June 8, 2025

Provoking symptoms before brain stimulation shows promise for treating OCD and nicotine dependence

June 8, 2025 / Research update / InnovateMed Author / nicotine dependence

by Vanderbilt University Medical Center edited by Robert Egan, reviewed by Andrew Zinin Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry makes the case that symptom provocation may significantly improve the clinical effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a noninvasive brain stimulation method used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and nicotine dependence. The study was conceptualized, […]

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Discovery of Gpr45 gene activity in brain cilia sheds light on genetic roots of overeating

June 8, 2025 / Research update / InnovateMed Author / gene activity

by UT Southwestern Medical Center edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan GPR45 transports Gαs into primary cilia to regulate food intake. Credit: Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adp3989 Using a tool called Automated Meiotic Mapping (AMM) that was developed at UT Southwestern Medical Center, a team of researchers has identified a gene that appears to be key to regulating food intake.

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mRNA vaccines modified to include cytokine IL-12 enhance T cell response

June 8, 2025 / Research update / InnovateMed Author / mRNA vaccine

by University of Pennsylvania edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan Credit: CC0 Public Domain In the quest to design vaccines that better help the body’s immune system fight disease, scientists are always looking for more tools for their arsenal. The strong antibody responses generated by vaccines provide an important first round of defense, but “you

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A sweet solution: Common chewing gum sweetener could replace toxic additives in medical hydrogels

June 8, 2025 / Research update / InnovateMed Author / hydrogels

by Alyssa Schaechinger, Texas A&M University edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan The natural sweetener D-sorbitol was used to improve conductive hydrogels for electronic implants, which are used to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases. Credit: Danielle Benavides/Texas A&M Engineering Imagine treating chronic illness not with pills, but with soft, flexible electronic implants seamlessly

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Many Americans unaware high blood pressure usually has no noticeable symptoms

June 8, 2025 / Patient education / InnovateMed Author / High blood pressure

by Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Andrew Zinin Source: Annenberg Science and Public Health (ASAPH) Survey, April 2025. Credit: Annenberg Public Policy Center Hypertension or high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack and stroke, the two top causes of death in the United States, is

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Mailed self-collection HPV tests more than double cervical cancer screening rates, study shows

June 8, 2025 / Clinical Practice / InnovateMed Author / HPV

by University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Mail-in self-collection tests for human papillomavirus (HPV) more than doubled cervical cancer screening participation among never- and under-screened U.S. women, according to a first-of-its-kind study by researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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Single-dose CAR-T therapy potentially curative in multiple myeloma

June 8, 2025 / Research update / InnovateMed Author / myeloma

by Justin Jackson, Phys.org edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan Micrograph of a plasmacytoma, the histologic correlate of multiple myeloma. H&E stain. Credit: Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0 A multi-institutional study led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reports one-third of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma remained in remission for at least

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Brain drain begins

June 8, 2025 / News update / InnovateMed Author / brain drain

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios The Trump administration’s spending cuts and restrictions on foreign students are triggering a brain drain — and American scientists are panicking, Axios’ Erica Pandey reports. Why it matters: U.S. researchers’ fears are coming true. America’s science pipeline is drying up, and countries like China are seizing the opportunity to surge ahead. “This is such

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FDA Issues Warning on ‘Gas Station Heroin’ Tianeptine

June 8, 2025 / Clinical Practice / InnovateMed Author / heroin

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a health warning regarding products containing tianeptine, which is often called “gas station heroin” because of its easy availability at gas station stores. The FDA noted that tianeptine is associated with an increasing number of adverse events, including death, and called its use “a dangerous and

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New Data on GLP-1 RAs and Psychiatric Side Effects

June 8, 2025 / Research update / InnovateMed Author / psychiatric

Treatment with glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) for weight loss or diabetes management doesn ’t raise the risk for adverse psychiatric events and improves quality of life (QOL) in people with no history of mental illness, a large new review has found. The results, gleaned from placebo-controlled trials involving over 100,000 participants, are

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