EurekAlert! National Institutes of Health

Latest news releases from NIH-funded organizations

Funded Research News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Dec-2025 10:12 ET (18-Dec-2025 15:12 GMT/UTC)

18-Dec-2025

NU-9 halts Alzheimer’s disease in animal model before symptoms begin

Northwestern University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Experimental drug NU-9 shows promise in clearing toxic proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists tested NU-9 in a pre-symptomatic animal model of Alzheimer’s disease. Drug dramatically reduced brain changes that emerge near the disease’s onset. Researchers have hope that NU-9 could act as a potential prophylaxis to prevent Alzheimer's symptoms from appearing.

Journal: Alzheimer’s & Dementia
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health

18-Dec-2025

City of Hope scientists study rare disorder to uncover mechanism and hormone regulation underlying fatty liver disease and sweet aversion

City of Hope
Peer-Reviewed Publication

City of Hope will detail a Nature Metabolism study by Dr. Charles Brenner, which uncovered how citrin deficiency (CD) can trigger fat buildup in the liver — even in lean individuals. The research reveals how the liver turns on a hormone that reduces cravings for sweets and alcohol. The findings could lead to new therapies for a variety of health conditions, including fatty liver disease or MASLD, which afflicts more than 1 billion people worldwide and increases the risk for developing type 2 diabetes and liver cancer.

Funder: Alfred E. Mann Family Foundation, Arthur Riggs Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute, NIH/National Institutes of Health, American Diabetes Association, Burroughs Wellcome Fund

18-Dec-2025

Hospitals acquired by real estate investment trusts associated with greater risk of bankruptcy, closure

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Real estate investment trust (REIT)-acquired U.S. hospitals were associated with a greater risk of bankruptcy or closure than non-REIT-acquired hospitals, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The findings also showed that REIT acquisition of hospitals had no significant impact on quality of care or clinical outcomes.

Journal: The BMJ
Funder: the Rx Foundation, NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), Harvard Catalyst, Harvard University

17-Dec-2025

Young adults commonly mix cannabis with nicotine and tobacco

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Simultaneous use of cannabis with nicotine and tobacco products is common among cannabis users—particularly those who vape—according to a new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The research also shows that both vaped and smoked cannabis use have increased over time. Until now, the frequency, patterns, and motivations for cannabis use in early adulthood have remained understudied.

Journal: Tobacco Induced Diseases
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health

17-Dec-2025

Dartmouth researchers launch national multisite clinical trial for teen opioid treatment

The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Business Announcement

A team of researchers, led by Lisa Marsch, PhD, at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, has received a four-year $13-million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to conduct the first-ever multisite clinical trial evaluating long-acting medication in the treatment of opioid use disorder among adolescents.

Funder: NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse