October 15, 2025

Customizable finger brace toggles between stiff and flexible for easier recovery

October 15, 2025 / Research update / InnovateMed Author / finger brace

by Marylee Williams, Carnegie Mellon University edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan Editors’ notes A team in the Interactive Structures Lab developed a fully customizable finger brace that can easily switch from stiff to flexible with the push or flex of a finger. It can also be 3D printed and requires no assembly. Credit: Carnegie Mellon […]

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More than half of long COVID patients still showing symptoms after six months

October 15, 2025 / Clinical Practice / InnovateMed Author / covid

by Australian National University edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Andrew Zinin Editors’ notes Proportion of respondents reporting each solicited symptom at three months, by recovered vs. persistent long COVID. Credit: Epidemiology and Infection (2025). DOI: 10.1017/s0950268825100551 A new study of Australians suffering from long COVID found 56% still had persistent symptoms six months after their initial infection, according to

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Triple-threat iron supplement also improves gut health

October 15, 2025 / Research update / InnovateMed Author / iron supplement

by American Chemical Society edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan Editors’ notes Histological evaluations of liver, duodenum and colon by Haematoxylin and Eosin staining. Abbreviations: HASH (empty hydrogel), HASH+IDF (iron dextran and dietary fiber encapsulated hydrogel), HASH+BIDF (Iron dextran, dietary fiber and Lactobacillus rhamnosus encapsulated hydrogel), FeSO4 +AA (Ferrous sulfate and Ascorbic acid). Credit: ACS Applied Materials

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Cops on ketamine? Largely unregulated mental health treatment faces hurdles

October 15, 2025 / Clinical Practice / InnovateMed Author / ketamine

by Katja Ridderbusch edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Andrew Zinin Editors’ notes Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Combining psychotherapy with low-dose ketamine, a hallucinogenic drug long used as an anesthetic, is a relatively new approach to treating severe depression and post-traumatic stress, especially in populations with high trauma rates such as firefighters, police officers, and military members.

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Over 20% of young adults use cannabis or alcohol to help them sleep, study finds

October 15, 2025 / Clinical Practice / InnovateMed Author / sleep

by Justin Jackson, Phys.org edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan Editors’ notes Credit: Craig Adderley from Pexels Researchers at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, report that more than one in five young adults in the US use cannabis or alcohol to help them fall asleep. Nearly half of those who use cannabis said

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Agentic artificial intelligence

October 15, 2025 / News update / InnovateMed Author / Al

from Politico:  Agentic artificial intelligence —bots that can reason — could help the pharmaceutical industry reduce the time it takes to bring cures to market. Amazon Web Services global chief medical officer and director, Rowland Illing, says that AWS is already working with pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and AstraZeneca, to overhaul how they make

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Which Patients Benefit Most From Repeat PSA Testing?

October 15, 2025 / Clinical Practice / InnovateMed Author / PSA testing

TOPLINE: In a study involving more than 11,000 men enrolled in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) cancer screening trial, about one quarter of elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) results (≥ 2.5, 3.0, or 4.0 ng/mL) dropped below biopsy threshold the following year. More than half of men with at least one elevated result had

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What Clinicians Need to Know Before Prescribing Testosterone

October 15, 2025 / Clinical Practice / InnovateMed Author / testosterone

Most men currently using testosterone preparations are middle-aged or older, with only moderately reduced testosterone levels, a high burden of chronic diseases, and nonspecific symptoms that overlap with age-related changes. In this population, the benefits and risks of testosterone therapy remain controversial. Testosterone Replacement Versus Supplementation Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is indicated for classic hypogonadism

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Is Fecal Transplantation Effective for Depression?

October 15, 2025 / Clinical Practice / InnovateMed Author / fecal transplant

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) may be an effective adjunctive therapy for depression, especially in patients with symptoms linked to gut disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, experts caution that the evidence is preliminary. A large meta-analysis showed that FMT significantly reduced depressive symptoms in the short and medium term. Both oral capsule and direct gastrointestinal (GI)

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How a fabric patch uses static electricity in your clothes to let you chat with AI and control smart devices

October 15, 2025 / Research update / InnovateMed Author / fabric patch

by Paul Arnold, Phys.org edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Robert Egan Editors’ notes DL-empowered A-Textile. (B) Photographic image showing the A-T extile–integrated garment for voice perception. Scale bar, 4 cm. (C) Photographic image showing the developed A-T extile (dimension, 3.3 cm by 3.3π cm). Scale bar, 2 cm. (D) Photographic image showing the flexibility of the A-T

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