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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Dec-2025 10:11 ET (21-Dec-2025 15:11 GMT/UTC)

Korea University study identifies age 70 as cutoff for chemotherapy benefit in colorectal cancer

Korea University College of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide, and treatment decisions for older patients remain highly debated. Now, researchers have found that oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy significantly improves survival only in stage III colorectal cancer patients aged 70 or younger. For patients over 70, the drug offered no survival advantage and led to higher rates of treatment discontinuation due to toxicity. Importantly, stage II patients showed no survival benefit at any age.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Unlocking the power of spinal segment - specific neural stem cells for SCI recovery

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

This study deciphers the characteristics of human spinal cord neural stem cells (hscNSCs) specific to cervical, thoracic, and lumbar segments, and establishes an efficient method for amplifying hscNSCs from different spinal segments. A key finding: when transplanted into rat models with thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI), thoracic hscNSCs show superior therapeutic effects compared to cervical or lumbar hscNSCs. The research clarifies the critical role of segment-specific hscNSCs in spinal cord injury repair, offering valuable insights for targeted SCI treatment strategies.

Journal: Science China Life Sciences

University of Bergen research project awarded NOK 129 million funding by Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

The University of Bergen
Grant and Award Announcement

The research project “Fair Choices on the Path to Universal Health Coverage — In Times of Change”, led by Professor Kjell Arne Johansson at the University of Bergen, Norway, has been awarded NOK 129 million (as of now, ca. 11 million Euro / 13 million USD) in funding over five years (2026-2030) by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). The project involves partner institutions in Tanzania, Nepal, Zanzibar, Ghana, and Ethiopia, among others.

Funder: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)

Chinese Medical Journal Review highlights the role of adaptive immunity in Alzheimer’s disease

Chinese Medical Journals Publishing House Co., Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. A new review published in the Chinese Medical Journal highlights how immune cells, including T and B cells, contribute to brain inflammation in Alzheimer’s. By pulling together findings from recent decades, the study suggests that targeting these immune responses could open the door to better treatments and diagnosis, offering hope against one of the most devastating neurological disorders worldwide.

Journal: Chinese Medical Journal

For young adults, the color of their teeth is important

University of Gothenburg
Peer-Reviewed Publication

White teeth are highly valued by young adults. But an even tooth color is considered to be of even higher importance. A study from the University of Gothenburg, one of the first of its kind, shows that many people with a deviant color on a part of a tooth would like treatment.

Journal: Acta Odontologica Scandinavica

How to develop trans people-inclusive medical AI: the objective of a study by UPF, the BSC, the URV and PRISMA

Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In the field of health, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) may mean major breakthroughs in personalizing diagnoses and treatments, but there is a need to promote bias-free AI with a more diverse and inclusive vision so that everyone can benefit from it. With this study, Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS) and Rovira i Virgili University (URV) have moved towards the development of medical AI applications that overcome binary logics and include the needs of trans people. The study was carried out in collaboration with the PRISMA association, which protects the rights of LGBTQIA+ people in the field of science and innovation.

Journal: Journal of Medical Internet Research

Age limits for social media and restrictions on addictive functions: Leopoldina discussion paper recommends better protection for children and adolescents

Leopoldina
Reports and Proceedings

Social media use has long been part of the everyday lives of most children and adolescents. Many of them exhibit risky, and in some cases even addictive, behaviour. While social media use can certainly have positive effects for young people, intensive use can negatively impact mental, emotional, and social well-being, leading to symptoms such as depression and anxiety, impaired attention, and sleep problems. In a discussion paper published by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the researchers involved therefore recommend applying the precautionary principle. In the paper “Social Media and the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents”, they give policy recommendations to protect children and adolescents from the negative effects of social media, for example by setting a minimum age for access or by restricting certain functions. The paper was published on 13 August 2025 and an English translation is now available.