Hormone deficiency makes the brain more flexible than expected

An international team of researchers has demonstrated that the tetravalent dengue vaccine known as Qdenga provided significant protection against the disease under real-world conditions, during the large 2024 epidemic in São Paulo, Brazil.

Being able to instantly and accurately predict the trajectory of a person's health in the years to come has long been seen as the pinnacle of medicine. This kind of information would have a profound effect on health care systems as a whole—shifting care from treatment to prevention.

Could the secret to a longer, healthier life be hidden inside the brain of a fruit fly? Researchers at National Taiwan University (NTU) think the answer is yes.

Long-term exposure to the industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) outdoors may be linked to an increased risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a large nationwide study published in Neurology.

A recent study has revealed significant variations in the nutritional composition of donor human milk across different countries. These findings could transform how hospitals support critically ill preterm infants worldwide.

A research team working at MedUni Vienna has demonstrated that a specific component of the immune system (PTX-3) remains at significantly higher levels in the blood of patients who have suffered from severe COVID-19, even months after the acute infection has subsided. This study identifies PTX-3 as a potential biomarker for existing tissue damage, long-term immune activation and also for complications following COVID-19.

Researchers at Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet have found a system in the brain that can explain why female mice, who are not normally aggressive, suddenly and dramatically gain access to this behavior after becoming pregnant and giving birth (so-called maternal aggression).

A new Northwestern Medicine study has shed light on how a class of diabetes drugs may protect the kidneys—not just by lowering blood sugar, but by triggering a molecular shift that dampens inflammation, according to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

At first glance, Alzheimer's disease and cancer have little in common. One erodes memory, while the other consumes the body. Yet researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have discovered an unexpected link connecting the two.

Some people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have abnormal levels of glutamate in the brain. New research led by Mass General Brigham has focused on this neuron-activating chemical, suggesting that a glutamate-modulating drug called memantine may improve social functioning in youth with ASD who do not have intellectual disabilities.

In a preclinical study, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists have developed a highly targeted gene therapy that could revolutionize treatment for cancers linked to a common herpesvirus, with minimal side effects.

Two distinct stem cell lineages that drive tooth root and alveolar bone formation have been identified by researchers from Science Tokyo. Using genetically modified mice and lineage-tracing techniques, the team has shed light on the cell signaling mechanisms guiding differentiation in stem cells in the developing teeth, offering key insights for future regenerative dental therapies.

For years, virtual reality (VR) has been used in pain management for hospitalized adults and children, to take their minds off their discomfort, but typically the technology has been a solo experience for the patient.

Certain nutrients in food can trigger a mild stress response in nematodes. But instead of making them sick, this actually helps them stay healthier as they age, according to researchers at the University of Basel, Switzerland.

Researchers at the University of Bath, in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford and Bristol, have developed a molecule that prevents the clumping and build-up of a protein linked to Parkinson's disease and related dementias. The team has successfully demonstrated it works in an animal model of Parkinson's and hopes that in the future this could lead to a treatment that slows the progression of the disease.

A new brain imaging study led by researchers in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health in the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University, and published in JAMA Network Open, uses a specialized type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique named neuromelanin-sensitive MRI to shed light on the link between chronic depression and the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine plays important roles in many cognitive, emotional, and bodily functions and is a central cellular component to the reward/motivation system of the brain.

A new study led by University of California, Irvine's Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory researchers found that aging changes the brain's overall shape in measurable ways. Instead of focusing only on the size of specific regions, the team used a new analytic method to see how the brain's form shifts and distorts over time.

A new international QUT-led study found that bariatric surgery improves work productivity and employment rates in the short term—but these gains may not last beyond five years without targeted support.