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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 4-Oct-2025 19:11 ET (4-Oct-2025 23:11 GMT/UTC)

Optical microscopy combined with AI could enable new avenues in precision medicine

SPIE--International Society for Optics and Photonics
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Arizona have developed a new method for cancer phenotyping using label-free optical microscopy coupled with a deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm. Using this new approach in patient samples of pancreatic cancer, the researchers showed that it was possible to identify tissue phenotypes defined by spatial transcriptomics to over 89 percent accuracy using label-free microscopy images alone. This new method using light-based imaging and AI offers an effective alternative to existing phenotyping methods, which rely on costly and time-intensive tests such as those based on genetic sequencing. This advance could ultimately make precision medicine more accessible and effective in the future.

Journal: Biophotonics Discovery

Good prognosis for men with prostate cancer treated according to guidelines

Uppsala University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Most men who are treated for prostate cancer according to modern guidelines have good survival rates and the majority of these men will die of causes other than prostate cancer. This is revealed in a new study from Uppsala University published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

“We were surprised by how much life expectancy affected the prognosis. This shows the importance of a thorough assessment of the general health of a man with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. The patient’s life expectancy has a substantial impact on the choice of appropriate treatment strategy,” says Marcus Westerberg, researcher at the Department of Surgical Sciences at Uppsala University, who led the study.

Journal: Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
Funder: Swedish Cancer Society, Swedish Research Council, Region Uppsala

New study finds evidence of hepatitis C virus in cells lining human brain

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Observational studies of psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression have long tied viral infections with behavioral symptoms in these disorders, but scientists have been unable to find direct evidence of suspected viruses in the brain. Experts say that’s possibly because viruses may not get directly inside the brain, but may target the brain lining instead.

Journal: Translational Psychiatry
Funder: Stanley Medical Research Institute

Novel open-source diagnostic tool offers affordable, reliable pathogen detection for resource-limited settings

Rockefeller University Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have developed an open-source molecular diagnostic assay for pathogen detection, successfully tested for COVID-19. The innovative RT-LAMP method is heat-stable, uses only non-proprietary reagents, and eliminates the need for expensive commercial kits and cold chain storage. Demonstrating performance in both Vienna and Ghana, the low-cost solution has potential for enhancing quick and equitable testing capabilities in resource-limited areas worldwide.

Journal: Life Science Alliance
Funder: European Research Council, Science for Africa Foundation (SFA)/Wellcome, Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking, Volkswagen Foundation, Vienna Science and Technology Fund

Prostate cancer cells survive treatment by storing fat in low oxygen conditions

Impact Journals LLC
Peer-Reviewed Publication

BUFFALO, NY – July 14, 2025 – A new research paper was published in Volume 16 of Oncotarget on June 25, 2025, titled “Hypoxia induced lipid droplet accumulation promotes resistance to ferroptosis in prostate cancer.”

Journal: Oncotarget

More research needed to explore potential racial, gender and socioeconomic differences in stroke treatment and recovery

Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery
Reports and Proceedings

Research presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery’s (SNIS) 22nd Annual Meeting included three studies that explored the differences in treatment and recovery options for patients across racial, gender and socioeconomic lines in a large telestroke network in Pennsylvania and a university medical center in Rhode Island.

Many in U.S. consider AI-generated health information useful and reliable

Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Reports and Proceedings

Six in 10 U.S. adults think that AI-generated health information is somewhat or very reliable, a survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds. But nearly half (49%) are not comfortable with health care providers using AI tools rather than their experience alone when making decisions about their care.