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Suicide mortality following the implementation of tobacco packaging and pricing policies in Korea: an interrupted time-series analysis

To prevent tobacco use in Korea, the national quitline number was added to tobacco packages in December 2012, tobacco prices were raised by 80% in January 2015, and graphic health warning labels were placed on...

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Correction: Identification of a novel bile marker clusterin and a public online prediction platform based on deep learning for cholangiocarcinoma

The original article was published in BMC Medicine 2023 21 :294

Correction: Autotaxin inhibition attenuates the aortic valve calcification by suppressing inflammation-driven fibro-calcific remodeling of valvular interstitial cells

The original article was published in BMC Medicine 2024 22 :122

Mini-dose methotrexate combined with methylprednisolone for the initial treatment of acute GVHD: a multicentre, randomized trial

There is an urgent unmet need for effective initial treatment for acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) adding to the standard first-line therapy with corticosteroids after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cel...

Long-term assessment of the NHS hybrid closed-loop real-world study on glycaemic outcomes, time-in-range, and quality of life in children and young people with type 1 diabetes

Hybrid closed-loop (HCL) systems seamlessly interface continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) with insulin pumps, employing specialised algorithms and user-initiated automated insulin delivery. This study aimed to...

Osimertinib in combination with anti-angiogenesis therapy presents a promising option for osimertinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer

Osimertinib has become standard care for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients whereas drug resistance remains inevitable. Now we recognize that the inter...

Very short sleep duration reveals a proteomic fingerprint that is selectively associated with incident diabetes mellitus but not with incident coronary heart disease: a cohort study

The molecular pathways linking short and long sleep duration with incident diabetes mellitus (iDM) and incident coronary heart disease (iCHD) are not known. We aimed to identify circulating protein patterns as...

Efficacy and safety of tislelizumab plus lenvatinib as first-line treatment in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2 trial

Lenvatinib is widely used in treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC), but the benefit of its combination with immunotherapy needs to be verified. This study evaluated the efficacy and safety ...

Impact of perioperative low-molecular-weight heparin therapy on clinical events of elderly patients with prior coronary stents implanted > 12 months undergoing non-cardiac surgery: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Little is known about the safety and efficacy of discontinuing antiplatelet therapy via LMWH bridging therapy in elderly patients with coronary stents implanted for > 12 months undergoing non-cardiac surgery. ...

A Pfs48/45-based vaccine to block Plasmodium falciparum transmission: phase 1, open-label, clinical trial

The stalling global progress in malaria control highlights the need for novel tools for malaria elimination, including transmission-blocking vaccines. Transmission-blocking vaccines aim to induce human antibod...

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on depression incidence and healthcare service use among patients with depression: an interrupted time-series analysis from a 9-year population-based study

Most studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression burden focused on the earlier pandemic phase specific to lockdowns, but the longer-term impact of the pandemic is less well-studied. In this po...

Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes is common – intensified screening of established risk groups is imperative in Sweden: the SDPP cohort

Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a global problem. Current strategies for diagnosis in Sweden include screening individuals within primary healthcare who are of high risk, such as those with hypertension, ...

Variability in the prevalence of depression among adults with chronic pain: UK Biobank analysis through clinical prediction models

The prevalence of depression among people with chronic pain remains unclear due to the heterogeneity of study samples and definitions of depression. We aimed to identify sources of variation in the prevalence ...

Prevalence and differences in the co-administration of drugs known to interact: an analysis of three distinct and large populations

The co-administration of drugs known to interact greatly impacts morbidity, mortality, and health economics. This study aims to examine the drug–drug interaction (DDI) phenomenon with a large-scale longitudina...

Anti-PD-1 antibody in combination with radiotherapy as first-line therapy for unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) has a poor prognosis despite treatment with standard combination chemotherapy. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy in combination wi...

Characterising smoking and nicotine use behaviours among women of reproductive age: a 10-year population study in England

Tobacco smoking affects women’s fertility and is associated with substantial risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study explored trends by socioeconomic position in patterns of smoking, use of non-combust...

Lipid metabolic reprogramming mediated by circulating Nrg4 alleviates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease during the early recovery phase after sleeve gastrectomy

The metabolic benefits of bariatric surgery that contribute to the alleviation of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) have been reported. However, the processes and mechanisms unde...

Quantifying the impact of hospital catchment area definitions on hospital admissions forecasts: COVID-19 in England, September 2020–April 2021

Defining healthcare facility catchment areas is a key step in predicting future healthcare demand in epidemic settings. Forecasts of hospitalisations can be informed by leading indicators measured at the commu...

COVID-19 inequalities in England: a mathematical modelling study of transmission risk and clinical vulnerability by socioeconomic status

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in major inequalities in infection and disease burden between areas of varying socioeconomic deprivation in many countries, including England. Areas of higher deprivation tend to...

Shared genetic architecture between autoimmune disorders and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: insights from large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis

To study the shared genetic structure between autoimmune diseases and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and identify the shared risk loci and genes and genetic mechanisms involved.

Association and biological pathways between lung function and incident depression: a prospective cohort study of 280,032 participants

Lung health is increasingly recognized as an essential factor in mental health. However, prospective evidence on lung function with incident depression remains to be determined. The study aimed to examine the ...

What is quality in long covid care? Lessons from a national quality improvement collaborative and multi-site ethnography

Long covid (post covid-19 condition) is a complex condition with diverse manifestations, uncertain prognosis and wide variation in current approaches to management. There have been calls for formal quality sta...

Olfactory bulb anomalies in KBG syndrome mouse model and patients

ANKRD11 (ankyrin repeat domain 11) is a chromatin regulator and the only gene associated with KBG syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. We have previously shown that Ankrd11 regulates murine embryonic cor...

Identification and support of autistic individuals within the UK Criminal Justice System: a practical approach based upon professional consensus with input from lived experience

Autism spectrum disorder (hereafter referred to as autism) is characterised by difficulties with (i) social communication, social interaction, and (ii) restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours. Estim...

The effects of telehealth-delivered mindfulness meditation, cognitive therapy, and behavioral activation for chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a significant problem affecting millions of people worldwide. Three widely implemented psychological techniques used for CLBP management are cognitive therapy (CT), mindfulness ...

Assessing causal links between age at menarche and adolescent mental health: a Mendelian randomisation study

The timing of puberty may have an important impact on adolescent mental health. In particular, earlier age at menarche has been associated with elevated rates of depression in adolescents. Previous research su...

PREX2 contributes to radiation resistance by inhibiting radiotherapy-induced tumor immunogenicity via cGAS/STING/IFNs pathway in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) lacks established biomarkers or molecular targets for predicting or enhancing radiation response. Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate-dependent Rac exchange factor 2 (PREX2) exhibit...

Cervical lymph node metastasis prediction from papillary thyroid carcinoma US videos: a prospective multicenter study

Prediction of lymph node metastasis (LNM) is critical for individualized management of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients to avoid unnecessary overtreatment as well as undesired under-treatment. Artifi...

Characterizing the polygenic overlap and shared loci between rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular diseases

Despite substantial research revealing that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have excessive morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the mechanism underlying this association has not bee...

Patterns of comorbidities in patients with atrial fibrillation and impact on management and long-term prognosis: an analysis from the Prospective Global GLORIA-AF Registry

Clinical complexity, as the interaction between ageing, frailty, multimorbidity and polypharmacy, is an increasing concern in patients with AF. There remains uncertainty regarding how combinations of comorbidi...

Canadians’ use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes since legalization of recreational cannabis: a cross-sectional analysis by medical authorization status

There has been a precipitous decline in authorizations for medical cannabis since non-medical cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2018. This study examines the demographic and health- and medical cannabis-rela...

Interventions on gender equity in the workplace: a scoping review

Various studies have demonstrated gender disparities in workplace settings and the need for further intervention. This study identifies and examines evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on interve...

Real-world performance of indobufen versus aspirin after percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from the ASPIRATION registry

Indobufen is widely used in patients with aspirin intolerance in East Asia. The OPTION trial launched by our cardiac center examined the performance of indobufen based dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after pe...

Blood leukocytes as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for thyroid nodules: a prospective cohort study

Thyroid nodule (TN) patients in China are subject to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. The implementation of existing technologies such as thyroid ultrasonography has indeed contributed to the improved diagnost...

Childhood urbanicity is associated with emotional episodic memory-related striatal function and common variation in NTRK2

Childhoods in urban or rural environments may differentially affect the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders, possibly through memory processing and neural response to emotional stimuli. Genetic factors may not ...

Inpatient-level care at home delivered by virtual wards and hospital at home: a systematic review and meta-analysis of complex interventions and their components

Technology-enabled inpatient-level care at home services, such as virtual wards and hospital at home, are being rapidly implemented. This is the first systematic review to link the components of these service ...

A practical evidence-based approach to management of type 2 diabetes in children and young people (CYP): UK consensus

Type 2 diabetes in young people is an aggressive disease with a greater risk of complications leading to increased morbidity and mortality during the most productive years of life. Prevalence in the UK and glo...

Comparing the clinical practice and prescribing safety of locum and permanent doctors: observational study of primary care consultations in England

Temporary doctors, known as locums, are a key component of the medical workforce in the NHS but evidence on differences in quality and safety between locum and permanent doctors is limited. We aimed to examine...

SARS-CoV-2, influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus positivity and association with influenza-like illness and self-reported symptoms, over the 2022/23 winter season in the UK: a longitudinal surveillance cohort

Syndromic surveillance often relies on patients presenting to healthcare. Community cohorts, although more challenging to recruit, could provide additional population-wide insights, particularly with SARS-CoV-...

A phase II study of belumosudil for chronic graft-versus-host disease in patients who failed at least one line of systemic therapy in China

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is an immune-related disorder that is the most common complication post-allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Corticosteroids with or without calcineurin inhib...

Association between genetic risk and adherence to healthy lifestyle for developing age-related hearing loss

Previous studies have shown that lifestyle/environmental factors could accelerate the development of age-related hearing loss (ARHL). However, there has not yet been a study investigating the joint association...

Associations between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and infant striatal mean diffusivity

It is well-established that parental obesity is a strong risk factor for offspring obesity. Further, a converging body of evidence now suggests that maternal weight profiles may affect the developing offspring...

Evaluation of a hospital-initiated tobacco dependence treatment service: uptake, smoking cessation, readmission and mortality

The National Health Service in England aims to implement tobacco dependency treatment services in all hospitals by 2024. We aimed to assess the uptake of a new service, adapted from the Ottawa Model of Smoking...

Delivering synaptic protein mRNAs via extracellular vesicles ameliorates cognitive impairment in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Synaptic dysfunction with reduced synaptic protein levels is a core feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Synaptic proteins play a central role in memory processing, learning, and AD pathogenesis. Evidence sugg...

