EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health - News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Dec-2025 11:11 ET (22-Dec-2025 16:11 GMT/UTC)

3-Dec-2025

UT Health Science Center researchers use ‘brain-on-a-chip’ to revolutionize fight against deadly encephalitis viruses

University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Grant and Award Announcement

A transparent chip no larger than a stick of gum is helping scientists at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, an R1 research institution, transform the way researchers study the human brain and develop treatments for some of the world’s deadliest viruses.

Funder: NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

3-Dec-2025

The transformation of adult heart transplantation in the United States and Western Europe

Stanford University Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A recent review, led by researchers from the Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in collaboration with Germany's Helios Hospital, examines the current state, challenges, and future directions of adult heart transplantation in its two highest-volume regions – the United States and Western Europe. While both areas have achieved remarkable success, they have embraced varying approaches in their transplantation systems, shaped by the cultural and political attitudes of the region.

Journal: European Heart Journal

3-Dec-2025

Increased use of cannabis seen among adolescents with psychiatric illnesses after cannabis sales became legal

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mass General Brigham study found nearly a fourfold increase in cannabis use among adolescents in Massachusetts presenting for psychiatric emergency services after commercialization

Journal: American Journal of Preventive Medicine

3-Dec-2025

Thinking of Dry January? One month without alcohol linked to better sleep, mood and health, study finds

Brown University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Looking at 16 studies on the popular month-long alcohol-free challenge known as ‘Dry January,’ researchers found that even a short-term pause in drinking can lead to meaningful physical and psychological improvements.

Journal: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Funder: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

3-Dec-2025

Purdue innovation to be evaluated in international study for earlier identification of preeclampsia risk

Purdue University
Grant and Award Announcement

Young Kim, a researcher in Purdue University’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, has developed an innovation being explored as a potential tool to identify women at higher risk of developing preeclampsia. He is participating in a two-year research study evaluating approaches to monitor the health of pregnant women in Africa and inform future efforts to reduce maternal mortality.

3-Dec-2025

Identifying genes that keep cancer from spreading

University of Pennsylvania
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A collaborative study led by biomedical researchers Chris Lengner and M. Andrés Blanco at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has identified two genes that suppress colorectal cancer metastasis. “Metastasis is the almost universal killer in cancer,” Blanco says. “With a couple of exceptions, it’s what kills cancer patients.”

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Cancer Institute, Calico Life Sciences

3-Dec-2025

Diabetes drugs may help older adults slow frailty

Hebrew SeniorLife Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study shows that older adults with type 2 diabetes who start treatment with sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors—such as empagliflozin (Jardiance) and dapagliflozin (Farxiga)—or glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists—such as semaglutide (Ozempic) and liraglutide (Victoza)—experience slower progression of frailty over one year compared with those starting other diabetes medications. The findings suggest these therapies could help older adults maintain strength, mobility, and independence beyond their well-known effects on blood sugar and heart health.

Journal: Diabetes Care
Funder: National Institute on Aging, National Institute on Aging