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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Aug-2025 14:11 ET (15-Aug-2025 18:11 GMT/UTC)

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health: New study highlights importance of caregiver concerns in detecting critical in illness hospitalised children

The Lancet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal suggests that parental or caregiver intuition may outperform some traditional early warning systems in identifying children at risk of deterioration. The new analysis found that caregiver concern for worsening condition of paediatric patients was strongly associated with critical illness in pediatric patients admitted to the hospital, even after accounting for abnormal vital signs (abnormal heart rate or abnormal respiratory rate).

Journal: The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health

Depression is linked to an increased risk of dementia in both mid and later life, finds a new study

University of Nottingham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study has found that depression is linked to an increased risk of dementia in both mid and later life.

The new research, which is published in eClinicalMedicine, was led by Jacob Brain and Maha Alshahrani from the Institute of Mental Health and School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, University of Adelaide and the Dementia Centre of Excellence at Curtin University in Australia.

Mr Brain said: "Our study shows that depression is linked to an increased risk of dementia in both midlife and late life. This highlights the importance of recognising and treating depression across the life course, not just for mental health, but also as part of a broader strategy to protect brain health. Public health efforts need to place greater emphasis on preventative brain health, including scaling up access to effective mental health care."

Journal: EClinicalMedicine

UBCO researchers pioneer advanced mechanical heart valve

University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Sort of like testing a car, a team of researchers at UBC Okanagan has been test driving a number of mechanical heart valves (MHV)—and the one designed in their own lab appears to outperform the others.

Associate Professor Dr. Hadi Mohammadi runs the Heart Valve Performance Laboratory at UBCO’s School of Engineering. He, along with Dr. Dylan Goode, has been testing an MHV created in their lab which may, after clinical trials, supersede mechanical valves currently available for people living with heart disease.

Journal: Journal of Biomechanics

UBCO researchers pioneer advanced mechanical heart valve

University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Sort of like testing a car, a team of researchers at UBC Okanagan has been test driving a number of mechanical heart valves (MHV)—and the one designed in their own lab appears to outperform the others.

Associate Professor Dr. Hadi Mohammadi runs the Heart Valve Performance Laboratory at UBCO’s School of Engineering. He, along with Dr. Dylan Goode, has been testing an MHV created in their lab which may, after clinical trials, supersede mechanical valves currently available for people living with heart disease.

Journal: Journal of Biomechanics

Nebraska engineers develop self-healing muscle for robots

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Reports and Proceedings

Eric Markvicka and graduate students Ethan Krings and Patrick McManigal recently unveiled their invention of a robotic actuator -- the "muscle" that converts energy into a robot's physical movement -- that has the ability to detect punctures or pressure, heal the injury and repair its damage-detecting "skin." The trio presented their findings earlier in May at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Atlanta. Their technology would mark an improvement for robotic system used in agriculture and manufacturing that are susceptible to puncture by thorns, twigs, plastic and glass and also could be used to prolong the life of wearable health monitoring devices and consumer electronics, thus stemming the tide of toxins like lead and mercury entering waste streams and endangering the environment and human health.

Funder: NASA Nebraska EPSCoR, Nebraska Tobacco Settlement Biomedical Research Development Fund
Meeting: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)

Heat-health plans overlook mental health risks

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new analysis of Heat-Health Action Plans worldwide reveals that while most acknowledge mental health risks, such as heightened anxiety, depression, and suicide, few propose concrete interventions to protect vulnerable populations.

Journal: Current Environmental Health Reports

ASCO 2025: Alcohol-fueled cancer deaths are on the rise in the US

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Reports and Proceedings

A new study led by experts at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is the first to look at trends over time in alcohol-linked cancer mortality across the United States. The findings, titled “Escalating Impact of Alcohol-Related Cancer Mortality in the U.S.: A call for action,” will be presented May 31 at ASCO 2025.