Association between inflammatory bowel disease and cancer risk: evidence triangulation from genetic correlation, Mendelian randomization, and colocalization analyses across East Asian and European populations

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), has been associated with several cancer risks in observational studies, but the observed associations have bee...

Medication non-adherence and self-inflicted violence behaviors among 185,800 patients with schizophrenia in the community: a 12-year cohort study

Despite the importance of medication adherence in treatment effectiveness, little is known about the association between medication non-adherence and self-inflicted violence behaviors. We aimed to assess wheth...

Childhood maltreatment and health in the UK Biobank: triangulation of outcome-wide and polygenic risk score analyses

Childhood maltreatment is common globally and impacts morbidity, mortality, and well-being. Our understanding of its impact is constrained by key substantive and methodological limitations of extant research, ...

Sarcopenic obesity is part of obesity paradox in dementia development: evidence from a population-based cohort study

Sarcopenic obesity, a clinical and functional condition characterized by the coexistence of obesity and sarcopenia, has not been investigated in relation to dementia risk and its onset.

Sex-specific associations between sodium and potassium intake and overall and cause-specific mortality: a large prospective U.S. cohort study, systematic review, and updated meta-analysis of cohort studies

The impact of sodium intake on cardiovascular disease (CVD) health and mortality has been studied for decades, including the well-established association with blood pressure. However, non-linear patterns, dose...

Progress with the Learning Health System 2.0: a rapid review of Learning Health Systems’ responses to pandemics and climate change

Pandemics and climate change each challenge health systems through increasing numbers and new types of patients. To adapt to these challenges, leading health systems have embraced a Learning Health System (LHS...

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Effect of combination treatment with glp-1 receptor agonists and sglt-2 inhibitors on incidence of cardiovascular and serious renal events, prenatal opioid exposure and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders in children, temporal trends in lifetime risks of atrial fibrillation and its complications, antipsychotic use in people with dementia, predicting the risks of kidney failure and death in adults with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease, impact of large scale, multicomponent intervention to reduce proton pump inhibitor overuse, esketamine after childbirth for mothers with prenatal depression, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist use and risk of thyroid cancer, use of progestogens and the risk of intracranial meningioma, delirium and incident dementia in hospital patients, derivation and external validation of a simple risk score for predicting severe acute kidney injury after intravenous cisplatin, quality and safety of artificial intelligence generated health information, large language models and the generation of health disinformation, 25 year trends in cancer incidence and mortality among adults in the uk, cervical pessary versus vaginal progesterone in women with a singleton pregnancy, comparison of prior authorization across insurers, diagnostic accuracy of magnetically guided capsule endoscopy with a detachable string for detecting oesophagogastric varices in adults with cirrhosis, ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes, added benefit and revenues of oncology drugs approved by the ema, exposure to air pollution and hospital admission for cardiovascular diseases, short term exposure to low level ambient fine particulate matter and natural cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory morbidity, optimal timing of influenza vaccination in young children, effect of exercise for depression, association of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with cardiovascular disease and all cause death in patients with type 2 diabetes, duration of cpr and outcomes for adults with in-hospital cardiac arrest, clinical effectiveness of an online physical and mental health rehabilitation programme for post-covid-19 condition, atypia detected during breast screening and subsequent development of cancer, publishers’ and journals’ instructions to authors on use of generative ai in academic and scientific publishing, effectiveness of glp-1 receptor agonists on glycaemic control, body weight, and lipid profile for type 2 diabetes, neurological development in children born moderately or late preterm, invasive breast cancer and breast cancer death after non-screen detected ductal carcinoma in situ, all cause and cause specific mortality in obsessive-compulsive disorder, acute rehabilitation following traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation, perinatal depression and risk of mortality, undisclosed financial conflicts of interest in dsm-5-tr, effect of risk mitigation guidance opioid and stimulant dispensations on mortality and acute care visits, update to living systematic review on sars-cov-2 positivity in offspring and timing of mother-to-child transmission, perinatal depression and its health impact, christmas 2023: common healthcare related instruments subjected to magnetic attraction study, using autoregressive integrated moving average models for time series analysis of observational data, demand for morning after pill following new year holiday, christmas 2023: christmas recipes from the great british bake off, effect of a doctor working during the festive period on population health: experiment using doctor who episodes, christmas 2023: analysis of barbie medical and science career dolls, christmas 2023: effect of chair placement on physicians’ behavior and patients’ satisfaction, management of chronic pain secondary to temporomandibular disorders, christmas 2023: projecting complete redaction of clinical trial protocols, christmas 2023: a drug target for erectile dysfunction to help improve fertility, sexual activity, and wellbeing, christmas 2023: efficacy of cola ingestion for oesophageal food bolus impaction, conservative management versus laparoscopic cholecystectomy in adults with gallstone disease, social media use and health risk behaviours in young people, untreated cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 and cervical cancer, air pollution deaths attributable to fossil fuels, implementation of a high sensitivity cardiac troponin i assay and risk of myocardial infarction or death at five years, covid-19 vaccine effectiveness against post-covid-19 condition, association between patient-surgeon gender concordance and mortality after surgery, intravascular imaging guided versus coronary angiography guided percutaneous coronary intervention, treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms in men in primary care using a conservative intervention, autism intervention meta-analysis of early childhood studies, effectiveness of the live zoster vaccine during the 10 years following vaccination, effects of a multimodal intervention in primary care to reduce second line antibiotic prescriptions for urinary tract infections in women, pyrotinib versus placebo in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel in patients with her2 positive metastatic breast cancer, association of dcis size and margin status with risk of developing breast cancer post-treatment, racial differences in low value care among older patients in the us, pharmaceutical industry payments and delivery of low value cancer drugs, rosuvastatin versus atorvastatin in adults with coronary artery disease, clinical effectiveness of septoplasty versus medical management for nasal airways obstruction, ultrasound guided lavage with corticosteroid injection versus sham lavage with and without corticosteroid injection for calcific tendinopathy of shoulder, early versus delayed antihypertensive treatment in patients with acute ischaemic stroke, mortality risks associated with floods in 761 communities worldwide, interactive effects of ambient fine particulate matter and ozone on daily mortality in 372 cities, association between changes in carbohydrate intake and long term weight changes, future-case control crossover analysis for adjusting bias in case crossover studies, association between recently raised anticholinergic burden and risk of acute cardiovascular events, suboptimal gestational weight gain and neonatal outcomes in low and middle income countries: individual participant data meta-analysis, efficacy and safety of an inactivated virus-particle vaccine for sars-cov-2, effect of invitation letter in language of origin on screening attendance: randomised controlled trial in breastscreen norway, visits by nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the usa, non-erosive gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and oesophageal adenocarcinoma, venous thromboembolism with use of hormonal contraception and nsaids, food additive emulsifiers and risk of cardiovascular disease, balancing risks and benefits of cannabis use, promoting activity, independence, and stability in early dementia and mild cognitive impairment, effect of home cook interventions for salt reduction in china, cancer mortality after low dose exposure to ionising radiation, effect of a smartphone intervention among university students with unhealthy alcohol use, long term risk of death and readmission after hospital admission with covid-19 among older adults, mortality rates among patients successfully treated for hepatitis c, association between antenatal corticosteroids and risk of serious infection in children, the proportions of term or late preterm births after exposure to early antenatal corticosteroids, and outcomes, safety of ba.4-5 or ba.1 bivalent mrna booster vaccines, comparative effectiveness of booster vaccines among adults aged ≥50 years, third dose vaccine schedules against severe covid-19 during omicron predominance in nordic countries, private equity ownership and impacts on health outcomes, costs, and quality, healthcare disruption due to covid-19 and avoidable hospital admission, educational inequalities in mortality and their mediators among generations across four decades, prevalence and predictors of data and code sharing in the medical and health sciences, medicare eligibility and in-hospital treatment patterns and health outcomes for patients with trauma, therapeutic value of first versus supplemental indications of drugs in us and europe, follow us on, content links.

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Last Reviewed: February 5, 2024

Why Are Younger Adults Developing This Common Heart Condition?

New research suggests that A-fib may be more prevalent, and more dangerous, in people under 65 than previously thought.

A black-and-white photograph of a man getting an EKG. Two hands attach wires to his skin.

By Dani Blum

Atrial fibrillation, a common cardiac condition that raises the risk of stroke, is increasingly affecting the health of people under the age of 65.

For years, experts thought that A-fib, a type of irregular heartbeat, primarily occurred in people age 65 and older, and that younger people with the condition most likely wouldn’t develop other cardiac issues, said Dr. Aditya Bhonsale, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. But in new research published Monday, Dr. Bhonsale and his colleagues examined data on more than 67,000 patients with A-fib who were treated at the center, nearly one-quarter of whom were under the age of 65. Those patients had an increased risk of death, compared to people without the condition. They also often had risk factors for A-fib like high blood pressure, obesity and sleep apnea, which could make cardiovascular health issues worse.

What is A-fib?

In A-fib, the upper and lower chambers of the heart are not coordinated as they should be, which makes the heart beat chaotically — sometimes too slow, sometimes too fast, often just irregularly. People with the condition can experience a fluttering heartbeat and palpitations.

Dr. Geoffrey Barnes, a cardiologist and vascular medicine specialist at University of Michigan Health, said that he frequently saw patients who say “I felt like my heart was racing away” or “I felt like it was skipping beats.” People with A-fib can also experience shortness of breath and chest discomfort. Some people have occasional episodes; others will continuously experience an irregular heartbeat. People often have no symptoms and don’t even realize they have the condition, Dr. Barnes said.

Increasingly, doctors said, patients are seeking care because their smart watches have detected an irregular heartbeat. That might help explain why more younger people are being diagnosed, said Dr. Hugh Calkins, a professor of cardiology at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “The more you screen, the more you’re going to find,” he said.

Doctors typically diagnose atrial fibrillation with an electrocardiogram while factoring in your medical and family history. They will sometimes give patients a portable monitor to wear for up to a month to look for an irregular heartbeat.

A-fib can cause clots to form in the heart that can travel to the brain and lead to strokes, even in younger patients, Dr. Bhonsale said. The condition may also raise the risk of cognitive decline and dementia , as well as heart failure. In the study, researchers found that people with A-fib under the age of 65 were at a significantly higher risk of hospitalization for heart failure, stroke and heart attack, compared to people without A-fib.

What’s driving the increase in younger adults?

Atrial fibrillation may also be increasing among younger adults because many of the risk factors for the condition — including pre-existing heart disease and diabetes — are on the rise in that age group, too, Dr. Bhonsale said.

