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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Jun-2025 15:09 ET (15-Jun-2025 19:09 GMT/UTC)

Relaxation techniques may help lower high blood pressure—at least in the short term

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Relaxation techniques may help lower high blood pressure—at least in the short term—but the longer term effects are unclear, finds a pooled data analysis of the existing research published in the open access journal BMJ Medicine.

Journal: BMJ Medicine
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Evidence Synthesis programme

Phage therapy at a crossroads: global experts unite in Berlin for groundbreaking 2025 Congress

Mitochondria-Microbiota Task Force
Meeting Announcement

Berlin, Germany – April 7, 2025 — With antimicrobial resistance rising as one of the world's most pressing health threats, the 8th World Congress on Targeting Phage Therapy 2025 will bring together the global phage community to shape the future of infection control and microbiota modulation. Taking place on June 10–11, 2025, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Berlin Ku'damm, this landmark event will showcase cutting-edge research, real-world clinical insights, and groundbreaking applications of bacteriophage therapy across medicine, oncology, agriculture, and industry.

Meeting: Targeting Phage Therapy 2025

Novel drug delivery platform paves way to potential new treatments for Alzheimer’s, other brain-related disorders

Oregon State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have discovered a way to get anti-inflammatory medicine across the blood-brain barrier, opening the door to potential new therapies for a range of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and cancer cachexia.

Journal: Advanced Healthcare Materials
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, NIH/Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Research Foundation of Korea

Bold packaging colors impact consumer behavior: Study reveals surprising effects on product use

American Marketing Association

Products with saturated colors—vivid reds, deep blues, and vibrant greens—are perceived as more effective. Though they grab consumers' attention, these colors can have unintended consequences on consumer health and sustainability efforts.

Journal: Journal of Marketing

What foods and drinks are consumed less by those on GLP-1 weight-loss meds?

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The results of a recent national study conducted by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station found that the weight loss drugs known as Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists — GLP-1s — lead to new food and drink consumption patterns, which underscore observed changes in food and beverage marketing. While previous consumer behavior studies have shown GLP-1s caused lower preference for high-fat foods and promoted weight loss, there has been limited information on how it influenced food preferences and consumption behavior across different food categories. For the study, they surveyed current, previous and potential consumers of GLP-1s to better understand how taking these medications affects food choices. The study also included people who did not plan to take a GLP-1.

Journal: Food Quality and Preference

Quitting menthol cigarettes is extra hard. A new study will test the best way to do it.

Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
Grant and Award Announcement

Nearly half of Americans who smoke use menthol cigarettes that are harder to quit, driving up their health risks with every puff. Now, a new University of Michigan study will test the best way to help people who smoke menthol break that habit.

Funder: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Certain food additive mixtures may be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes

INSERM (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Food additive mixtures are an everyday feature of our diets, especially through ultra-processed foods. Until recently, safety evaluations of these additives have been conducted substance by substance due to a lack of data on the effect of them ingested together. In a new study, researchers from Inserm, INRAE, Sorbonne Paris Nord University, Paris Cité University and Cnam, as part of the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (CRESS-EREN), examined the possible links between exposure to mixtures of commonly consumed food additives and the onset of type 2 diabetes. They analysed the health data of over 100 000 adults participating in the French NutriNet-Santé cohort. Two out of the five mixtures tested were found to be associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes, particularly one mixture containing different emulsifiers such as carrageenans, modified starches and other additives (found in stocks, milky desserts, fats and sauces, etc.), and another containing sweeteners, colourings and acidifiers (characteristic of artificially-sweetened drinks and sodas).

Journal: PLOS Medicine