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Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Jun-2026 19:15 ET (18-Jun-2026 23:15 GMT/UTC)

Female sex and higher education linked to escalating prevalence of obesity and overweight in Africa

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Female sex and higher education are significantly linked to the escalating prevalence of obesity and overweight in Africa, finds one of the largest and most detailed analyses of body weight trends in the region, published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.

Journal: BMJ Global Health

THE LANCET + eCLINICALMEDICINE: Two studies on reductions in mortality from small changes lifestyle changes

The Lancet
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Below, please find two summaries related to studies publishing in The Lancet and eClinicalMedicine (part of The Lancet Discovery Science suite of journals) sharing new research on how small increases in physical activity and other lifestyle changes can improve mortality rates.

Journal: The Lancet

Guide to managing youth concussions aims to educate coaches and parents

Colorado State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international group of researchers has put together an easy-to-follow guide for parents and coaches to recognize concussions in young athletes and respond appropriately.

Journal: Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Autologous T cell therapy targeting multiple antigens shows promise treating pancreatic cancer

Baylor College of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A novel immunotherapy targeting pancreatic cancer that has shown promising results in a first in-human phase 1/2 trial.

Journal: Nature Medicine

Implant provides lasting relief for treatment-resistant depression

WashU Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a new study, WashU Medicine researchers show that vagus nerve stimulation from a small, implanted device provides substantial, long-lasting improvements for some participants with the most severe treatment-resistant depression.

Funder: LivaNova, PLC

Birding enthusiasts can help songbirds avoid salmonella epidemics

University of California - Los Angeles
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In years when pine cone production is very low, forest songbirds sometimes migrate in large numbers into cities, where they congregate around bird feeders. In these crowded conditions, salmonellosis, the illness caused by the Salmonella bacterium, can spread through their population and even sicken people, pets and poultry. UCLA researchers are developing a tool that can predict when these outbreaks are likely to happen so people can take down their feeders to prevent the epidemic from starting.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Can future-focused thoughts help smokers quit?

Virginia Tech
Grant and Award Announcement

Nearly 15 percent of U.S. adults continue to smoke, often because long-term health risks feel too abstract compared with the immediate rewards. Jeff Stein, an addiction researcher at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, is leading a National Cancer Institute–funded study testing whether episodic future thinking — a strategy that helps people vividly imagine their personal future — can reduce impulsivity and support quitting. The fully remote study will enroll 128 participants nationwide and combine the intervention with counseling and nicotine patches.

Ochsner Health names Dr. Timothy Riddell executive vice president and chief operating officer

Ochsner Health System
Business Announcement

Ochsner Health has appointed Dr. Timothy Riddell as its new executive vice president and chief operating officer. In this role, Dr. Riddell will oversee clinical operations across the system’s 47 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers. He plays a vital part in guiding Ochsner toward its long-term goals for sustainability and success.

LLM treatment advice agrees with physician recommendations in early-stage HCC, but falls short in late stage

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Large language models (LLM) can generate treatment recommendations for straightforward cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that align with clinical guidelines but fall short in more complex cases, according to a new study by Ji Won Han from The Catholic University of Korea and colleagues publishing January 13^th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine.

Journal: PLOS Medicine