Nearly one in five people in the study who had A-fib also had obstructive sleep apnea , which is a significant risk factor for the condition. People with sleep apnea stop and restart breathing in the night; they struggle to get sufficient rest. The condition, which often goes undiagnosed , is tied to a range of cardiovascular issues .

There is also a correlation between how much alcohol people consume and the likelihood they will develop A-fib, said Dr. Bradley Knight, the medical director of electrophysiology at the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. Smoking cigarettes and vaping are also linked with a greater risk of A-fib, Dr. Barnes said.

While exercise in general is associated with a lower risk of cardiac conditions, extreme endurance exercise, like marathons and triathlons, are linked with a higher risk of A-fib, Dr. Calkins said.

How is A-fib treated?

Doctors work with patients to address factors that make A-fib more likely to occur, such as by making sure someone with sleep apnea is using a CPAP machine or by helping patients quit smoking. Sometimes, particularly for younger patients, physicians will recommend a procedure called catheter ablation , which doctors use to get rid of tissue in the heart that may be causing an irregular heartbeat.

Doctors may also prescribe blood thinners, to reduce stroke risk, as well as other medications to manage symptoms. These include drugs that can help regulate heart rate and rhythm , Dr. Knight said. While medications can help reduce the frequency and duration of A-fib episodes, “they rarely eliminate the A-fib,” he added. He tells patients that the disease is like high blood pressure: It must be continuously managed.

“If you are diagnosed with A-fib at any age, but in particular at a younger age, you have been given a great opportunity to now say, OK, what things can I do to help better manage my health and reduce the chance of having a problem later in life?” Dr. Barnes said. “I almost think of it like a wake-up call.”

Dani Blum is a health reporter for The Times. More about Dani Blum

Tips for Better Sleep

Tired of tossing and turning there are some strategies you could try to maximize your hours in bed..

Four out of five people say that they suffer from sleep problems at least once a week and wake up feeling exhausted. Use our guide for a better night’s sleep .

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Sleep deprivation doesn’t just feel terrible — it can also hamper your ability to form and recall memories .

The “sleepy girl mocktail” has gone viral on TikTok, where wellness influencers are touting it as a must-have to help you sleep. But is it effective ?

Do sleeping pills work? We asked experts about the different types of medications for treating insomnia .

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Turn Your Bedroom Into a Sleep Sanctuary With Wirecutter’s Recommendations

Good rest starts with a great mattress. These tips can help you pick the right one for you out of the countless options available .

Next, you’ll need a good pillow. These customizable models offer the comfort you need — whether you sleep on your stomach, side or back.

Looking for a more luxe experience? The right sheets can make a big difference. Here is a selection to choose from .

White noise machines have the power to mask yapping dogs, clanky radiators and late-night parties. Consider buying one .

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Research in Context: Treating depression

Finding better approaches.

While effective treatments for major depression are available, there is still room for improvement. This special Research in Context feature explores the development of more effective ways to treat depression, including personalized treatment approaches and both old and new drugs.

Woman standing on a road between a bleak, desolate area and a lush, green area.

Everyone has a bad day sometimes. People experience various types of stress in the course of everyday life. These stressors can cause sadness, anxiety, hopelessness, frustration, or guilt. You may not enjoy the activities you usually do. These feelings tend to be only temporary. Once circumstances change, and the source of stress goes away, your mood usually improves. But sometimes, these feelings don’t go away. When these feelings stick around for at least two weeks and interfere with your daily activities, it’s called major depression, or clinical depression.

In 2021, 8.3% of U.S. adults experienced major depression. That’s about 21 million people. Among adolescents, the prevalence was much greater—more than 20%. Major depression can bring decreased energy, difficulty thinking straight, sleep problems, loss of appetite, and even physical pain. People with major depression may become unable to meet their responsibilities at work or home. Depression can also lead people to use alcohol or drugs or engage in high-risk activities. In the most extreme cases, depression can drive people to self-harm or even suicide.

The good news is that effective treatments are available. But current treatments have limitations. That’s why NIH-funded researchers have been working to develop more effective ways to treat depression. These include finding ways to predict whether certain treatments will help a given patient. They're also trying to develop more effective drugs or, in some cases, find new uses for existing drugs.

Finding the right treatments

The most common treatments for depression include psychotherapy, medications, or a combination. Mild depression may be treated with psychotherapy. Moderate to severe depression often requires the addition of medication.

Several types of psychotherapy have been shown to help relieve depression symptoms. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy helps people to recognize harmful ways of thinking and teaches them how to change these. Some researchers are working to develop new therapies to enhance people’s positive emotions. But good psychotherapy can be hard to access due to the cost, scheduling difficulties, or lack of available providers. The recent growth of telehealth services for mental health has improved access in some cases.

There are many antidepressant drugs on the market. Different drugs will work best on different patients. But it can be challenging to predict which drugs will work for a given patient. And it can take anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks to know whether a drug is working. Finding an effective drug can involve a long period of trial and error, with no guarantee of results.

If depression doesn’t improve with psychotherapy or medications, brain stimulation therapies could be used. Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, uses electrodes to send electric current into the brain. A newer technique, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), stimulates the brain using magnetic fields. These treatments must be administered by specially trained health professionals.

“A lot of patients, they kind of muddle along, treatment after treatment, with little idea whether something’s going to work,” says psychiatric researcher Dr. Amit Etkin.

One reason it’s difficult to know which antidepressant medications will work is that there are likely different biological mechanisms that can cause depression. Two people with similar symptoms may both be diagnosed with depression, but the causes of their symptoms could be different. As NIH depression researcher Dr. Carlos Zarate explains, “we believe that there’s not one depression, but hundreds of depressions.”

Depression may be due to many factors. Genetics can put certain people at risk for depression. Stressful situations, physical health conditions, and medications may contribute. And depression can also be part of a more complicated mental disorder, such as bipolar disorder. All of these can affect which treatment would be best to use.

Etkin has been developing methods to distinguish patients with different types of depression based on measurable biological features, or biomarkers. The idea is that different types of patients would respond differently to various treatments. Etkin calls this approach “precision psychiatry.”

One such type of biomarker is electrical activity in the brain. A technique called electroencephalography, or EEG, measures electrical activity using electrodes placed on the scalp. When Etkin was at Stanford University, he led a research team that developed a machine-learning algorithm to predict treatment response based on EEG signals. The team applied the algorithm to data from a clinical trial of the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft) involving more than 300 people.

Young woman undergoing electroencephalography.

EEG data for the participants were collected at the outset. Participants were then randomly assigned to take either sertraline or an inactive placebo for eight weeks. The team found a specific set of signals that predicted the participants’ responses to sertraline. The same neural “signature” also predicted which patients with depression responded to medication in a separate group.

Etkin’s team also examined this neural signature in a set of patients who were treated with TMS and psychotherapy. People who were predicted to respond less to sertraline had a greater response to the TMS/psychotherapy combination.

Etkin continues to develop methods for personalized depression treatment through his company, Alto Neuroscience. He notes that EEG has the advantage of being low-cost and accessible; data can even be collected in a patient’s home. That’s important for being able to get personalized treatments to the large number of people they could help. He’s also working on developing antidepressant drugs targeted to specific EEG profiles. Candidate drugs are in clinical trials now.

“It’s not like a pie-in-the-sky future thing, 20-30 years from now,” Etkin explains. “This is something that could be in people's hands within the next five years.”

New tricks for old drugs

While some researchers focus on matching patients with their optimal treatments, others aim to find treatments that can work for many different patients. It turns out that some drugs we’ve known about for decades might be very effective antidepressants, but we didn’t recognize their antidepressant properties until recently.

One such drug is ketamine. Ketamine has been used as an anesthetic for more than 50 years. Around the turn of this century, researchers started to discover its potential as an antidepressant. Zarate and others have found that, unlike traditional antidepressants that can take weeks to take effect, ketamine can improve depression in as little as one day. And a single dose can have an effect for a week or more. In 2019, the FDA approved a form of ketamine for treating depression that is resistant to other treatments.

But ketamine has drawbacks of its own. It’s a dissociative drug, meaning that it can make people feel disconnected from their body and environment. It also has the potential for addiction and misuse. For these reasons, it’s a controlled substance and can only be administered in a doctor’s office or clinic.

Another class of drugs being studied as possible antidepressants are psychedelics. These include lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. These drugs can temporarily alter a person’s mood, thoughts, and perceptions of reality. Some have historically been used for religious rituals, but they are also used recreationally.

In clinical studies, psychedelics are typically administered in combination with psychotherapy. This includes several preparatory sessions with a therapist in the weeks before getting the drug, and several sessions in the weeks following to help people process their experiences. The drugs are administered in a controlled setting.

Dr. Stephen Ross, co-director of the New York University Langone Health Center for Psychedelic Medicine, describes a typical session: “It takes place in a living room-like setting. The person is prepared, and they state their intention. They take the drug, they lie supine, they put on eye shades and preselected music, and two therapists monitor them.” Sessions last for as long as the acute effects of the drug last, which is typically several hours. This is a healthcare-intensive intervention given the time and personnel needed.

In 2016, Ross led a clinical trial examining whether psilocybin-assisted therapy could reduce depression and anxiety in people with cancer. According to Ross, as many as 40% of people with cancer have clinically significant anxiety and depression. The study showed that a single psilocybin session led to substantial reductions in anxiety and depression compared with a placebo. These reductions were evident as soon as one day after psilocybin administration. Six months later, 60-80% of participants still had reduced depression and anxiety.

Psychedelic drugs frequently trigger mystical experiences in the people who take them. “People can feel a sense…that their consciousness is part of a greater consciousness or that all energy is one,” Ross explains. “People can have an experience that for them feels more ‘real’ than regular reality. They can feel transported to a different dimension of reality.”

About three out of four participants in Ross’s study said it was among the most meaningful experiences of their lives. And the degree of mystical experience correlated with the drug’s therapeutic effect. A long-term follow-up study found that the effects of the treatment continued more than four years later.

If these results seem too good to be true, Ross is quick to point out that it was a small study, with only 29 participants, although similar studies from other groups have yielded similar results. Psychedelics haven’t yet been shown to be effective in a large, controlled clinical trial. Ross is now conducting a trial with 200 people to see if the results of his earlier study pan out in this larger group. For now, though, psychedelics remain experimental drugs—approved for testing, but not for routine medical use.

Unlike ketamine, psychedelics aren’t considered addictive. But they, too, carry risks, which certain conditions may increase. Psychedelics can cause cardiovascular complications. They can cause psychosis in people who are predisposed to it. In uncontrolled settings, they have the risk of causing anxiety, confusion, and paranoia—a so-called “bad trip”—that can lead the person taking the drug to harm themself or others. This is why psychedelic-assisted therapy takes place in such tightly controlled settings. That increases the cost and complexity of the therapy, which may prevent many people from having access to it.

Better, safer drugs

Despite the promise of ketamine or psychedelics, their drawbacks have led some researchers to look for drugs that work like them but with fewer side effects.

Depression is thought to be caused by the loss of connections between nerve cells, or neurons, in certain regions of the brain. Ketamine and psychedelics both promote the brain’s ability to repair these connections, a quality called plasticity. If we could understand how these drugs encourage plasticity, we might be able to design drugs that can do so without the side effects.

Dr. David Olson at the University of California, Davis studies how psychedelics work at the cellular and molecular levels. The drugs appear to promote plasticity by binding to a receptor in cells called the 5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor (5-HT2AR). But many other compounds also bind 5-HT2AR without promoting plasticity. In a recent NIH-funded study, Olson showed that 5-HT2AR can be found both inside and on the surface of the cell. Only compounds that bound to the receptor inside the cells promoted plasticity. This suggests that a drug has to be able to get into the cell to promote plasticity.

Moreover, not all drugs that bind 5-HT2AR have psychedelic effects. Olson’s team has developed a molecular sensor, called psychLight, that can identify which compounds that bind 5-HT2AR have psychedelic effects. Using psychLight, they identified compounds that are not psychedelic but still have rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects in animal models. He’s founded a company, Delix Therapeutics, to further develop drugs that promote plasticity.

Meanwhile, Zarate and his colleagues have been investigating a compound related to ketamine called hydroxynorketamine (HNK). Ketamine is converted to HNK in the body, and this process appears to be required for ketamine’s antidepressant effects. Administering HNK directly produced antidepressant-like effects in mice. At the same time, it did not cause the dissociative side effects and addiction caused by ketamine. Zarate’s team has already completed phase I trials of HNK in people showing that it’s safe. Phase II trials to find out whether it’s effective are scheduled to begin soon.

“What [ketamine and psychedelics] are doing for the field is they’re helping us realize that it is possible to move toward a repair model versus a symptom mitigation model,” Olson says. Unlike existing antidepressants, which just relieve the symptoms of depression, these drugs appear to fix the underlying causes. That’s likely why they work faster and produce longer-lasting effects. This research is bringing us closer to having safer antidepressants that only need to be taken once in a while, instead of every day.

—by Brian Doctrow, Ph.D.

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Automated machine learning robot unlocks new potential for genetics research

This technology will save labs time and money while enabling large-scale experiments.

University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers have constructed a robot that uses machine learning to fully automate a complicated microinjection process used in genetic research.

In their experiments, the researchers were able to use this automated robot to manipulate the genetics of multicellular organisms, including fruit fly and zebrafish embryos. The technology will save labs time and money while enabling them to more easily conduct new, large-scale genetic experiments that were not possible previously using manual techniques

The research is featured on the cover of the April 2024 issue of GENETICS , a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal. The work was co-led by two University of Minnesota mechanical engineering graduate students Andrew Alegria and Amey Joshi. The team is also working to commercialize this technology to make it widely available through the University of Minnesota start-up company, Objective Biotechnology.

Microinjection is a method for introducing cells, genetic material, or other agents directly into embryos, cells, or tissues using a very fine pipette. The researchers have trained the robot to detect embryos that are one-hundredth the size of a grain of rice. After detection, the machine can calculate a path and automate the process of the injections.

"This new process is more robust and reproducible than manual injections," said Suhasa Kodandaramaiah, a University of Minnesota mechanical engineering associate professor and senior author of the study. "With this model, individual laboratories will be able to think of new experiments that you couldn't do without this type of technology."

Typically, this type of research requires highly skilled technicians to perform the microinjection, which many laboratories do not have. This new technology could expand the ability to perform large experiments in labs, while reducing time and costs.

"This is very exciting for the world of genetics. Writing and reading DNA have drastically improved in recent years, but having this technology will increase our ability to perform large-scale genetic experiments in a wide range of organisms," said Daryl Gohl, a co-author of the study, the group leader of the University of Minnesota Genomics Center's Innovation Lab and research assistant professor in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development.

Not only can this technology be used in genetic experiments, but it can also help to preserve endangered species through cryopreservation, a preservation technique conducted at ultra-low temperatures.

"You can use this robot to inject nanoparticles into cells and tissues that helps in cryopreservation and in the process of rewarming afterwards," Kodandaramaiah explained.

Other team members highlighted other applications for the technology that could have even more impact.

"We hope that this technology could eventually be used for in vitro fertilization, where you could detect those eggs on the microscale level," said Andrew Alegria, co-lead author on the paper and University of Minnesota mechanical engineering graduate research assistant in the Biosensing and Biorobotics Lab.

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Materials provided by University of Minnesota . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

Andrew D Alegria, Amey S Joshi, Jorge Blanco Mendana, Kanav Khosla, Kieran T Smith, Benjamin Auch, Margaret Donovan, John Bischof, Daryl M Gohl, Suhasa B Kodandaramaiah. High-throughput genetic manipulation of multicellular organisms using a machine-vision guided embryonic microinjection robot . GENETICS , 2024; 226 (4) DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae025

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Assessing the preparedness and future-readiness of Malaysian community pharmacists in Klang Valley regarding the use of medical marijuana

Fu Wai Kuang 1 &
Muhammad Junaid Farrukh 1

BMC Health Services Research volume 24 , Article number: 524 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

59 Accesses

Metrics details

This study investigated community pharmacists' level of knowledge and attitude towards medical marijuana and its association with sociodemographic characteristics.

A cross-sectional study was conducted from 21 February 2022 to 15 November 2022. Community pharmacists working in Klang Valley were given a self-administered questionnaire. This survey instrument facilitated the collection of information about their sociodemographic attributes, training background, and knowledge and attitude concerning medical marijuana. Through rigorous analysis of the accumulated data, discernible factors correlating with the levels of knowledge and attitudes surrounding medical marijuana were identified.

The majority ( n =149, 53.8%) of participants had low knowledge of medical marijuana. Participants with lower knowledge of medical marijuana tend to have a negative attitude toward medical marijuana. Besides that, male participants showed higher knowledge of medical marijuana than female participants. Furthermore, it was found that atheists had the most negative attitude among other religions toward medical marijuana.

Most community pharmacists in Malaysia lack sufficient knowledge about medical marijuana. This indicates that Malaysian pharmacists are not future-ready and need to equip themselves with adequate knowledge of the indications and adverse effects of medical marijuana if it is to be legalised one day. Thus, there is a need for improved training and education of pharmacists around cannabis-based medicines.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Marijuana is one of the most extensively utilised psychoactive substances. Nowadays, the use of marijuana is seen as it is associated with crime, recreational use and social problems [ 1 ]. Marijuana is used regularly by as many as 20 million individuals in the United States and Europe and millions more in other parts of the world, even though it is banned in most nations [ 2 ].

Similar to various other illicit substances, marijuana exerts an influence on dopamine (DA) transmission within the nucleus accumbent of the brain. This mechanism is hypothesised to underlie the pleasurable outcomes associated with drug use and the consequent neuroadaptive alterations contributing to addictive behaviour. Notably, investigations involving human subjects through neuroimaging techniques have revealed that illicit drug consumption induces an augmentation in dopamine (DA) release within the striatal region. These heightened dopaminergic responses have been associated with the subjective perception of reward [ 3 ].

These signs and symptoms might vary from person to person and can be moderate to severe. Although they might not be severe or hazardous, these symptoms can be uncomfortable. You were more likely to have withdrawal symptoms the longer you consumed marijuana [ 4 ].

Marijuana intoxication may cause many side effects. Many users say they have an insatiable hunger. Marijuana has a sedative, euphoric, and mildly relaxing impact on users. Marijuana smoking causes quick and predictable signs and symptoms. Effects from ingesting marijuana can be more gradual and occasionally unpredictable. These side effects were reduced short-term memory, dry mouth, diminished perception and motor skills, and red eyes [ 5 ]. Despite their bad reputation, if used appropriately, marijuana brings many benefits; these include lowering blood pressure, reducing inflammation, preventing relapse in drug and alcohol addiction, treating anxiety disorders, fighting cancer, preventing seizures and more [ 6 ].

More than 40 countries have legalised consumption of cannabis for medicinal purposes. There have been discussions about decriminalising marijuana in Malaysia. Decriminalising drugs does not mean that the drug will be legalised to use. Instead, it entails the retention of the drug's illegal status, albeit with a modification in the enforcement approach. Specifically, individuals found in possession of or engaged in the administration of the drug would not be subjected to the stringent legal repercussions that were previously enforced. Instead, alternate punitive measures such as fines, community service, or participation in drug treatment programs would be instituted. Consequently, the resultant punitive actions would be of a lesser severity than those stipulated by the preceding legal framework [ 7 ].

The Malaysian government had previously considered decriminalisation as a dual-policy approach. However, decriminalisation was more focused on drugs such as heroin and morphine, in which the primary administration method is through intravenous injection; this method of administration comes with high risks of transmitting HIV. In this case, people who inject these types of drugs were given free syringes through the National Syringe Exchange Programme (NSEP) or enrolment in the Methadone Replacement Therapy Programme (MRT) [ 8 ].

In Malaysia, marijuana consumption is regulated under the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) of 1952. Recent events like the push for the legalisation of medical marijuana in Thailand, which would be the first Asian country to legalise it [ 9 ], have added pressure on Malaysia to revisit its marijuana laws. Former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin asserted that the utilisation of cannabis-based medical products is authorised following compliance with prevailing laws, including the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, Poisons Act 1952, and Sale of Drugs Act 1952 [ 10 ].

According to a systematic review on studies conducted in USA and Australia, it was found that pharmacists has low knowledge on medical marijuana and they perceived that they were underprepared when engaging with patients about medicinal cannabis [ 11 ]. Similar results were reported in studies done in Jordan where pharmacists had low knowledge of medical marijuana [ 12 ]. However, a study done in Thailand reported that most health care providers revealed that they had low to very low self-perceived knowledge about medical cannabis use (60–70%). However, for Item 6, adverse effects and warning signs and caution for patients in medical cannabis use, most had moderate self-perceived knowledge about medical cannabis use [ 13 ].

Little to no studies about marijuana have been done in Malaysia, especially among community pharmacists in Malaysia. Therefore, This study aimed to estimate the knowledge and attitude towards medical marijuana among community pharmacists in Klang Valley.

Materials and Methods

Study design.

The study was a cross-sectional study conducted among community pharmacists in Klang Valley using a self-administered questionnaire.

Study population

Registered community pharmacists here refer to pharmacists with Type A licenses from the Division of Pharmaceutical Service, Ministry of Health Malaysia, where a Type A license was defined as the license issued to a pharmacist to import, store, and deal with wholesale and retail.

Sampling method and sample size

The complete sampling list was obtained from the list of registered Type A licenses from the Division of Pharmaceutical Service, Ministry of Health Malaysia [ 14 ], where a Type A license is defined as the license issued to a pharmacist to import, store and deal by wholesale and retail. 920 community pharmacists were working full-time in a community pharmacy within the Klang Valley [ 15 , 16 ].

The sample size is calculated using Raosoft software by keeping a confidence interval of 95%, a margin of error of 5% and 50% of the response rate. A minimum of 277 respondents were required in this study. A stratified sampling approach was utilised, where community pharmacies were allocated to one of nine strata based on the districts in the Klang Valley. A proportionate number of community pharmacists within each stratum were recruited using simple random sampling.

Inclusion criteria

Community pharmacists working full-time in a community pharmacy within the Klang Valley.

Exclusion Criteria

Locum pharmacists, provisionally registered pharmacists (i.e. interns), pharmacists with “wholesale only” licenses, veterinary pharmacists, and those unwilling to complete the questionnaire.

Study Tool (Questionnaire)

The questionnaire is pre-validated and adopted from a previous study and literature review [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ] and consists of 3 domains: demographics, knowledge of medical marijuana, and attitude towards medical marijuana. There were nine questions on demographics and personal factors, 20 questions on knowledge regarding the therapeutic effects of medical marijuana, 20 questions on knowledge regarding the adverse effects of medical marijuana and 24 questions on Attitude about medical marijuana.

Scoring criteria

Each selection answered correctly was given 1 mark and 0 marks for every wrong answer (Min 0 and Max 20 marks). The total marks were classified into 2 categories. The mean of the total scores of knowledge was used to determine the midpoint of ‘good knowledge’ [ 22 ].

The FDA-approved analogs of marijuana include cannabidiol, dronabinol, and nabilone [ 23 ]. The assessment of the participant's knowledge of medical marijuana was based on its approved indications and adverse effects. The majority of states in the U.S. now allow for some form of medical marijuana. Each state has different regulations for medical marijuana and its availability to patients [ 24 ]. The approved indications were cancer, migraines, HIV, multiple sclerosis, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Muscle spasms, Crohn's disease, epilepsy, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, PTSD and Hepatitis C. The non-approved indications include sleep apnea, Parkinson's disease, cystic fibrosis, vertigo, Tourette's disease, depression, hypertension and schizophrenia.

The correct adverse effects were memory impairment, hallucinations, worsening asthma, dizziness, blurred vision, anxiety, tachycardia, depression, nausea, birth defects, insomnia, seizures and stroke. The wrong adverse effects were water retention, muscle aches, constipation, cataracts, increased bleeding, anemia, and diabetes.

This study used the Likert Scale to determine the attitude toward medical marijuana. 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree. The total score was calculated, with a minimum score of 24 and a maximum score of 120. The higher score indicates a more positive attitude, and the lower score indicates a negative attitude toward medical marijuana. The mean of the total attitude scores was used to determine the midpoint of ‘positive attitude’ [ 22 ].

Validation of questionnaire and pilot study

Content validity was done by five experts (physicians, academicians, and pharmacists). A pilot study was first carried out on 30 participants to ensure the reliability of the questionnaire formulated. Data collection was done using online mode with Google Forms. Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which was 0.71.

The validated questionnaire is attached as a supplementary file .

Data collection

Selected pharmacists were conveniently approached at their respective community pharmacies. Respondents were informed about the purpose of our research and invited to participate in this study. Before filling out the questionnaire, a written consent form and patient information sheet were attached to the questionnaire and distributed to the respondents.

Data analysis

Statistical analyses were performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics Version 26. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis. For descriptive analysis, such as percentages, mean, and standard deviation were used to report demographic characteristics. Level of knowledge and attitude was presented as percentage, mean and SD. The mean difference in knowledge and attitude scores between sociodemographic characteristics was reported using the T-test and the ANOVA test based on the variables. The categorical association of knowledge and attitude was reported using the Chi-Square test.

A total of 277 respondents have agreed to participate in this survey. All the respondents were working as community pharmacists in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The majority of the participants (87.4%, n =242) hold a degree certificate while the rest (12.6%, n =35) have a Masters certificate. 65.7% ( n =182) worked at a chain pharmacy, 20.6% ( n =57) worked at a multi-outlet, and 13.7% ( n =38) worked at a single outlet. 62.5% ( n =173) of the participants had five or less working experience, while 37.5% ( n =104) had more than five years of working experience.

The knowledge score ranged between 15 and 34 with a mean score of 24.24. Overall, 128 (46.2%) of participants have high knowledge and 149 (53.8%) of participants have low knowledge about medical marijuana. There was a significant difference ( p <0.01) in mean knowledge scores between the two genders, where male participants had higher knowledge of medical marijuana than female participants. Moreover, The mean knowledge score was higher for those who graduated from public school than those who graduated from private school ( p <0.01).

The knowledge of marijuana among individuals with less than five years of professional experience differed significantly ( p <0.01) compared to those with more than five years of working experience.

Nearly half ( n =130, 46.9%) of participants had a negative attitude towards medical marijuana. There was a significant difference in mean attitude scores between religion ( p <0.01) and race ( p =0.005). The post hoc test revealed that this difference was larger between atheists and Hindu religions. Regarding race, the most significant difference was between the Chinese and Indian races. The details of Sociodemographic characteristics concerning Knowledge and Attitude are shown in Table 1 .

The participants' responses regarding their knowledge of the therapeutic effects of medical marijuana can be found in Fig. 1 .

Knowledge of therapeutic effects regarding medical marijuana of respondent

Overall, 157 (56.7%) of the participants showed good knowledge about the adverse effects of medical marijuana while 120 (43.3%) of participants showed poor knowledge about the adverse effects of medical marijuana. Most participants (93.5%, n =259) chose hallucination as an adverse effect of using medical marijuana while only 9.7% ( n =27) chose diabetes as a side effect, which was a wrong answer. Participant’s response to knowledge regarding the adverse effects of medical marijuana is shown in Fig. 2 .

Knowledge of adverse effects regarding medical marijuana of respondent

It was found that nearly half ( n =130, 46.9%) of the participants had a negative attitude towards medical marijuana. 45.1% ( n =125) of participants chose neutral when asked whether medical marijuana should be legalised for medicinal use. Regarding the safety of medical marijuana, 67.5% ( n =182) agreed that it was safe as long as it was used responsibly for therapeutic use. However, the results also showed some concern over medical marijuana. 57% ( n =158) chose to agree about the safety of medical marijuana, and 55.6% ( n =154) of participants were concerned about the consistency in the quality of medical marijuana. Overall, none of the participants chose strongly to disagree regarding whether they were comfortable talking about medical marijuana. More details can be found in Table 2 .

There was no significant association between knowledge and attitude. However, Participants with low knowledge were more likely to have a negative attitude, as shown in Table 3

This study aimed to estimate the knowledge and attitude towards medical marijuana among community pharmacists in Klang Valley.

Most of the participants in this survey had poor knowledge of medical marijuana. Although there no such study done among pharmacists in Malaysia, however, A similar study in Melaka targeting medical students showed that the participants had a low knowledge of medical marijuana [ 25 ]. Another study reported that pharmacists from Minnesota, United States, had a low level of knowledge regarding medical marijuana [ 26 ]. One plausible explanation could be rooted in the limited inclusion of medical marijuana within the Malaysian pharmacy curriculum. Consequently, pharmacists may lack comprehensive education on this subject. Additionally, reliance on online resources for learning about medical cannabis may contribute to potential inaccuracies or gaps in knowledge acquisition [ 24 ].

An observed correlation was established between participant gender and their level of comprehension regarding medical marijuana, wherein male participants exhibited a higher degree of knowledge concerning medical marijuana in comparison to their female counterparts. The same conclusion was drawn from a study in Australia with university students, which found that males were more confident concerning their knowledge of cannabis than females [ 27 ]. This could be because males tend to interact more with such substances or have friends or relatives who know about marijuana [ 28 ].

The data analysis shows that different ages have different attitudes towards medical marijuana. Another study in Michigan done with healthcare-related workers observed that younger participants were more likely to accept the decriminalisation of medical marijuana [ 29 ]. The older population were found to be unsure about the legalisation of medical marijuana. This result, however, contradicts our findings, which suggested that age was not a significant factor in the acceptance towards the decriminalisation of medical marijuana.

Religion and race were also found to have a significant association with the attitude toward medical marijuana. The research revealed that Hindus/Indians exhibit the highest level of acceptance towards medical marijuana in comparison to followers of other religions. The outcome aligns with expectations, given the association of marijuana with Shiva, a prominent Hindu deity. According to religious rites, cannabis is believed to cleanse sins, unite one with Shiva and avoid the miseries of hell in the future life [ 30 ].

Limitations

Data was collected using convenience sampling methodology, a sort of non-probability sampling approach in which the samples were chosen from a group of people who are accessible or easy to come into touch with [ 31 ].

Furthermore, the study was conducted in Klang Valley areas as more pharmacies are available. As a result, our study did not reach the outskirts of this area. Less populated areas were also excluded as the area was too far to be conducted. To mitigate potential biases, the study should be conducted comprehensively throughout Malaysia.

Community pharmacists in Klang Valley were mainly observed to have low knowledge of medical marijuana. This may be due to a lack of education regarding medical marijuana. This indicates that Malaysian pharmacists need to equip themselves with more knowledge of medical marijuana if medical marijuana were to be legalised in the future.

Availability of data and materials

Data will be available upon request.

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Acknowledgments

Besides, the authors acknowledge the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of UCSI University for sanctioning this study. The researchers also genuinely thank the public of Malaysia for expanding their valuable time by partaking in the survey.

The authors did not accept any financial support for this project.

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Fu Wai Kuang & Muhammad Junaid Farrukh

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MJF conceptualized the study and FWK collected the data, performed the analysis and interpretation of the data. MJF helped in creating the methodology and assisted in manuscript writing. FWK assisted in the literature review. MJF reviewed the manuscript and assisted in the discussion section. All authors have made an intellectual contribution to the work and have approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

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Can nasal Neosporin fight COVID? Surprising new research suggests it works

A potential treatment for covid-19 may have been hiding in our medicine cabinets, a new study in pnas has found, by nicole karlis.

Four years ago, when COVID-19 first began to spread globally, it didn't just damage our physical health, but also the health of our information ecosystem. Ever since, the internet has been rife with health misinformation on ways to treat or protect oneself against the coronavirus. First, internet healers falsely suggested that gargling salt water and vinegar could prevent a coronavirus infection. Then, despite multiple studies debunking the effectiveness of ivermectin , an anti-parasitic drug used in horses (and less commonly in humans), Joe Rogan fans continued to cling onto it as a potential treatment .

