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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Aug-2025 09:10 ET (15-Aug-2025 13:10 GMT/UTC)

New blood test holds potential to reduce liver transplant failures

Georgetown University Medical Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Liver transplant is a lifesaving surgery, but a significant number of patients experience organ rejection or other complications. Now a new study by scientists from Georgetown University and MedStar Health describes how a single blood sample can be used to catch problems at the earliest stages, allowing tailored treatment to prevent the organ’s failure.

Journal: Nature Communications

Enabling healthy ageing: Leopoldina discussion paper recommends shift in focus in research and medicine

Leopoldina
Reports and Proceedings

Ageing is the primary risk factor for cancer, dementia, and cardiovascular diseases. As the understanding of the biology of ageing constantly improves, there are already initial approaches to geroprotection, which seeks to reduce the age-related risk of disease and thus extend healthy lifespan. In a discussion paper published today by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the researchers involved recommend a paradigm shift in how research and medicine approach age-related diseases. In the paper “Health-Extending Medicine in an Aging Society – Prospects for Medical Research and Practice” they call for better research into the ageing process, so that medicine can focus on ageing itself – rather than waiting to treat age-related diseases.

HKUMed leads global drug development using new ‘dual immunotherapy’ in liver-cancer patients, improving survival benefits; receives international approvals

The University of Hong Kong
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team from the School of Clinical Medicine of the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has pioneered the use of a ‘dual immunotherapy’ combination—nivolumab and ipilimumab (NIVO+IPI) — in the treatment of liver cancer patients since 2016. This innovative treatment has proved to significantly improve survival rates and tumour control compared to current first-line treatments, lenvatinib and sorafenib. Recently it was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for global use, offering new hope to liver cancer patients worldwide. This landmark study was published in The Lancet.

Journal: The Lancet

HKU co-hosts Public Symposium: "Innovating the Future: The Power of Stem Cells in Medicine and Biotechnology"

The University of Hong Kong
Meeting Announcement

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) co-hosted the Public Symposium: "Innovating the Future: The Power of Stem Cells in Medicine and Biotechnology” on 10 June, preceding the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2025 Annual Meeting, currently in session in Hong Kong from 11-14 June. The symposium served as a platform to engage the general public and aimed to inspire the next generation of scientists and biotechnologists. It explored the transformative potential of stem cells in regenerative medicine and biotechnology.

HKUMed discovers key protein that enables ‘shock & kill’ strategy for HIV latent virus clearance

The University of Hong Kong
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Over 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV-1, which continues to be a major global health challenge due to its ability to persist silently within immune cells, evading complete eradication. Researchers at LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), have identified a specific gene transcription factor, BRD9, as a potential key to unlocking the mechanisms behind HIV-1 latency. This could pave the way for AIDS to no longer be a largely incurable disease. The study has been published in the scientific journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

3D printed brain sheds light on neurological disorders

Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

POSTECH research team reproduces neural signal transmission and degenerative responses using a 3D printed brain model.

Journal: International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing

Fatty liver – but not liver damage – common in type 2 diabetes

Linköping University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Six out of ten people with type 2 diabetes had fatty liver in a new study from Linköping University in Sweden. Of these, only a small percentage had developed more severe liver disease. The study, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, also helps confirm that those who have type 2 diabetes in combination with obesity are at greater risk of fatty liver leading to more severe liver disease.

Journal: Journal of Internal Medicine
Funder: Region Östergötland, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Swedish Society of Medicine