Health and Medical Research News

COVID-19 and the Long-Term Risk of Autoimmune Disorders

COVID-19 and the Long-Term Risk of Autoimmune Disorders

What Did the Research Discover? Researchers investigated whether COVID-19 infection increases the long-term risk of developing autoimmune and autoinflammatory connective tissue disorders. The study included 6,912,427 participants in South Korea, with 3,145,388 individuals who had COVID-19 and 3,767,039 who did not. The participants were followed for at least 180...

Understanding Dementia Risk in Parkinson’s Disease: What the Latest Research Reveals

Understanding Dementia Risk in Parkinson’s Disease: What the Latest Research Reveals

What did the research discover? This research investigated how frequently patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) develop dementia, a feared long-term outcome. Older studies suggested that up to 80% of PD patients develop dementia, but this study used more recent data from two large research cohorts to provide a clearer picture. The study followed 417 participants...

New Insights on COVID-19: Why Snakes Aren’t the Source

New Insights on COVID-19: Why Snakes Aren’t the Source

What Did the Research Discover? Scientists investigated how the 2019-nCoV coronavirus (now known as SARS-CoV-2) spread to humans and whether previous claims about its origins were accurate. Earlier studies suggested that snakes were an intermediate host and that the virus had genetic sequences similar to HIV-1, raising concerns about its origin. To test these...

New Hope for Stomach Cancer: Combining Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy Before Surgery

New Hope for Stomach Cancer: Combining Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy Before Surgery

What Did the Research Discover? Gastric and gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancers are among the deadliest cancers, and while immunotherapy has become a standard treatment for advanced cases, its role in earlier-stage disease is not well understood. The PANDA trial investigated whether neoadjuvant (before surgery) immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy could...

Elafibranor: A Promising New Treatment for Primary Biliary Cholangitis

Elafibranor: A Promising New Treatment for Primary Biliary Cholangitis

What Did the Research Discover? Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a rare liver disease that gradually damages the bile ducts, leading to liver scarring. If left untreated, it can progress to cirrhosis and severe liver disease. The current first-line treatment, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), does not work for up to 40% of patients, and the second-line option,...

Effective Treatments for Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation in People with Darker Skin Tones

Effective Treatments for Post-Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation in People with Darker Skin Tones

What Did the Research Discover? Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) is a condition where dark spots appear on the skin after an injury, inflammation, or irritation. It is especially challenging to treat in people with darker skin tones (Fitzpatrick skin types IV-VI) because their skin naturally has more melanin, which can make treatments more difficult and...