Health misinformation is a symptom of a lack of certainty. When there is no guaranteed preventative measure or treatment, people are bound to find solutions on their own. Thanks to cognitive biases like confirmation bias , they might even appear to work. But what if a way to reduce exposure to COVID-19, and treat it, was hiding in our medicine cabinets all along — and it wasn’t pseudoscience?

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that neomycin, an ingredient in the first aid ointment Neosporin , may prevent or treat a range of respiratory viral infections such as COVID-19 and influenza when applied to the nose.

In the study, researchers found that mice who had neomycin in their nostrils exhibited strong antiviral activity against both SARS-CoV- 2 and a highly virulent strain of influenza A virus. It also mitigated contact transmission of SARS-CoV- 2 between hamsters.

"When we compared the gene expression in the nose, Neosporin stimulated genes whereas those people who had Vaseline did not."

“We decided to see if neomycin applied into the nose can protect animals from infection with COVID as well as the flu,” Dr. Akiko Iwasaki , the lead author of the study and a professor of immunobiology at the Yale University School of Medicine, told Salon in a phone interview. “And what we found is that treatment with neomycin significantly prevented infection and also reduced disease burden in animals.”

Iwasaki described the work as “encouraging” because it shows that neomycin can trigger an antiviral response in animals by creating a localized immune response. “That’s resulting in this protection that we see,” Iwasaki said.

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes .

The results are encouraging for mice and hamsters. But what about humans? The researchers proceeded to recruit healthy volunteers and asked them to apply Neosporin with a cotton swab to their nose, twice a day. The placebo for some was vaseline. The researchers measured their antiviral response and found similar results.

“When we compared the gene expression in the nose, Neosporin stimulated genes whereas those people who had Vaseline did not,” Iwasaki said. “So this suggests that we might be able to use Neosporin or neomycin in humans to induce this antiviral state that we also saw in animals.”

Does that mean we should all be applying Neosporin to our noses in high-risk situations? Not exactly, but it probably wouldn’t hurt either — as long as someone isn’t allergic to the cream, which is a combination of the antibiotics bacitracin, neomycin and polymyxin B. Notably, details around the dosage remain unclear.

“We know from the dose response that we did in animals that we probably need to give humans more Neosporin, or neomycin,” she said. “Because Neosporin has very little neomycin compared to what we were able to achieve in the animal model.”

"This could be a potential broad spectrum antiviral treatment and prophylaxis."

Iwasaki added they know that Neosporin can produce a similar effect in humans as it did in animals, but whether or not it can reduce transmission has yet to be determined.

“For that, we need different kinds of study and a much larger study to determine that,” she said.

Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center and infectious disease doctor who wasn’t involved in the study, told Salon via email that the research could have broader implications that extend beyond COVID-19.

“This could be a potential broad spectrum antiviral treatment and prophylaxis,”Adalja said. “The molecules in the topical antibiotic cream induce certain antiviral compounds to be made by cells where the ointment has been applied; these antiviral compounds produce non-specific immunity that impacts various viruses.”

Iwasaki cautioned against the idea that people swabbing their noses with Neosporin will be a cure-all in the future. Instead, she said she sees this as another possible layer of protection .

We need your help to stay independent

“We know how important it is to layer protection against infections,” Iwasaki said. “Vaccines and masks and other measures are very important, but this type of strategy where we can trigger the host to produce antiviral factors may be another layer that we can add on to the existing ones.”

The more layers a person has, Iwasaki said, the less likely a person is to get infected.

“And that's really important for preventing diseases like long COVID,” Iwasaki said, referring to a condition in which COVID symptoms last for months or even years . “So I think it's definitely worth kind of moving forward with an approach like this.”

An approach that was right under our noses all this time.

about COVID

Do COVID-19 vaccines really have worse side effects than other vaccines? Here's what experts say
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Does your immune system need a workout? The bad science behind "immunity debt," explained

Nicole Karlis is a senior writer at Salon, specializing in health and science. Tweet her @nicolekarlis .

‘Deal with the Devil’: Harvard Medical School Faculty Grapple with Increased Industry Research Funding

Harvard Medical School resides in the University's Longwood campus in Boston.

Updated April 24, 2024, at 10:55 a.m.

Though some researchers remain optimistic about the financial support industry can provide — enabling greater access to resources and personnel — others have warned about the fleeting interests of industry.

Over the past few years, the Medical School has seen a surge in industry participation in research. In 2021, HMS Dean George Q. Daley ’82 noted during his State of the School address that HMS had been diversifying its funding sources. The next year, he said HMS had seen increased commercialization revenue and sponsored research funding.

In a March interview with The Crimson , Daley expressed support for expanding partnerships with biopharma companies as part of the school’s efforts to diversify its funding sources.

“We continue to want to connect also through partnerships with the translational arm of our ecosystem, which is biopharma,” Daley said. “And biopharma is increasingly interested in partnering with the likes of Harvard Medical School.”

Specifically, Daley said the National Institutes of Health budget has not increased proportionally with inflationary pressures, providing a motivation to expand funding into private industries.

“I certainly hope and we continue to advocate that federal funding needs to grow, but that Harvard Medical School has to look for other sources,” he said.

And while many HMS researchers have embraced the financial support that comes from increased biopharma participation in research funding, some have also adopted a more wary stance.

‘What it Takes’

For some at the Medical School, the additional boost provided by biopharma funding may determine whether the research happens.

Jeffrey R. Holt, an HMS professor of otolaryngology and neurology, spoke to the power industry partners can have in propeling research forward.

“There’s a lot of development work that has to happen,” Holt said. “To pay for clinical trials gets quite expensive, so having an industry partner who’s willing to foot the bill for that is really important.”

“Biopharma can bring in large amounts of funding, and that’s sometimes what it takes to get things into the clinic,” he said.

Holt also pointed to the importance of the extra funding in bringing in the manpower — and expertise — required for large-scale research projects.

“We have 12 people involved” in the lab, he said. “But by partnering with one of the biopharmas, they can bring teams of hundreds of folks who have a lot of experience with developing biological therapies.”

“They can bring teams that have very specific expertise to address the question of common interest,” Holt added.

HMS Executive Director of Therapeutics Translation Mark Namchuk said industry exposure is also crucial for current Medical School students.

“I think we need to come back to the fact that so many of the people that we’re training, whether they be graduate students or postdocs — their careers are going to be in the biopharmaceutical industry,” Namchuk said.

As a result, he said, “I would love for us to work in a more integrated fashion than has been traditional with biopharma.”

Currently, Namchuk said, the typical partnership between researchers and a biopharma company is marked by infrequent interaction.

“I would be more in favor of truly collaborative research work, where it’s both in the company and the university’s best interests,” he said. “Garnering the benefit of really getting the best of both worlds — extraordinary academic researchers working with people with extraordinary skill and drug discovery, for example.”

HMS Dean George Q. Daley '82 speaks at Harvard's 2023 Commencement ceremonies. Daley told The Crimson that though he hopes the federal government will increase funding for scientific research, HMS also needs to find other sources of financial backing.

Vivian Berlin, executive director of HMS at the Office of Technology Development, wrote in an emailed statement to The Crimson that “strategic alliances with corporate partners provide support that accelerates research, initiates intellectual exchange, and brings real-world problems directly into the lab.”

“Strategic alliances are managed by OTD’s Corporate Alliances team who work closely with research teams, schools, and departments across the university over the course of several years to progress their innovations,” she added. “We engage with a wide range of corporate partners who are leaders in various industries to advance Harvard innovations to solutions that positively impact society.”

Beyond the researcher-side benefits, some HMS professors have also recognized the benefits working with industry can have for patients down the road.

Pamela A. Silver, an HMS biochemistry and systems biology professor, noted the importance of connecting research with more translational applications, which working with biopharma companies can facilitate.

“The excitement of working on something that has real world value. You know, that nothing beats working on something that ultimately ends up in a patient,” Silver said.

“When you see what can happen, and the benefit that can have for a patient and the patient’s family, honestly, there’s nothing like it,” Namchuk said. “I would love for more of our faculty members to get closer to that experience.”

‘Massive String Attached’

But several faculty also pointed to the competing interests between academic labs and biopharma companies that have made funding collaborations difficult.

“It’s one of those classic ‘you signed a deal with the devil’ mindsets, where you could say you’re getting a lot of money, but it comes with this massive string attached,” HMS Professor of Pediatrics Jonathan C. Kagan said.

“HMS has strict policies that guard against undue influence and ensure that research funded fully or in part by industry remains free of undue influence. Scientific independence and the freedom to publish all results is an explicit stipulation in our sponsored research agreements,” HMS spokesperson Ekaterina D. Pesheva wrote in an emailed statement to The Crimson.

“Private funders have no role in the design, execution, analysis of the research conducted throughout HMS, nor in the selection and framing of research findings reported in a peer-reviewed publication emanating from this research,” she added.

Timothy T. Hla, an HMS professor of surgery, also pointed to the clash of communication philosophies between private companies and scientists.

“Basic sciences and academia are very open,” Hla said. “You want to share information, you want to publish, you want the science to move forward, because it takes a village for any discoveries.”

“In industry, they’re much more secretive with a lot of confidential material, confidential information,” he added. “They don’t want you to share a lot of what you’ve learned.”

In fact, Hla said, “You can’t necessarily reveal it to the outside world unless you clear it with them.”

According to Pesheva, HMS prioritizes faculty members’ rights to publish their results without industry influence. “HMS does not accept funding from industry with restrictions on publication,” she wrote.

Holt, the otolaryngology and neurology professor, noted that because these companies are usually profit-driven, researchers are also typically constrained to a narrower scope in their intellectual pursuits.

“A lot of what we do in academic research is driven by just curiosity and scientific interest,” Holt said.

“There are times where it’s come up, we’ve felt like there’s a certain path we’d like to follow to address some scientific questions,” he added, “but the biopharma company has thought, ‘Well, that is interesting, but it might not be profitable.’”

“And so they opted not to pursue things that we would have ordinarily pursued,” Holt said.

According to Kagan, partnering with biopharma companies can also prove risky for researchers, who may see the support stripped away without warning.

“Their interests can change on a dime,” Kagan said. “A company’s board of directors may ultimately say, ‘We’re investing too much money in our academic collaboration, so let’s cut this off tomorrow,’” Kagan said. “And that money immediately goes away.”

Pesheva wrote in a statement that HMS partnership contracts include provisions that require companies to provide “adequate notification” if they plan to terminate.

