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Treatment

No effective treatments currently exist for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

A Psychedelic Compound Found in ‘Magic’ Mushrooms Might Prevent Debilitating Nerve Damage and Pain Caused by Chemotherapy

A study in mice and human tissue suggests psilocybin protects against peripheral neuropathy, a common side effect of chemotherapy. The findings are so promising that researchers are starting a mid-stage clinical trial this year

GLP-1 drugs, medications that are self-injected to support weight loss and lower blood sugar, helped peptides become mainstream.

Peptides Are All the Rage, Promising Miracle Cures and Makeovers Delivered by Injection. How Did We Get Here?

Experts say the peptide craze is part of a broader phenomenon, as patients look beyond the regulated health system to address problems that doctors have struggled to treat

An American bullfrog, which is the largest frog species in North America

This Deadly Shellfish Poisoning Has No Antidote. A Protein Found in American Bullfrogs Could Change That

A study in mice found that a protein called saxiphilin acts like a sponge against a deadly toxin produced by algal blooms. The harmful agent, which accumulates in certain seafood, can cause a life-threatening illness called paralytic shellfish poisoning

Participating in a sleep study, or a polysomnography, can help doctors diagnose a patient with narcolepsy.

This Newly Approved Narcolepsy Drug Is the First to Target the Sleep Disorder’s Root Cause Rather Than Its Symptoms

The Food and Drug Administration just greenlit a medication called Orzeyful for the treatment of narcolepsy type 1 in adults. The condition is caused by the loss of brain cells that produce orexin, a chemical important for regulating the sleep-wake cycle

The drug targets the tau protein, which accumulates and forms tangles (seen in blue) in nerve cells.

Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug That Fights a Tough-to-Target Protein Shows Promise at Slowing Cognitive Decline in a Clinical Trial

Recently FDA-approved treatments work to clear clumps of the protein amyloid beta in the brain. A drug that instead goes after tangles of the protein tau can yield similar cognitive outcomes, a new study suggests

The treatment involves wearing a headset for various at-home sessions.

The Future of Mental Health

FDA-Approved At-Home Brain Stimulation Device Aims to Treat Depression by Changing Patients’ Brain Excitability

The treatment consists of a Bluetooth headset that patients can connect to an app on their smartphones. It could mark a revolution in mental health medicine

An illustration of lymphocytes, or white blood cells in the immune system, which include T cells and other disease-fighting cells

You’ve Been Told to ‘Feed a Cold.’ Turns Out, Eating May Truly Boost Your Immune System Cells, According to a New Study

T cells, which target infection and disease, can become more effective after a meal. The finding might help improve cancer-fighting therapies and optimize our response to vaccines

Newborns usually go through tests to determine whether they have hearing problems. Undiagnosed issues can delay developmental milestones.

The FDA Approves the First-Ever Gene Therapy for Deafness, Which Aims to Restore Hearing in Kids With a Rare Inherited Condition

The agency’s decision is based on results from a clinical trial in which the treatment improved hearing in 80 percent of the pediatric participants. However, Deaf community advocates worry about the push to cure hearing loss

An artificially colored human B cell, the type of immune cell that caused all three autoimmune diseases in the patient

In a First, This Personalized Cell Therapy Treated Three Life-Threatening Autoimmune Diseases in One Patient

The patient was bedridden and needed daily blood transfusions, and she had tried nine different therapies that didn’t bring lasting effects. So, researchers modified some of her immune cells so they would attack her faulty cells

Despite its growing popularity, ADHD coaching has not been well-studied.

As ADHD Coaching Gains Popularity, Researchers Stress the Importance of Careful Vetting

A recent survey highlights variation in the training credentials and experience across the burgeoning industry, which is mostly unregulated and unlicensed

Research suggests that elephants use certain plants for medicinal purposes.

When Some Elephants Raid Farms, They Might Not Be After a Snack. They Could Be Looking for Medicinal Plants

A recent study suggests that the large mammals may seek out parts of bananas and papayas when they’re suffering from gut parasites, sparking a cross-species exchange of pharmaceutical knowledge

Estrogen may cause certain colon cells, shown in green in this microscope image, to release a hormone called peptide YY. This, in turn, causes a different type of colon cell, colored magenta, to pump out the chemical messenger serotonin, which activates pain-sensing nerve fibers.

Women Are More Likely to Have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This Newfound Gut Pain Pathway Might Explain Why

The hormone estrogen—which female animals typically have more of than males—triggers a molecular cascade in the gut that leads to pain signals, a study in mice suggests

A rinkhals (Hemachatus haemachatus) in Hluhluwe, South Africa, performs a threat display. These snakes tend to live on the edges of human communities.

The High-Stakes Quest to Make Snakebites Survivable Took Leaps Forward This Year, With Promising New Avenues to Safer Antivenoms

A wave of fresh science is challenging a century-old treatment and offering hope to the people snakebites harm most—often far from hospitals and help

Oliver and his father, Ricky

This Toddler Was the First Person to Receive a Test Treatment for a Rare Genetic Disorder. Nine Months Later, His Progress Is Inspiring Hope

Oliver Chu is one of five kids participating in a clinical trial investigating a gene therapy for Hunter syndrome, a disorder with symptoms akin to childhood dementia that limits life expectancy

A new study suggests blowing into a conch shell helps alleviate obstructive sleep apnea symptoms.

Suffering From Sleep Apnea? Try Blowing Into a Conch Shell Almost Daily, New Study Suggests

Researchers say the practice might provide a simpler and low-cost alternative to the standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, though trials with more participants are needed

Early detection cancer tests are showing signs of promise, but some researchers still have reservations.

Cancer DNA Can Be Detected in the Bloodstream Up to Three Years Before Diagnosis, Study Suggests

For a few individuals, scientists found genetic material from cancerous tumors in blood samples taken years before they were diagnosed through traditional methods

Scientists raced to develop a specialized treatment for KJ Muldoon. 

In a Remarkable First, a Baby With a Rare Disease Receives Personalized Gene Therapy

Researchers say the CRISPR-based technique used could eventually be employed to treat more people with rare genetic diseases

A cell culture plate with pluripotent stem cells, which can differentiate into any kind of cell in the body.

Stem Cell Therapies Could Treat Parkinson’s Disease by Rebuilding Lost Circuitry in the Brain, Studies Suggest

Two small clinical trials tested the safety of injecting stem cells into the brains of Parkinson’s patients and found no adverse effects

The 3D bioprinter at the Collins BioMicrosystems Laboratory at the University of Melbourne.

New 3D Bioprinter Could Build Replicas of Human Organs, Offering a Boost for Drug Discovery

The invention uses light, sound and bubbles to quickly create copies of soft tissue that might one day support testing individualized therapies for cancer and other diseases

The new research tested the drug liraglutide, marketed as the diabetes treatment Victoza. Liraglutide and the active substance used in the weight-loss treatment Wegovy are both GLP-1 agonists, used to lower the risk for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.

Weight Loss and Diabetes Drug Could Slow Alzheimer’s Progression, Preliminary Study Suggests

In a year-long trial, people who received a daily injection of liraglutide showed an 18 percent lower cognitive decline than people who received a placebo

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