Clinical Trials | Medications

Drug that targets an inflammatory enzyme could help prevent lung cancer Every year, lung cancer kills more than 100,000 people in the United States. Smoking is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, but other environmental exposures can also contribute to the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-drug-inflammatory-enzyme-lung-cancer.html

Placental transport mechanism could guide safer biologic medicines during pregnancy Biologic medicines have transformed the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, migraine, inflammatory disorders and many other conditions. Yet their growing use among women of reproductive age constitutes a major clinical challenge because therapeutic IgG antibodies are actively transported across the placenta to the developing fetus. Evidence supporting the safe use of such therapeutics during pregnancy remains limited. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-placental-mechanism-safer-biologic-medicines.html

Platelet-targeting approach offers a new path to safer thrombosis protection Glycoprotein VI, or GPVI for short, is a surface receptor found exclusively on platelets and their precursor cells, megakaryocytes in the bone marrow. GPVI is primarily responsible for binding collagen at the site of an injured blood vessel, which triggers the activation and aggregation of platelets. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-platelet-approach-path-safer-thrombosis.html

Injectable hydrogel system prolongs joint retention in osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of chronic pain and disability worldwide. Current intra-articular standards of care, such as analgesics, corticosteroids and viscosupplements, provide only transient symptomatic relief and do not reliably modify disease progression. A major translational barrier is the rapid clearance of small-molecule drugs and biologics from synovial fluid, as well as the difficulty of delivering hydrophobic compounds at therapeutic concentrations without systemic exposure. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-hydrogel-prolongs-joint-retention-osteoarthritis.html

Late-stage parasite blockers could turn mosquito bites into malaria vaccine boosters Researchers from WEHI (Melbourne, Australia) have discovered a new way to help prevent malaria that could one day transform mosquito bites from a source of deadly infection into immunity boosters against the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-late-stage-parasite-blockers-mosquito.html

'Locked' cancer therapeutic activates in tumors, limiting off-target exposure in mice Although there are many cancer treatments available today that effectively eliminate abnormal cells, these therapies may also damage healthy cells, leading to unwanted side effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cancer-therapeutic-tumors-limiting-exposure.html

Poison center reports of liver injuries rise nearly 400% since 2000, with acetaminophen as a top driver Calls to poison centers involving liver injuries caused by medications, supplements, alcohol and other substances jumped nearly 400% between 2000 and 2024, according to a new study from UVA Health published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-poison-center-liver-injuries-acetaminophen.html

Discovering a new layer of control for a decades-old leukemia drug For more than 70 years, the drug 6-thioguanine (6-TG) has been used to treat leukemia. Although its clinical effects have been studied extensively, scientists are still uncovering the molecular mechanisms that determine whether cells succumb to the drug or survive its attack. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-layer-decades-leukemia-drug.html

Leucovorin prescriptions for children rise 46% after federal officials' autism claims Leucovorin prescriptions for children spiked after federal officials claimed the drug was an effective treatment for autism during a September 2025 press conference, according to a new Michigan Medicine-led study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-leucovorin-prescriptions-children-federal-autism.html

An origami-inspired implant could monitor health from beneath the skin The skin is the body's largest organ. It is a protective shield that keeps harmful pathogens out and vital fluids inside. These very properties make it a tough engineering challenge to design wearable health sensors because many internal chemical signals cannot easily pass through it. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-origami-implant-health-beneath-skin.html

Cell-surface receptors guide antisense therapy to mutant KRAS in pancreatic cancer cells Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have been proposed as a therapeutic approach to shut down the production of faulty proteins in a wide variety of diseases, including cancer. In a study published in the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), researchers at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute and the University of Glasgow identify a pathway by which ASOs enter cells and reach their targets, suggesting new ways to enhance the effectiveness of antisense therapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cell-surface-receptors-antisense-therapy.html

Unexpected brain mechanism challenges assumptions about GLP-1s For decades, obesity medications produced only modest weight loss. But in recent years, Ozempic and related GLP-1 therapies have transformed the field, enabling sustained weight loss of 10% to 15% or more. Despite their success, however, scientists have not fully understood how these drugs work in the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-unexpected-brain-mechanism-assumptions-glp.html

Patient-derived organoids reveal which breast tumors may resist standard therapies Researchers at UC San Francisco have developed a new method to predict how different types of breast cancer will respond to treatment, using patient data from the I-SPY2 breast cancer trial and rapid testing on lab-grown mini tumors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-patient-derived-organoids-reveal-breast.html

Study reveals growing signs of malaria drug resistance in Ethiopia Researchers have identified genetic changes in malaria parasites that may reduce the effectiveness of key antimalarial medicines, highlighting the need for continued surveillance. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-reveals-malaria-drug-resistance-ethiopia.html

Triple-dose regimen may permanently clear HIV in infected newborns Every year, more than 120,000 newborns worldwide contract HIV, creating a global health burden that requires lifelong treatment for millions of people—assuming they have access and can afford it. New research led by Oregon Health & Science University suggests another possibility: a one-time regimen of therapies given to newborns within three days of birth to permanently clear the virus. The research is published today in the journal Nature Microbiology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-triple-dose-regimen-permanently-hiv.html

New targeting method separates opioid pain relief from reward learning in mice Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine are investigating how to keep opioids' pain-relieving benefits while reducing their addictive potential. In a study published in Nature, they report a step toward that goal. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-method-opioid-pain-relief-reward.html

AI-designed E. coli killer points toward new ways to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria In science, the suffix "phage" means to devour. Thus, the name bacteriophage might conjure images of tiny creatures that "eat" bacteria. While that conception isn't 100% scientifically accurate, bacteriophages are lethal killers of bacteria nonetheless, and scientists are excited about engineering phage DNA as a path to new antibiotics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ai-coli-killer-ways-antibiotic.html

Malaria vaccine add-ons activate three antibody targets, study finds Malaria kills more than half a million people a year, most of them young children in Africa. Two vaccines are now recommended by the World Health Organization: RTS,S and R21. Both are helpful interventions, but neither works as well or as long as public health officials would like. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-malaria-vaccine-ons-antibody.html

Omega-3 plus low-dose aspirin produces antibiotic-like results against severe periodontitis A combination of omega-3 and low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) produced results comparable to antibiotics in treating severe periodontitis. This conclusion is based on a study conducted by researchers affiliated with Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital, Guarulhos University (UNG), the University of Taubaté (UNITAU), and the Ribeirão Preto School of Dentistry at USP (FORP-USP) in Brazil, as well as Harvard University in the United States. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-omega-dose-aspirin-antibiotic-results.html

Ketamine triggers morning cortisol surge tied to fewer suicidal thoughts—but the link remains uncertain In 1970, ketamine was approved as an anesthetic. It works by blocking receptors in the brain. Suicidal tendencies are among the dangers that accompany severe depression. Doctors have found that a low dose of ketamine, much lower than what is used for anesthesia, can quickly ease depression and suicidal thoughts. It often works within hours to a day, much faster than conventional antidepressants. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ketamine-triggers-morning-cortisol-surge.html