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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-May-2025 12:09 ET (10-May-2025 16:09 GMT/UTC)

UT Health San Antonio, UTSA researchers receive prestigious 2025 Hill Prizes for medicine and technology

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Grant and Award Announcement

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and The University of Texas at San Antonio, institutions set to merge later this year, collaborated to earn prestigious 2025 Hill Prizes in medicine and technology from the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST) and Lyda Hill Philanthropies.

Research on past hurricanes aims to reduce future risk

University of Texas at Arlington
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research led by The University of Texas at Arlington emphasizes that studying the impacts of past tropical storms can help communities better prepare for future storms. A key part of the study is analyzing the types and quantities of storm-related precipitation in affected regions to understand its role on local water resources. By mitigating excessive damage, such preparation could enable more people to remain in their home countries. This is increasingly urgent as climate change is expected to make tropical storms 10-15% more frequent and intense.

Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Funder: International Atomic Energy Agency, National Academy of Sciences

A major advance in biology combines DNA and RNA and could revolutionize cancer treatments

Université libre de Bruxelles
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers led by François Fuks - Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, ULB Faculty of Medicine, ULB-Cancer Research Center and Jules Bordet Institute, H.U.B. - have discovered a new mechanism which enables precise gene regulation by combining DNA and RNA epigenetics. Published in the journal Cell, their discovery opens up new perspectives in biology and could revolutionise future cancer treatments through personalised therapies.

Journal: Cell

Growth of private equity and hospital consolidation in primary care and price implications

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In this cross-sectional study, nearly one-half of all primary care physicians (PCPs) were affiliated with hospitals, while private equity-affiliated PCPs were growing and concentrated in certain regional markets. Relative to PCPs in independent settings, hospital-affiliated PCPs and private equity-affiliated PCPs had higher prices for the same services.

Journal: JAMA Health Forum

Online advertising of compounded glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

This cross-sectional study showed websites that sell compounded glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) often partially informed and sometimes misinformed potential consumers. Compounded medications contain the same active ingredients as in branded medications but may contain different inactive ingredients. Most websites did not disclose that compounded GLP-1 RAs were not FDA approved, although some suggested these drugs were FDA approved.

Journal: JAMA Health Forum

Health care utilization and costs for older adults aging into Medicare after the affordable care act

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

This study found modest evidence of reductions in out-of-pocket costs and improvements in health among adults entering Medicare after the Affordable Care Act. Insurance coverage and financial assistance should be preserved and enhanced to improve health and health care access among vulnerable older adults.

Journal: JAMA Health Forum

Brains of people with sickle cell disease appear older

WashU Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by WashU Medicine researchers has found older-looking brains in adults with sickle cell disease, helping to explain the cognitive challenges experienced by such individuals. A brain image from a healthy individual (left) shows a larger brain with more white matter compared with a brain image from a patient with sickle cell disease (right). Healthy individuals experiencing economic deprivation also had more-aged appearing brains.

Journal: JAMA Network Open
Funder: NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute