EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 24-May-2026 03:15 ET (24-May-2026 07:15 GMT/UTC)

13-Apr-2026

Prenatal opioid exposure in babies doesn’t predict future classroom performance

A new study led by researchers in the Penn State College of Medicine suggests that school quality, family environment, race and maternal education — not prenatal opioid exposure — play a much larger role in academic outcomes for school-aged children.

Journal: The Lancet Regional Health - Americas

13-Apr-2026

Expanding access to palliative care for patients with advanced liver disease

Thomas Jefferson University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Advanced liver disease (ALD) occurs when significant scarring causes the liver to lose function. Patients with ALD often have serious health challenges but have limited access to palliative care that could improve their quality of life. A new multicenter trial led by Manisha Verma, MD, and Victor Navarro, MD, at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital demonstrates a new approach that could potentially transform access to palliative care for patients with ALD and address a major care gap.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine
Funder: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

13-Apr-2026

New study shows limitations of naloxone in reversing overdoses from powerful synthetic opioids

American Society of Anesthesiologists
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study exposes challenges in reversing opioid overdoses with naloxone when potent synthetic drugs like fentanyl and sufentanil are involved, according to a study in the May 2026 issue of Anesthesiology, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). The findings raise important alarms for health care professionals and the public as the opioid crisis continues.

13-Apr-2026

Clinical trial aims to address vaginal complaints after breast cancer diagnosis

Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology
Business Announcement

The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology is now enrolling patients into a clinical trial aimed at helping women recover from the vaginal side effects of breast cancer treatment. Supported in part by a grant from the National Cancer Institute, the REVITALIZE study (Alliance A221801) will test if a laser therapy helps reduce vaginal dryness caused by breast cancer treatment, a painful side effect that can cause discomfort for many cancer survivors.

Funder: Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Foundation

13-Apr-2026

Stress, BMI, and hormones linked to earlier puberty in girls

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

Higher levels of key steroid hormones—combined with elevated stress and body mass index (BMI)—are associated with earlier onset of puberty in girls, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. This paper is among the first to integrate these three factors using a comprehensive steroid metabolome approach.

Journal: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism

13-Apr-2026

Despite FDA rule change, few retail pharmacies dispense mifepristone

University of Southern California
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Very few patients are filling mifepristone prescriptions at retail pharmacies years after FDA permanently lifted rules requiring that patients obtain the abortion pill in person at a clinic or hospital.

Journal: JAMA

13-Apr-2026

AI remains lacking in clinical reasoning abilities, according to study of 21 large language models

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mass General Brigham researchers studied 21 widely used AI chatbots and found they can identify the correct diagnosis over 90% of the time when given complete patient information, but struggle with the step-by-step clinical reasoning doctors use, missing appropriate differential diagnoses in more than 80% of cases. The findings highlight a significant gap between AI accuracy and real-world medical decision-making.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

13-Apr-2026

Opioid use stigma may underlie clinician biases towards patients with sickle cell disease

University of Chicago Medical Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers found that patients with sickle cell disease had higher odds of having negative descriptors in their electronic health record compared with Black patients and patients with chronic pain, but had similar odds of negative descriptors as patients with opioid use disorder, suggesting that bias toward patients with sickle cell disease may be most strongly tied to opioid use stigma.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

13-Apr-2026

Study shows cigarette smoking almost twice as likely for people living with chronic pain

University of Kansas
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research shows people who experience chronic pain tend to consume cigarettes and e-cigarettes at higher rates than others. The findings, based on analysis of the National Health Interview Survey from 2014-2023, should inform therapies for both chronic pain and smoking cessation.