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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Jun-2026 20:15 ET (23-Jun-2026 00:15 GMT/UTC)

Private equity acquired more than 500 autism centers over the past decade, new study shows

Brown University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Private equity firms have acquired more than 500 autism therapy centers across the U.S. over the past decade, with nearly 80% of those acquisitions occurring over a four-year span, according to a new study from researchers at the Brown University Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics
Funder: National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health

New cervical cancer screening guidelines from the US Department of Health and Human Services

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

This Viewpoint discusses past cervical cancer screening guidelines and presents new Women’s Preventive Services guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Journal: JAMA

Estimated burden of COVID-19 illnesses, medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in the US from October 2022 to September 2024

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In this cross-sectional study, despite declining from the first (October 2022 to September 2023) to the second (October 2023 to September 2024) surveillance period, the COVID-19 burden continued to have a large impact in the U.S., particularly among adults 65 years and older, underscoring the ongoing importance of prevention measures.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine

January 2026 issues of APA journals feature new research on autism, pediatric anxiety, psychedelic therapy, suicide prevention and more

American Psychiatric Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The latest issues of four American Psychiatric Association journals (The American Journal of Psychiatry, Psychiatric Services, American Journal of Psychotherapy and Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice) are now available online.

Journal: American Journal of Psychiatry

UH researcher receives nearly $1M to advance lupus diagnosis and treatment

University of Houston
Grant and Award Announcement

With nearly $1 million in federal funding, a University of Houston researcher will study the connection between an enzyme found in cancerous tumors and immune cells of lupus patients — innovative research that could transform how lupus is diagnosed and treated.

Expensive food makes children fat

University of Bonn
Peer-Reviewed Publication

When food prices skyrocket during an economic crisis, it is primarily urban populations and people with low levels of education who are affected. This can have lifelong negative health consequences – such as stunted growth in children. A research team at the University of Bonn has now demonstrated such long-term effects using the example of the "Asian financial crisis" in the 1990s. At that time, turmoil on the financial markets led to a drastic increase in the price of rice, Indonesia's most important staple food, which left measurable traces in the development of children. The study was published in the journal "Global Food Security."

Journal: Global Food Security

Large patient population study finds weight gain increases risk for low back pain

Boston University School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent condition associated with disability, work loss and economic burden to healthcare. Significant risk factors include poor sleep, physical and psychological stress, inactivity, advanced age and smoking. The contribution of greater weight and body mass index (BMI) to risk of LBP is less clear. Many past clinical studies have been small (fewer than 1,000 patients) or in specific patient groups, such as young men or patients who come to a subspecialty pain clinic, making those results more specific to those populations.

In a new study from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, researchers have found individuals who are overweight or obese have a significantly higher risk of developing LBP compared to those with a normal BMI.

Journal: Pain Medicine

Injectable breast ‘implant’ offers alternative to traditional surgeries

American Chemical Society
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Removing part or all of the breast during breast cancer treatment is a potential outcome for some people. Reconstructive surgical procedures often involve prosthetic implants or transplanted tissue from elsewhere in the body. So, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Bio Materials developed a prototype injectable paste derived from human skin cells that could help restore breast volume after tumor removal, with less scarring and shorter healing time than current options.

Journal: ACS Applied Bio Materials

Seeing nutrients in a leaf: How hyperspectral AI reveals grapevine health

Nanjing Agricultural University The Academy of Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team demonstrates that hyperspectral sensing, combined with advanced artificial intelligence, can accurately estimate multiple biochemical and mineral traits in grapevine leaves at once.

Journal: Plant Phenomics