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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Jul-2025 06:10 ET (29-Jul-2025 10:10 GMT/UTC)

Incomplete team staffing, burnout, and work intentions among US physicians

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this study, physicians frequently experienced incomplete team staffing. Working with an incompletely staffed team was associated with significantly greater odds of burnout, intent to reduce clinical work hours, and intent to leave one’s current organization (ITL). Given associations between ITL and attrition, these findings emphasize the importance of adequate staffing.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine

Loss of Medicare Part D subsidy linked to higher mortality among low-income older adults

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

While it may seem intuitive that people would die without life-saving medications, Penn and Harvard researchers have connected losing a federally funded prescription drug assistance program and an increase in mortality. The program, called the Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS), helps 14.2 million low-income Medicare beneficiaries, many of whom are older Americans, afford their medications. Nationally,12.5 million people who are eligible for and enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid (“dual eligibles”) automatically qualify for the LIS, which is worth about $6,200/year.

Journal: New England Journal of Medicine

Researchers gain insights into the brain’s ‘dimmer switch’

University of Washington School of Medicine/UW Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A small cluster of cells deep within our brains, called the locus coeruleus, affects how awake and attentive we are, how we respond to stress, how we cope with anxiety and fear, and how we create memories and learn.This blue spot is also involved in a range of neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and Alzheimer’s diseases. A new study in mice shows that a small group of cells next to the locus coeruleus, called peri-LC neurons, appear to play a key role in regulating and fine-tuning its information-processing.The findings help explain how we respond appropriately to different challenges, Besides advancing understanding of how our brains regulate arousal, attention and our reactions to distress, the findings open the possibility of new ways to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including opioid drug withdrawal symptoms.

Journal: Nature
Funder: NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH/National Cancer Institute, NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences

AAN issues Evidence in Focus article on Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapy

American Academy of Neurology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

To help neurologists, clinicians and families understand the current evidence for a new gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy called delandistrogene moxeparvovec, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has issued an Evidence in Focus article, published May 14, 2025, online in Neurology^®.

Journal: Neurology

Could a mini-stroke leave lasting fatigue?

American Academy of Neurology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A transient ischemic attack, also known as a mini-stroke, is typically defined as a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain that causes symptoms that go away within a day, but a new study finds that people who have this type of stroke may also have prolonged fatigue lasting up to one year. The study is published on May 14, 2025, online in Neurology^®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). The study does not prove that mini-strokes cause lasting fatigue; it only shows an association.

Journal: Neurology

Is it time to redefine the public health workforce? New research proposes a broader, more inclusive approach

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

As the U.S. continues to face complex public health challenges, a new paper published by a researcher at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health calls for a redefinition of the public health workforce—one that goes beyond traditional boundaries and acknowledges the growing number of professionals outside government agencies who contribute to public health.

Journal: American Journal of Public Health

Daratumumab may help cancer patients with low physical function to live longer, study finds

University of Sharjah
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists report that daratumumab can assist cancer patients with low physical function to reduce risk of disease progression and live longer.

Journal: European Journal Of Haematology