EurekAlert! National Institutes of Health - NIH-funded News

Latest news releases from NIH-funded organizations

Funded Research News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Dec-2025 05:11 ET (14-Dec-2025 10:11 GMT/UTC)

Novel PET tracer detects synaptic changes in spinal cord and brain after spinal cord injury

Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new PET tracer can provide insights into how spinal cord injuries affect not only the spinal cord, but also the brain, according to new research published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. By identifying synapse loss, the PET approach provides molecularly unique and complementary information to other structural imaging methods, offering a promising objective metric to evaluate novel therapeutics for spinal cord injuries.

Journal: Journal of Nuclear Medicine
Funder: NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Acupuncture treatment improves disabling effects of chronic low back pain in older adults

NIH/Office of the Director
Peer-Reviewed Publication

According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), older Americans with chronic low back pain who received acupuncture had greater improvement in physical function and reduced pain than those who received usual medical care only, generally prescribed medications or physical therapy. Chronic low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and affects over one-third of older adults in the United States. Treatment options range from pain-relieving drugs to complementary therapies, including acupuncture. There is an urgent need for safe, effective, and non-addictive pain management approaches.

Journal: JAMA Network Open
Funder: NIH/National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH/National Institute on Aging

Rice scientists develop ‘molecular magnifying glass’ to help identify diseases earlier

Rice University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A novel strategy developed at Rice University allows scientists to zoom in on tiny segments of proteins inside living cells, revealing localized environmental changes that could indicate the earliest stages of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cancer. The study, published in Nature Chemical Biology on Sept. 10, also shows promise for drug screening that targets protein aggregation diseases.

Journal: Nature Chemical Biology
Funder: Welch Foundation, NIH/National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense, John S. Dunn Foundation, U.S. National Science Foundation

Nanoscale images of a blood clotting protein complex reveal a secret to the clotting chain reaction

Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New detailed 3D structures of blood clotting proteins, made possible through cryogenic-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM), have solved a mystery vexing biological chemists for more than 30 years.

Journal: Blood
Funder: NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH Office of the Director, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, American Heart Association

Research spotlight: Study identifies a surprising new treatment target for chronic limb threatening ischemia

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

What causes poor outcomes in patients with advanced peripheral artery disease who develop a complication called chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI), which has a high risk of limb amputation due to the restriction of blood flow to the extremities? Researchers screened for factors in skeletal muscle samples from patients with CLTI to identify those that were different compared to controls. Surprisingly, it wasn't growth factors that emerged as different, but a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) called CARMN – and it wasn't expressed in endothelial cells, only in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Journal: Journal of Clinical Investigation
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association