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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Dec-2025 12:11 ET (22-Dec-2025 17:11 GMT/UTC)

A simple urine test could revolutionize bladder cancer diagnosis and treatment

Elsevier
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have discovered that analyzing specific patterns of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentation in a simple urine sample can effectively diagnose and stage bladder cancer, offering a much-needed alternative to invasive procedures like cystoscopies. This novel approach, detailed in a new study in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, published by Elsevier, could reduce the need for frequent cystoscopies, lower healthcare costs, and improve patient comfort and outcomes.

Journal: Journal of Molecular Diagnostics
Funder: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), European Regional Development Fund “A way to make Europe”, Sociedad Española de Trombosis y Hemostasia

Public trust in scientists for cancer information across political ideologies in the US

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: In this survey study of U.S. adults, overall trust in scientists as sources of cancer information was high. However, a clear ideological gradient suggests the need for tailored messaging and trusted messengers to reach politically diverse audiences with evidence-based cancer information.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Volcanic eruptions set off a chain of events that brought the Black Death to Europe

University of Cambridge
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Clues contained in tree rings have identified mid-14^th-century volcanic activity as the first domino to fall in a sequence that led to the devastation of the Black Death in Europe.

Journal: Communications Earth & Environment

Researchers identify bacterial enzyme that can cause fatal heart conditions with pneumonia infections

University of Maryland School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Heersink School of Medicine have identified a bacterial enzyme that may be the reason some people get heart complications with pneumonia, while others do not. Since enzymes create chemical reactions to help bacteria survive, grow, and sometimes attack tissues, the researchers understood this particular enzyme, named zmpB, could become a target for future vaccines or drug therapies.

Journal: Cell Reports

Environmental science: Volcanic activity may have brought the Black Death to medieval Europe

Springer Nature
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Volcanic activity may have exacerbated the spread of the Black Death through medieval Europe, according to a study published in Communications Earth & Environment.

Journal: Communications Earth & Environment

SABCS: Advances in emerging blood-based surveillance tools, new approaches to predicting treatment response and tailoring therapies across the disease spectrum for patients with breast cancer

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Reports and Proceedings

Investigators from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center will present a wide range of new breast cancer research at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), highlighting advances in early detection, precision medicine, artificial intelligence, treatment-related side-effect management and insights into high-risk subgroups.

Meeting: San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS)

Depression more common among women with gynecological disorders

University of Southern Denmark Faculty of Health Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Gynaecological disorders such as endometriosis, PCOS, and menstrual irregularities are common and often associated with pain and disruption to everyday life. They are typically diagnosed late, and many women experience both physical discomfort and mental distress for years before receiving treatment.

Now, a new register-based study from the University of Southern Denmark reveals that depression is more prevalent among women with one of the 24 most common gynaecological conditions—and that mental health symptoms often appear long before a diagnosis is made.

Journal: Psychological Medicine

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