EurekAlert! News by Subject: Medicine & Health - News by Subject: Medicine & Health

Medicine & Health

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-Mar-2026 12:15 ET (16-Mar-2026 16:15 GMT/UTC)

Coastal ocean chemistry now substantially shaped by humans

University of California - Riverside
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A global analysis of more than 2,300 seawater samples from more than 20 field studies around the globe indicates that human-made chemicals make up a significant portion of organic matter in coastal oceans.

Journal: Nature Geoscience
Funder: Simons Foundation International, NASA Headquarters, U.S. National Science Foundation

AI expert and industry-leading toxicologist Thomas Hartung hails launch of agentic AI platform, ToxIndex, as a “transformative moment” in chemical safety science

Exposome Moonshot
Business Announcement

Dr. Thomas Hartung, Director of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has endorsed the public launch of ToxIndex, an agentic AI platform developed by Insilica Inc. that produces comprehensive, source-traceable toxicological risk assessments in just a few hours.

Geographic, racial, and sex disparities in time to treatment for early-onset colorectal cancer

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This cross-sectional analysis found that delays in treatment initiation for early-onset colorectal cancer—often exceeding 90 days—were more common in all-urban populations and appeared to disproportionately affect young male, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, or Hispanic patients. Although absolute differences in average treatment timing were modest, the focus in this study on clinically relevant delay thresholds (30, 60, and 90 days) is supported by recent meta-analytic literature. The consistency of these delays across sociodemographic groups challenges assumptions of uniformly timely access in urban settings.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Long-term trends in pediatric self-injury in high-income countries

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This systematic review and meta-analysis of 42 studies observed a relative increase in the annual rate of self-injury visits to health care and self-reported self-injury among children and youth, with variability in baseline rates across studies in 12 high-income countries. Effective, contextually informed, large-scale prevention initiatives are urgently needed to curb the rise in self-injury within high-income countries, particularly among female individuals.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics

Holding vs continuing GLP-1/GIP agonists before upper endoscopy

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: This randomized clinical trial found that continuing glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) or glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) agonist in the preprocedural period increased clinically significant residual gastric volume (RGV) but did not increase the risk of other adverse events. Clear liquids the day prior to the procedure may mitigate the risk of clinically significant RGV regardless of GLP-1/GIP use.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine

Clinical trial results support use of weekly extended-release buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder during pregnancy

NIH/Office of the Director
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a research team found that administering weekly injectable extended-release buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy led to higher rates of abstinence from illicit opioids than buprenorphine given daily under the tongue (sublingual), one of the standard methods of treatment. Additionally, serious adverse events were less common in those receiving extended-release treatment. The findings, which support the use of this formulation of buprenorphine for treating OUD during pregnancy, were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine
Funder: NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse

Traditional Chinese medicine in febrile neutropenia treatment: advances and prospects

Xia & He Publishing Inc.
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Febrile neutropenia (FN) is one of the acute and serious complications of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression in tumor patients. Antibiotics and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor are the mainstays of its treatment. However, this therapy still faces many challenges and may trigger drug resistance, as well as adverse effects such as bone pain and vasculitis. How to minimize treatment-related toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy has become a key issue to be addressed in current clinical practice. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has demonstrated unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of FN. We conducted a comprehensive search of the PubMed, Web of Science, and CNKI databases using keywords such as TCM and FN, covering the period from their establishment to May 2025. Clinical studies have shown that the combination of TCM and modern medicine can significantly reduce the incidence of FN, while also enhancing the number of granulocytes, shortening the duration of fever, improving the quality of life of patients, and reducing other toxic effects of chemotherapy. These results suggest that TCM is a promising and safe complementary therapy. However, more high-quality trials are needed to verify its benefits. This review summarizes the latest progress in the treatment of FN with TCM and discusses future development directions.

Journal: Future Integrative Medicine

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