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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 14-Dec-2025 08:11 ET (14-Dec-2025 13:11 GMT/UTC)

Dr. Pengfei Liu receives 2026 O'Donnell Award in Medicine for pioneering advances in genetic diagnostics and rare disease treatment

Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science & Technology
Grant and Award Announcement

Trailblazing geneticist Pengfei Liu, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, is the recipient of the 2026 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Medicine from TAMEST. He was chosen for his transformative use of genome and RNA sequencing to improve the diagnosis and treatment of rare genetic diseases.

Gut health à la CAR T

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory biologists have devised a way to stimulate cell growth and repair in the intestine. Their discovery lays the groundwork for new drugs that can address diseases like leaky gut syndrome and improve overall gut health.

Journal: Nature Aging
Funder: NIH/National Cancer Institute, Fundación Rafael del Pino, NIH/National Institutes of Health, Mark Foundation For Cancer Research, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, The Oliver S. and Jennie R. Donaldson Charitable Trust, G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation, Starr Cancer Consortium, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Northwell Health, Norn Group, National Institute on Aging

Dresden PROTHOR study provides new insights for greater patient safety in major lung surgery

Technische Universität Dresden
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital in Dresden and the TU Dresden Faculty of Medicine has conducted the world's largest study on patient safety in major lung surgery. Until now, it was not clear how different ventilation strategies during lung surgery affect the risk of possible complications. The PROTHOR study now provides physicians with guidance on choosing the most appropriate ventilation approach during such anesthesia. The results of the study were recently published in the renowned journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Journal: The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

COPLANT study module kids/family – participants wanted

BfR Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
Business Announcement

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is working with the Max Rubner Institute (MRI) to investigate the influence of parental nutrition on children's eating habits. To this end, the "kids/family" module of the COPLANT study is being launched in Berlin and Karlsruhe, for which parent-child pairs are currently being sought. COPLANT is the most comprehensive study to date on plant-based nutrition among adults in German-speaking countries. Now, children are also to be included in the study through the new module. The focus of the new part of the study is on researching different diets in families. Whether vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian or mixed diet – nutrition today is more diverse than ever. "We still know little about how plant-based diets of parents affect the eating habits and food consumption of children," says Professor Dr Tanja Schwerdtle, President of the MRI. "The new study module should provide insights into this." There is also a lack of clear scientific data on the health effects: "We want to better understand how a vegan, vegetarian or pescetarian nutrition in a family environment is related to the health of children and adolescents," explains Professor Dr Cornelia Weikert, head of the COPLANT study at the BfR. "That's why we need the support of committed families."

New sensor technology can detect life-threatening complications after intestinal surgery at an earlier stage

Technische Universität Dresden
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An interdisciplinary research team from Dresden University of Technology (TUD), Rostock University Medical Centre (UMR) and Dresden University Hospital has developed an innovative, implantable and fully absorbable sensor film. For the first time, it enables reliable early detection of circulatory disorders in intestinal anastomoses – one of the riskiest surgical procedures in the abdominal cavity. The results have now been presented in the renowned journal ‘Advanced Science’.

Journal: Advanced Science

New vulnerability of asthma immune cells discovered

Universitatsklinikum Bonn
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Bonn, December 11, 2025 – Why do certain immune cells remain permanently active in allergic asthma – even in an environment that should actually damage them? A team from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn has discovered that these cells only survive because they activate a special antioxidant protection mechanism. When this mechanism is blocked, allergic inflammation in mouse models decreases significantly. The results have now been published in the scientific journal Immunity.

Journal: Immunity

Chinese Neurosurgical Journal study reveals high paralysis risk in corticospinal tract-infiltrating gliomas

Chinese Neurosurgical Journal
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Beijing Tiantan Hospital analyzed 101 glioma cases involving the brain’s motor pathway and found that one-third of patients developed permanent paralysis after surgery. High tumor grade, pre-operative motor deficits, and larger tumor volume were key predictors. The work underscores the need for precise imaging and careful surgical planning to maximize survival while safeguarding motor function.

Journal: Chinese Neurosurgical Journal
Funder: Capital Health Development Scientific Research Project

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