EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-Jun-2026 09:16 ET (1-Jun-2026 13:16 GMT/UTC)

19-Jan-2026

Blood test can help identify cancer in patients with non-specific symptoms

Karolinska Institutet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A simple blood test can help detect cancer in patients with non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, pain or weight loss. This is according to a Swedish study from Karolinska Institutet, Danderyd Hospital and others, published in Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications

19-Jan-2026

Irradiated cannabis might still harbour toxic fungi and residues, McGill study finds

McGill University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Gamma irradiation, an industry-standard sterilization method for medicinal and recreational cannabis, does not fully eliminate toxic fungi or their chemical residues, a McGill University study has found. Current testing practices may also miss contamination, raising concerns about health risks for vulnerable users, particularly those with weakened immune systems.

Journal: Toxins

19-Jan-2026

Hospital partnership improves follow up scans, decreases long term risk after aortic repair

Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Through a statewide partnership, hospitals in Michigan drastically increased the number of patients who receive follow up imaging after undergoing aortic aneurysm repair, according to a study. Patients who participated in surveillance imaging had a nearly 60% decrease in the likelihood of dying within one year of surgery.

Funder: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

19-Jan-2026

Research alert: Spreading drug costs over the year may ease financial burden for Medicare cancer patients

University of California - San Diego
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Study found that nearly half of Medicare Part D beneficiaries with cancer are projected to reach the annual out of pocket cap, with about one-third doing so as early as January. Enrollment in Medicare Prescription Plan would allow beneficiaries to spread these costs across the year — substantially reducing monthly payment volatility.

Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology

19-Jan-2026

NUS Medicine researchers identify key protein that could reverse ageing

National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The researchers have found that the increased expression of transcription factor DMTF1 can improve neural stem cell function, providing insights to how neural stem cells change with age and degeneration.

Journal: Science Advances

19-Jan-2026

‘Revoice’ device gives stroke patients their voice back

University of Cambridge
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have developed a wearable, comfortable and washable device called Revoice that could help people regain the ability to communicate naturally and fluently following a stroke, without the need for invasive brain implants.

Journal: Nature Communications

19-Jan-2026

New method predicts asthma attacks up to five years in advance

Karolinska Institutet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Mass General Brigham and Karolinska Institutet have identified a new method to predict asthma exacerbations with a high degree of accuracy. The study is published in Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications

19-Jan-2026

Leading Danish universities join forces to boost innovation capacity

University of Copenhagen
Business Announcement

University of Copenhagen and the Danish Technical University (DTU) enters into a broad partnership representing academia, the health-sector, government, industry, investors and innovation ecosystem actors to boost the development of the Innovation District Copenhagen.

19-Jan-2026

Pediatric investigation review highlights the future of newborn screening with next-generation sequencing

Pediatric Investigation
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Routine newborn screening (NBS) has transformed early disease detection. However, traditional biochemical tests limit the range of conditions that can be identified at birth. Next-generation sequencing is being explored as a complementary screening tool. A review published in Pediatric Investigation examines how next-generation sequencing could expand NBS from single-disease assays to genome-enabled, multi-disease screening approaches.

Journal: Pediatric Investigation