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

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 24-Dec-2025 15:12 ET (24-Dec-2025 20:12 GMT/UTC)

Are probiotics worth the cost to prevent infection after a colon removal surgery?

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new UCLA Health study found that taking an 8-strain probiotic daily may reduce the risk of pouchitis, a common inflammatory condition that occurs after colon removal surgery for ulcerative colitis, but the treatment may not be worth the cost depending on a patient’s likelihood of flare-ups.

Journal: Gastro Hep Advances

One dose of antibiotic treats early syphilis as well as three doses

NIH/Office of the Director
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that a single injection of the antibiotic benzathine penicillin G (BPG) successfully treated early syphilis just as well as the three-injection regimen used by many clinicians in the United States and elsewhere. These findings from a late-stage clinical trial suggest the second and third doses of conventional BPG therapy do not provide a health benefit. The results were published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Journal: New England Journal of Medicine
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health

Researchers identify single antibody behind life-threatening reaction to common blood thinner

McMaster University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at McMaster University have discovered that a rare but dangerous reaction to a widely used blood thinner is caused by a single antibody – overturning decades of medical misunderstanding. The findings were published on Sept. 3, 2025 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Journal: New England Journal of Medicine

Kunming Manifesto calls for agrobiodiversity to transform food systems

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Reports and Proceedings

The global food system is in urgent need of a radical shake-up to meet growing demand for food and nutrition security. The 2025 Kunming Manifesto, launched at the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum, presents agrobiodiversity as a solution to improve nutrition, strengthen ecosystems, and empower local communities, when integrated into policy and practice. Actionable recommendations and case studies show that a coordinated multistakeholder approach in resilient agrifood systems can deliver rapid health, economic, and environmental benefits.

Protein discovery gives new hope for longer COVID protection

La Trobe University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A protein particle hidden within the SARS-CoV-2 virus could lead to longer-lasting, more protective vaccines for COVID-19.

Journal: Nature Communications

UCLA receives $7.1M federal grant to expand psychotherapy treatment for chronic pain

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences
Grant and Award Announcement

UCLA Health has received a $7.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand research into a newer form of psychotherapy that has been shown to more significantly alleviate chronic pain among older adults compared to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy.

New meta-analysis demonstrates that access to the GeneSight test can significantly improve response and remission rates for patients with depression

The Motion Agency
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New meta analysis demonstrated that access to the GeneSight test can significantly improve response and remission rates for patients with depression. Compared to treatment as usual patients, those who were given the GeneSight test were 41% more likely to acheieve remission and 30% more likely to acheieve response. Results of the analysis have been published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

Journal: Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology