EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 17-Jun-2026 13:16 ET (17-Jun-2026 17:16 GMT/UTC)

15-Apr-2026

Extend vaccination opportunities and involve community members in communicating about vaccines to boost uptake, say researchers

Extending vaccination opportunities, involving community members alongside healthcare professionals in communicating about vaccines, and providing financial incentives are among the most effective ways to increase vaccine uptake, finds an analysis of international trial evidence published by The BMJ today.

Journal: The BMJ
Funder: National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)

15-Apr-2026

Large confirmatory clinical trial shows efficacy and safety of new brain stimulation therapy for depression

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A landmark international clinical trial led by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and University of California San Diego School of Medicine, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, has found that magnetic seizure therapy (MST) is as effective as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)—the current gold-standard treatment for severe, treatment-resistant depression—with significantly fewer cognitive side effects. The study is the first large-scale, randomized clinical trial to directly compare MST with ECT, marking an important step toward a new treatment option for patients.

Journal: The Lancet Psychiatry

15-Apr-2026

The new midlife crisis: Mental and cognitive health in middle-aged Americans is declining

Association for Psychological Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Research has shown that nations with more income inequality, including the United States, had higher levels of loneliness.

Journal: Current Directions in Psychological Science

15-Apr-2026

Gut microbiome serves as key driver for bacterial infection outcomes for fatty liver disease

University of California - Irvine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Irvine, Calif., April 15, 2026 — A research team led by the University of California, Irvine’s Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health has uncovered a critical biological link explaining why individuals with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), or fatty liver disease, face significantly worse outcomes from certain foodborne infections.

Journal: Gut Microbes
Funder: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

15-Apr-2026

Protein helps cells handle stress

Syracuse University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Syracuse University scientists learned how a flexible, reshaping protein creates temporary sorting and storing centers in stressed cells to potentially protect their health. A companion study found that disrupting this process could be linked to ALS.

Journal: The EMBO Journal

15-Apr-2026

Economic hardship tied to increased violence across California

University of California - San Diego
Reports and Proceedings

Economic instability – including job loss, food insecurity, eviction and homelessness – is strongly associated with higher rates of violence among California adults, according to a new statewide survey led by the University of California San Diego.

Funder: Blue Shield of California Foundation

15-Apr-2026

University of Calgary-led study shows link between migraine genetics and post-concussion headaches in kids

University of Calgary
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A University of Calgary-led study has found evidence that children with genes predisposing to migraine might have an increased risk of having more headaches after a concussion, which are known to be linked to prolonged symptoms up to six-months after the injury. Researchers looked at over 600 children aged 8 to 16 who presented with symptoms of concussion, and followed them for six months post injury. It is the first study that has looked at specific genetic factors for migraine and post-concussion outcomes.

Journal: Neurology Genetics

15-Apr-2026

Eating more ultra-processed foods linked with greater risk of being overweight or obese in adolescents

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Adolescents who consume more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have significantly higher odds of being overweight or obese, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Mekuriaw Nibret Aweke of the University of Gondar, Ethiopia, and colleagues. In the most recent of the analyzed studies, higher UPF consumption was linked with more than twice the odds of overweight or obesity compared to lower UPF consumption.

Journal: PLOS One

15-Apr-2026

Can naked mole rats peacefully hand over power?

Salk Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Salk scientists find naked mole rat colonies are capable of peaceful queen succession, illuminating a new layer of social complexity for naked mole rats, which are important models in biomedical research on socialization, aging, adaptation, fertility, and more. The findings also help answer broader questions about biological resilience, potentially revealing principles that can explain human health and disease.

Journal: Science Advances