—Staff writer Veronica H. Paulus can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her on X @VeronicaHPaulus .

—Staff writer Akshaya Ravi can be reached at [email protected] . Follow her on X @akshayaravi22 .

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Buono, Cortes-Briones, Lee Honored with 2024 Blavatnik Awards

Frank Buono, PhD, associate research scientist in psychiatry; Jose Cortes-Briones, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry; and Emily Lee, MD, assistant professor adjunct of psychiatry, have been chosen to receive a 2024 Blavatnik Award by Yale Ventures.

Their studies are among 12 Yale faculty-led projects that collectively will receive $3.1 million in accelerator funding to translate their research into life-saving solutions.

Project Title: Dynamic 3D Morphometric Analysis

Award amount: $150,000

Start Date: April 1, 2024

End date: June 30 th 2026

Lee and Cortes-Briones:

Project Title: Non-invasive Fetal Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Award amount: $300,000

The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale, made possible by a generous grant from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, supports Yale faculty in the commercialization of biomedical and digital health innovations. This year’s recipients will be recognized at a ceremony during the 2024 Yale Innovation Summit taking place on May 29 – 30, 2024.

Awards & Honors

Featured in this article

Frank Buono, PhD Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry
Jose Cortes-Briones Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
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UGA breaks ground on new medical education and research building

The groundbreaking was a "transformational moment at the University of Georgia"

The University of Georgia broke ground Friday on a new medical education and research building that will significantly expand teaching and research capabilities at the university’s future School of Medicine .

Located on UGA’s Health Sciences campus, preliminary plans for the building include medical simulation suites, standardized patient rooms, clinical skills labs, a gross anatomy lab, and a medical library. The building will also feature student support spaces like conference rooms, study spaces, lounges, and faculty and staff offices dedicated to student support.

In total, the proposed building will measure approximately 92,000 square feet. Roughly 67,000 square feet of the building will be dedicated to medical education while the remaining 25,000 square feet will house biomedical research laboratories.

Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Medical School Building on the Health Sciences Campus. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)

The new building will complement existing facilities and provide the UGA School of Medicine with capacity to expand from 60 students per class to 120 in the future.

“Today is an exciting and transformational moment at the University of Georgia,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “As a land-grant university and Georgia’s flagship research institution, the University of Georgia is uniquely positioned to address the health care needs of our state through world-class medical education, research and community outreach.”

Following the recommendation of Governor Brian Kemp, the Georgia General Assembly passed a fiscal year 2024 amended budget that includes $50 million in funding for a new University of Georgia School of Medicine facility.

President Jere W. Morehead speaks along with USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue and Gov. Brian Kemp at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Medical School Building on the Health Sciences Campus. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)

The $50 million in state funding will be matched by private contributions to fund the $100 million medical education and research building.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents authorized the University of Georgia to establish a new independent School of Medicine in Athens in February.

In March, Dr. Shelley Nuss was named founding dean of the UGA School of Medicine. She previously served as an associate professor of internal medicine and psychiatry in the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership. In 2016, she was named campus dean of the Medical Partnership, which has been educating physicians in Athens since 2010.

“The fact is, Georgia needs more doctors, and we need them now,” said Nuss. “The new UGA School of Medicine will increase the number of medical students in the state, translating to more practicing physicians to help address Georgia’s greatest health care challenges.”

The creation of the UGA School of Medicine marks the natural evolution of the longest-serving medical partnership in the United States. Similar programs founded around the same time have already transitioned to independent medical schools.

USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue speaks from the podium along with Gov. Brian Kemp at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Medical School Building on the Health Sciences Campus. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)

UGA will continue to work closely with the Medical College of Georgia to ensure a smooth transition for current medical students as UGA seeks accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).

The development of a new public school of medicine at UGA promises to help address a significant shortage of medical professionals. Georgia’s growing population tops approximately 11 million residents, straining the state’s existing medical infrastructure.

Now the nation’s eighth largest state, Georgia is forecasted to experience further population growth in the coming years, and nearly one-third of the state’s physicians are nearing retirement.

“Georgia is growing,” said Sonny Perdue, chancellor of the University System of Georgia. “We may only be only eighth today, but in just a few short years Georgia could be the fifth largest state. And that means we are going to need more health care, and people are going to get it here and across the state.”

Founding Dean of the School of Medicine Shelley Nuss, middle, is surrounded by medical students at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Medical School Building. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)

Georgia currently ranks No. 40 among U.S. states for the number of active patient care physicians per capita, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), while it ranks No. 41 for the number of primary care physicians and No. 44 for the number of general surgeons per capita. The shortage of medical providers is particularly acute in rural and underserved areas, where access is even more limited.

UGA faculty are already engaged in human health research, and the establishment of a school of medicine will bolster their efforts.

“Our flagship institution, the University of Georgia, is tasked with the vital mission of educating and preparing the next generation of leaders,” said Gov. Brian Kemp. “To that end, one of our top priorities is building a strong health care workforce pipeline. This UGA facility will be an essential part of those efforts.”

Alongside funding from state government, strong private support will fortify efforts to create a School of Medicine at UGA. Donors have demonstrated robust support for UGA initiatives in recent years. In fiscal year 2023, UGA raised over $240 million in gifts and pledges from alumni, friends and foundation and industry partners. The university’s three-year rolling fundraising average is now a record $235 million per year, with annual contributions exceeding $200 million for the past six consecutive years.

UGA remembers those who passed away in last year

Advanced Leader Program expands professional…

Volunteers uplift statewide UGA Extension outreach…

Using robotics to help sort onions on georgia farms.

Former dean establishes UGA college’s first chair

Assistant director provides access, advocacy

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First pig kidney transplant in a person: what it means for the future

The operation’s early success has made researchers hopeful that clinical trials for xenotransplanted organs will start soon.

& Max Kozlov

News | 21 March 2024

Cutting-edge CAR-T cancer therapy is now made in India — at one-tenth the cost

The treatment, called NexCAR19, raises hopes that this transformative class of medicine will become more readily available in low- and middle-income countries.

Spotlight | 20 March 2024

China’s medical-device industry gets a makeover

The country is keen to boost its production of medical technology to reduce its reliance on imports. Analysts discuss the impact of policies.

News & Views | 20 March 2024

Whittling down the bacterial subspecies that might drive colon cancer

Understanding the factors that drive formation of particular types of cancer can aid efforts to develop better diagnostics or treatments. The identification of a bacterial subspecies with a connection to colon cancer has clinical relevance.

Cynthia L. Sears
& Jessica Queen

News | 20 March 2024

First pig liver transplanted into a person lasts for 10 days

Pig organs could provide temporary detox for people whose livers need time to recover or who are awaiting human donors.

News | 15 March 2024

First US drug approved for a liver disease surging around the world

A therapy called resmetirom improves hallmarks of an obesity-linked condition that can lead to liver failure.

Nature Index | 13 March 2024

Numbers highlight US dominance in clinical research

Institutions from the country make unrivaled contributions to high-quality health-sciences research in the Nature Index.

How AI is being used to accelerate clinical trials

From study design to patient recruitment, researchers are investigating ways that technology could speed up the process.

Matthew Hutson

Researchers call for a major rethink of how Alzheimer’s treatments are evaluated

An approach that aims to quantify how long a drug can delay or halt the progression of disease is gathering steam.

Esther Landhuis

Four change-makers seek impact in medical research

Bringing fresh perspectives to long-standing health challenges, these scientists are using techniques such as big-data analytics and AI to push the field.

& Sandy Ong

A spotlight on the stark imbalances of global health research

An expansion of the Nature Index to include more than 60 medical journals has revealed the clear leaders in the field.

Obituary | 13 March 2024

Anthony Epstein (1921–2024), discoverer of virus causing cancer in humans

Pathologist whose finding that viruses can trigger tumours in humans transformed medical research.

Alan Rickinson

News & Views | 13 March 2024

Epstein–Barr virus at 60

The 1964 discovery of Epstein–Barr virus shed light on factors that contribute to human cancer. Subsequent studies set the stage for finding ways to diagnose and treat cancer, and revealed how immune defences control viral infection.

Lawrence S. Young

News Feature | 13 March 2024

Why are so many young people getting cancer? What the data say

Clues to a modern mystery could be lurking in information collected generations ago.

News | 13 March 2024

Deadly brain cancer shrinks after CAR-T therapy — but for how long is unclear

Early studies with engineered immune cells show drastic but often short-lived results in glioblastoma, the most aggressive brain cancer.

Nature Podcast | 13 March 2024

Killer whales have menopause. Now scientists think they know why

Data suggest menopause evolved to enable older female whales to help younger generations survive, and how researchers made a cellular map of the developing human heart.

Benjamin Thompson
& Nick Petrić Howe

News | 11 March 2024

Blockbuster obesity drug leads to better health in people with HIV

Semaglutide reduces weight and fat accumulation associated with the antiretroviral regimen that keeps HIV at bay.

Mariana Lenharo

News Explainer | 11 March 2024

First cell therapy for solid tumours heads to the clinic: what it means for cancer treatment

Therapy built on tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes is now being prepared for at least 20 people in the United States with advanced melanoma.

Obituary | 08 March 2024

Roger Guillemin (1924–2024), neuroscientist who showed how the brain controls hormones

Nobel prizewinner whose discovery of how the brain drives hormone production had far-reaching impacts on studies of metabolism, reproduction and growth.

News | 06 March 2024

Landmark study links microplastics to serious health problems

People who had tiny plastic particles lodged in a key blood vessel were more likely to experience heart attack, stroke or death during a three-year study.

Article 06 March 2024 | Open Access

Genome-wide characterization of circulating metabolic biomarkers

A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for 233 circulating metabolites from 33 cohorts reveals more than 400 loci and suggests probable causal genes, providing insights into metabolic pathways and disease aetiology.

Minna K. Karjalainen
, Savita Karthikeyan
& Johannes Kettunen

Correspondence | 05 March 2024

Personalized cancer care can’t rely on molecular testing alone

James Larkin
, Chloe Beland
& Alexander R. Lyon

Forget lung, breast or prostate cancer? Why we shouldn’t abandon tumour names yet

Albrecht Stenzinger
& Frederick Klauschen

World View | 05 March 2024

Here’s what many digital tools for chronic pain are doing wrong

To address the chronic-pain crisis, digital health technologies must break out of their silos and become integrative and holistic.

Benjamin Lipp

Spotlight | 28 February 2024

Stealthy stem cells to treat disease

Gene-editing strategies that allow stem cells to evade the immune system offer hope for universal cell-replacement therapies.

News | 26 February 2024

The surprising link between gut bacteria and devastating eye diseases

Finding raises hopes that antibiotics could treat some genetic diseases that can cause blindness — but also prompts doubts.

News Explainer | 26 February 2024

‘Breakthrough’ allergy drug: injection protects against severe food reactions

A study suggests that the asthma treatment omalizumab can reduce the risk of dangerous allergic reactions to peanuts and other foods.

News | 22 February 2024

CAR-T therapy for multiple sclerosis enters US trials for first time

Hopes are high that engineered immune cells, which are already in use to treat blood cancer, will halt the progression of a degenerative autoimmune disorder.

Asher Mullard

Obituary | 21 February 2024

Judith Campisi (1948–2024), cell biologist who explored how cells age

Researcher who established the role of cellular senescence in cancer and ageing.

& Jan Hoeijmakers

Article | 21 February 2024

Monolithic silicon for high spatiotemporal translational photostimulation

A silicon-based electrode system is described that allows tunable spatiotemporal photostimulation of cardiac systems, with the optoelectronic capabilities of these devices being demonstrated in mouse, rat and pig heart models.

, Jing Zhang
& Bozhi Tian

Article 21 February 2024 | Open Access

Prevalence of persistent SARS-CoV-2 in a large community surveillance study

Using viral sequence data, individuals with persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections were identified, and had higher odds of self-reporting long COVID, in a large community surveillance study.

Mahan Ghafari
, Matthew Hall
& Katrina Lythgoe

News Feature | 20 February 2024

Mind-reading devices are revealing the brain’s secrets

Implants and other technologies that decode neural activity can restore people’s abilities to move and speak — and help researchers to understand how the brain works.

Miryam Naddaf

News | 16 February 2024

Move over, CRISPR: RNA-editing therapies pick up steam

Two RNA-editing therapies for genetic diseases have in the past few months gained approval for clinical trials, raising hopes for safer treatments.

News & Views | 14 February 2024

Smoking’s lasting effect on the immune system

It emerges from a study of human cells that smoking can influence certain immune responses to the same extent as can age or genetics. Smoking can alter the immune system in ways that persist long after quitting the habit.

& Simon Stent

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VOL. 387 NO. 11. The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has claimed an estimated 15 million lives, including more than 1 million lives in the United States alone. The rapid development ...
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Dec 27, 2023. CME. R.T. Gandhi and Others. A 70-year-old woman with advanced HIV infection was evaluated because of cough, shortness of breath, and malaise. Eleven months earlier, she had received ...
A-Fib Symptoms and Treatment: What Younger Adults Should Know
New research suggests that A-fib may be more prevalent, and more dangerous, in people under 65 than previously thought. By Dani Blum Atrial fibrillation, a common cardiac condition that raises the ...
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This special Research in Context feature explores the development of more effective ways to treat depression, including personalized treatment approaches and both old and new drugs. ... co-director of the New York University Langone Health Center for Psychedelic Medicine, describes a typical session: "It takes place in a living room-like ...
Automated machine learning robot unlocks new potential for genetics
The research is featured on the cover of the April 2024 issue of GENETICS, a peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal. The work was co-led by two University of Minnesota mechanical ...
Assessing the preparedness and future-readiness of Malaysian community
Background This study investigated community pharmacists' level of knowledge and attitude towards medical marijuana and its association with sociodemographic characteristics. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from 21 February 2022 to 15 November 2022. Community pharmacists working in Klang Valley were given a self-administered questionnaire. This survey instrument facilitated the ...
Can nasal Neosporin fight COVID? Surprising new research suggests it
Surprising new research suggests it works A potential treatment for COVID-19 may have been hiding in our medicine cabinets, a new study in PNAS has found By Nicole Karlis
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Deciphering the genetic architecture of pain intensity. Chronic pain is common, with more than one in five adult Americans reporting having pain daily or on most days. A multi-ancestry genomic ...
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Updated April 24, 2024, at 10:55 a.m. A s Harvard Medical School research increasingly leans on funding from biopharmaceutical companies to supplement government funding, faculty are grappling ...
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Corin and Left Atrial Cardiomyopathy, Hypertension, Arrhythmia, and Fibrosis. Explore the current issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (Vol. 390 No. 16).
Buono, Cortes-Briones, Lee Honored with 2024 Blavatnik Awards
Their studies are among 12 Yale faculty-led projects that collectively will receive $3.1 million in accelerator funding to translate their research into life-saving solutions. Buono: Project Title: Dynamic 3D Morphometric Analysis . Award amount: $150,000. Start Date: April 1, 2024 . End date: June 30 th 2026. Lee and Cortes-Briones:
UGA breaks ground on new medical education and research building
The University of Georgia broke ground Friday on a new medical education and research building that will significantly expand teaching and research capabilities at the university's future School of Medicine.. Located on UGA's Health Sciences campus, preliminary plans for the building include medical simulation suites, standardized patient rooms, clinical skills labs, a gross anatomy lab ...
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Smoking's lasting effect on the immune system. It emerges from a study of human cells that smoking can influence certain immune responses to the same extent as can age or genetics. Smoking can ...
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F. Castinetti and F. Borson-ChazotN Engl J Med 2023;389:1916-1918. Although medullary thyroid cancer accounts for less than 5% of thyroid cancers, it deserves attention because of its phenotypic ...
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WHO is seeking proposals from the institution for the provision of research priority setting for traditional medicine. Interested institutions are asked to submit a full application by Tuesday, 7 May 2024 through the website of United Nations Global Marketplace. Full application details can be found within the requests for proposals linked below.

Suicide mortality following the implementation of tobacco packaging and pricing policies in Korea: an interrupted time-series analysis

Correction: Identification of a novel bile marker clusterin and a public online prediction platform based on deep learning for cholangiocarcinoma

Correction: Autotaxin inhibition attenuates the aortic valve calcification by suppressing inflammation-driven fibro-calcific remodeling of valvular interstitial cells

Mini-dose methotrexate combined with methylprednisolone for the initial treatment of acute GVHD: a multicentre, randomized trial

Long-term assessment of the NHS hybrid closed-loop real-world study on glycaemic outcomes, time-in-range, and quality of life in children and young people with type 1 diabetes

Osimertinib in combination with anti-angiogenesis therapy presents a promising option for osimertinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer

Very short sleep duration reveals a proteomic fingerprint that is selectively associated with incident diabetes mellitus but not with incident coronary heart disease: a cohort study

Efficacy and safety of tislelizumab plus lenvatinib as first-line treatment in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2 trial

Impact of perioperative low-molecular-weight heparin therapy on clinical events of elderly patients with prior coronary stents implanted > 12 months undergoing non-cardiac surgery: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial

A Pfs48/45-based vaccine to block Plasmodium falciparum transmission: phase 1, open-label, clinical trial

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on depression incidence and healthcare service use among patients with depression: an interrupted time-series analysis from a 9-year population-based study

Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes is common – intensified screening of established risk groups is imperative in Sweden: the SDPP cohort

Variability in the prevalence of depression among adults with chronic pain: UK Biobank analysis through clinical prediction models

Prevalence and differences in the co-administration of drugs known to interact: an analysis of three distinct and large populations

Anti-PD-1 antibody in combination with radiotherapy as first-line therapy for unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Characterising smoking and nicotine use behaviours among women of reproductive age: a 10-year population study in England

Lipid metabolic reprogramming mediated by circulating Nrg4 alleviates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease during the early recovery phase after sleeve gastrectomy

Quantifying the impact of hospital catchment area definitions on hospital admissions forecasts: COVID-19 in England, September 2020–April 2021

COVID-19 inequalities in England: a mathematical modelling study of transmission risk and clinical vulnerability by socioeconomic status

Shared genetic architecture between autoimmune disorders and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: insights from large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis

Association and biological pathways between lung function and incident depression: a prospective cohort study of 280,032 participants

What is quality in long covid care? Lessons from a national quality improvement collaborative and multi-site ethnography

Olfactory bulb anomalies in KBG syndrome mouse model and patients

Identification and support of autistic individuals within the UK Criminal Justice System: a practical approach based upon professional consensus with input from lived experience

The effects of telehealth-delivered mindfulness meditation, cognitive therapy, and behavioral activation for chronic low back pain: a randomized clinical trial

Assessing causal links between age at menarche and adolescent mental health: a Mendelian randomisation study

PREX2 contributes to radiation resistance by inhibiting radiotherapy-induced tumor immunogenicity via cGAS/STING/IFNs pathway in colorectal cancer

Cervical lymph node metastasis prediction from papillary thyroid carcinoma US videos: a prospective multicenter study

Characterizing the polygenic overlap and shared loci between rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular diseases

Patterns of comorbidities in patients with atrial fibrillation and impact on management and long-term prognosis: an analysis from the Prospective Global GLORIA-AF Registry

Canadians’ use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes since legalization of recreational cannabis: a cross-sectional analysis by medical authorization status

Interventions on gender equity in the workplace: a scoping review

Real-world performance of indobufen versus aspirin after percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from the ASPIRATION registry

Blood leukocytes as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for thyroid nodules: a prospective cohort study

Childhood urbanicity is associated with emotional episodic memory-related striatal function and common variation in NTRK2

Inpatient-level care at home delivered by virtual wards and hospital at home: a systematic review and meta-analysis of complex interventions and their components

A practical evidence-based approach to management of type 2 diabetes in children and young people (CYP): UK consensus

Comparing the clinical practice and prescribing safety of locum and permanent doctors: observational study of primary care consultations in England

SARS-CoV-2, influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus positivity and association with influenza-like illness and self-reported symptoms, over the 2022/23 winter season in the UK: a longitudinal surveillance cohort

A phase II study of belumosudil for chronic graft-versus-host disease in patients who failed at least one line of systemic therapy in China

Association between genetic risk and adherence to healthy lifestyle for developing age-related hearing loss

Associations between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and infant striatal mean diffusivity

Evaluation of a hospital-initiated tobacco dependence treatment service: uptake, smoking cessation, readmission and mortality

Delivering synaptic protein mRNAs via extracellular vesicles ameliorates cognitive impairment in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Association between inflammatory bowel disease and cancer risk: evidence triangulation from genetic correlation, Mendelian randomization, and colocalization analyses across East Asian and European populations

Medication non-adherence and self-inflicted violence behaviors among 185,800 patients with schizophrenia in the community: a 12-year cohort study

Childhood maltreatment and health in the UK Biobank: triangulation of outcome-wide and polygenic risk score analyses

Sarcopenic obesity is part of obesity paradox in dementia development: evidence from a population-based cohort study

Sex-specific associations between sodium and potassium intake and overall and cause-specific mortality: a large prospective U.S. cohort study, systematic review, and updated meta-analysis of cohort studies

Progress with the Learning Health System 2.0: a rapid review of Learning Health Systems’ responses to pandemics and climate change

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