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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 25-May-2026 21:15 ET (26-May-2026 01:15 GMT/UTC)

Hospital delirium linked to later dementia risk in healthy adults

University of Edinburgh
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Older adults who develop delirium during a hospital admission face a substantially higher risk of dementia in later years, even if they had no prior health conditions, according to a major new population study.

Journal: The Lancet Healthy Longevity

Lifestyle factors and cardiometabolic risk

Chinese Medical Journals Publishing House Co., Ltd.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A review in the Chinese Medical Journal underscores healthy lifestyles as key to mitigating cardiometabolic risk. It emphasizes "Life's Essential 8," linking diet, physical activity, sleep, and other factors to significantly reduced risks of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Despite proven benefits, widespread adoption faces challenges, necessitating innovative public health strategies and individual commitment.

Journal: Chinese Medical Journal
Funder: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin, China

Mistaken beliefs about public attitudes may undermine support for LGBTQ+ individuals coming out  

Nagoya University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Coming out is known to have clear benefits for mental health and wellbeing, yet for many LGBTQ+ individuals in Japan, doing so remains a significant challenge. Researchers at Nagoya University surveyed cisgender, heterosexual Japanese adults on their attitudes toward sexual and gender minorities and coming out. Their findings, published in Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, show that while most participants had positive attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people, they assumed the public was more negative than themselves—a misperception that may be stopping people from showing their support.

Journal: Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

Hidden “resilience window” found in human brain one hour after stress

Kochi University of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers using simultaneous fMRI–EEG recordings have identified “a delayed resilience window” approximately one hour after acute stress. Psychological resilience, the brain’s ability to “bounce back” and mentally reorganize after a crisis, was found to peak during this specific timeframe. Resilient individuals showed a characteristic shift from “alarm mode” (salience network) to “adaptive mode” (default-mode network), providing a critical, objective window for mental‑health and educational support.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: MEXT JSPS, MEXT JSPS, MEXT JSPS, MEXT JSPS, MEXT JSPS, MEXT JSPS, Public Health Research Foundation, Naito Science and Engineering Foundation, Takeda Science Foundation (TSF)

E-cigarettes rated most effective smoking cessation method by new evidence review

Society for the Study of Addiction
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new overview of the best available evidence worldwide for smoking cessation has found that nicotine‑containing e‑cigarettes appear to be more effective for smoking cessation than other interventions..

Journal: Addiction
Funder: Cancer Research UK

Nicotine E-cigarettes more successful in helping smokers quit

University of Massachusetts Amherst
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new analysis of existing studies co-led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst public health researcher finds that nicotine e-cigarettes consistently help adults quit smoking, a conclusion that emerges with striking agreement across nearly a decade of studies.

Journal: Addiction

Global maternal deaths fell to 240,000 in 2023, but more than 100 countries still fall short of the global maternal mortality target as progress slows worldwide

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
Peer-Reviewed Publication

SEATTLE, Wash. – March 26, 2026 – Global maternal deaths have declined over the past three decades, yet progress has slowed in recent years and remains uneven across countries, according to new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 research published today in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health.

Journal: The Lancet
Funder: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Tumor DNA circulating in patients’ blood after pre-surgery treatments predicts whether breast cancer will return

European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer
Reports and Proceedings

Fragments of tumour DNA circulating in the bloodstream of patients with breast cancer can predict whether they are likely to relapse, especially when samples are taken after the patients have received treatments prior to surgery. The study, presented at the 15^th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC15) in Barcelona, included the largest number of events reported so far for circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) in individual patients.

Funder: La Fondation Contre le Cancer, Les Amis de l'Institut Bordet, 5x1000 del Ministero della Salute
Meeting: 15th European Breast Cancer Conference

University of Chicago and IDefine partner to advance programmable RNA therapy for Kleefstra syndrome

University of Chicago
Business Announcement

The University of Chicago Department of Chemistry and the nonprofit IDefine have announced a six-month research partnership to develop a programmable RNA therapy for Kleefstra syndrome (KLEFS). Led by Principal Investigator Bryan Dickinson, the project aims to address the genetic root of the disorder using advanced molecular tools.