plays a crucial role in the hearing process. Loss of otoferlin or impairment of its function causes a frequent form of congenital deafness. The results, published in the journal Science Advances, mark a milestone after more than two decades of research on otoferlin at Göttingen Campus and contribute to optimizing the first gene therapies for the treatment of deafness. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-key-protein-optimizing-gene-therapies.html Thu, 16 Oct 2025 11:24:04 EDT news679832641 Nervous system functions, from motion to perception to cognition, depend on the active zones of neural circuit connections (synapses) sending out the right amount of their chemical signals at the right times. By tracking how synaptic active zones form and mature in fruit flies, researchers at The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT have revealed a fundamental model for how neural activity during development builds properly working connections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-neural-circuit-mature-optimal-transmitters.html Tue, 14 Oct 2025 15:39:04 EDT news679675141 Elevated calcium levels in the blood—a complication of kidney cancers known as hypercalcemia—may be successfully treated with a class of medications called HIF-2α inhibitors developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center, a new study shows. The findings, published in Cancer Discovery by a team at UTSW, offer hope to patients who develop this condition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-kidney-cancer-drug-dangerous-calcium.html Thu, 09 Oct 2025 13:34:03 EDT news679235641 New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU), Curtin University and the University of Western Australia has found no evidence that calcium monotherapy increases the long-term risk for dementia, helping to dispel previous concerns about its potential negative effects on brain health in older women. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-debunking-link-calcium-supplements-dementia.html Tue, 07 Oct 2025 06:02:05 EDT news679035721 A collaborative French–Swiss study reveals a previously unknown role for astrocytes in the brain's information processing. Published in the journal Cell, the research shows that these glial cells are capable of integrating signals from several neurons at once—a conceptual shift in our understanding of the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-astrocytes-emerge-unexpected-conductors-brain.html Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:12:36 EDT news677945545 A new study jointly led by the School of Clinical Medicine at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has found that surgical removal of the diseased parathyroid gland—known as parathyroidectomy—significantly reduces the risk of developing diabetes by 30% in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-parathyroid-surgery-diabetes-hormone-imbalance.html Mon, 22 Sep 2025 12:05:04 EDT news677761501 New research (the Ver-A-T1D trial) presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) (Vienna, 15–19 September) shows that slow-release (SR) verapamil (360mg daily) could have a potential effect on beta-cell function in adults with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-potential-effects-verapamil-diabetes.html Thu, 18 Sep 2025 18:00:04 EDT news677405126