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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 11-Jun-2025 00:09 ET (11-Jun-2025 04:09 GMT/UTC)

Experts challenge aspirin guidelines based on their undue reliance on a flawed trial

Florida Atlantic University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Recent guidelines have restricted aspirin use for primary cardiovascular disease prevention, with the AHA/ACC restricting it to patients under 70 and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force further restricting it to those under 60, even though heart attack and stroke risks increase with age. Researchers argue they were overly influenced by the flawed ASPREE trial, which failed to provide reliable evidence of aspirin’s efficacy in the enrolled age groups, and that proper statistical principles must guide trial design, analysis, and interpretation to avoid misleading conclusions.

Journal: Clinical Trials

The first case of phage therapy for biliary tract infection caused by superbugs!

Tsinghua University Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Biliary tract infections (BTI), often linked to structural abnormalities like bile duct stones, pose significant treatment challenges due to drug-resistant bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Phage therapy, which uses viruses to target bacteria, has emerged as a promising solution. This study by researchers from Fudan University and Army Medical University, published in hLife, reported the first successful use of personalized phage therapy for chronic BTI caused by multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa. An 88-year-old patent with recurrent infections underwent phage therapy after traditional treatments failed. A customized phage cocktail was administered, leading to symptom improvement and reduced bacterial load. However, phage-resistant strains emerged, prompting a second round of therapy with a different phage, which further alleviated symptoms. Genomic analysis revealed bacterial mutations contributing to resistance. This study highlights the potential of phage therapy for treating drug-resistant infections, though challenges like bacterial heterogeneity and biofilm formation remain. Future research aims to optimize phage therapy strategies for better outcomes.

Journal: hLife

Insufficient sleep should not be a taboo in the workplace – new research provides tools for addressing sleep-related challenges in management

University of Vaasa
Reports and Proceedings

Although wellbeing at work is a frequently discussed topic, the impact of insufficient sleep on employees’ performance is often overlooked. According to Jenni Tuomilehto, sleep deprivation affects all workplaces. In her doctoral dissertation at the University of Vaasa, Finland, Tuomilehto examines the effects of insufficient sleep on work performance in workplaces in Finland and presents practical methods for identifying and managing the impacts of sleep deprivation in the workplace. Tuomilehto presents a theoretical model that helps identify fatigue caused by insufficient sleep. The model also provides supervisors, HR professionals, and others practical tools for maintaining work performance by preventing chronic fatigue and exhaustion.

ECNU Review of Education study explores how large language models can revolutionize teaching as personalized assistants

ECNU Review of Education
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study from East China Normal University explores how Large Language Models (LLMs) can revolutionize education by automating teaching tasks. It highlights two key applications: generating customized materials and streamlining assessment. While LLMs reduce educators’ workload, human oversight remains crucial. The research suggests a collaborative model where teachers act as orchestrators and LLMs serve as assistants, ensuring AI integration enhances personalized education while maintaining instructional quality and adaptability.

Journal: ECNU Review of Education

Study suggests a new way to curb social media’s body image toll

Washington State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Reflecting on how fitness posts on social media make them feel may help young women reduce the harmful tendency to compare themselves to idealized influencers and content online. That’s according to a new study published in Health Communication that explores the impact of “fitspiration”—fitness-themed inspirational content—on young women’s body image, and whether short, daily reflections could lead to meaningful changes in their emotions and self-perception.

Journal: Health Communication

McGill discovery sheds new light on autism, intellectual disabilities

McGill University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study by McGill University researchers yields insights into how the disruption of calcium transport in the brain is linked to autism and intellectual disability. The findings, published in the journal Nature, not only upend a long-held belief among neuroscientists, but could pave the way for treatments.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé

When it comes to obesity-related cancers, where you shop for food matters

University of Connecticut
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Obesity is at epidemic proportions in the United States where more than 40% of adults are obese and more than 70% are overweight. One common policy intervention to tackle this urgent issue is to try to improve diet quality by increasing local grocery stores that offer healthy options. However, this is not a silver bullet, but researchers are not sure why.

A team of researchers developed a novel tool to help understand consumer behavior at the county level, and to study the relationship between where people shop for their food and the risk of obesity-related cancers. Their findings are published in BMC Medicine.

Journal: BMC Medicine