Depression and anxiety disorders are among the most widespread mental health disorders, with estimates suggesting that they affect around 264 million and 284 million people worldwide, respectively. Depression is a mood disorder characterized by persistent sadness and a loss of interest in everyday activities, while anxiety disorders are marked by high levels of nervousness, worry and fear, either in specific situations or generalized.

Today, there are several treatment options for both depression and anxiety disorders, including both pharmacological drugs and specific types of psychotherapy. Yet available therapeutic strategies are not effective for all affected individuals; thus, identifying alternative treatments could be highly advantageous.

Researchers at the University of Osaka, Kobe University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine and other institutes have recently developed a new molecule called PA-915, which could hold some promise for the treatment of depression, anxiety and stress-related disorders. In a paper published in Molecular Psychiatry, they showed that the molecule suppressed both anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors in mice who were placed under high levels of stress.

“Stress-related disorders, such as depression and anxiety, have been one of the most important medical issues,” wrote Yusuke Shintani, Atsuko Hayata-Takano and their colleagues in their paper. “Accumulating evidence suggests that the activation of the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide and its receptor PAC1 are involved in the stress axis and the development of stress-related disorders. We recently developed PA-915, a small-molecule, non-peptide, high-affinity PAC1 antagonist, and demonstrated that it significantly suppresses anxiety-like behavior in acute stress-induced mice.”

The primary objective of the recent study by Shintani, Hayata-Takano and their colleagues was to better understand how the intake of PA-915, a molecule that they developed as part of their earlier research, affected the behavior of mice with tendencies that mirrored those observed in human patients diagnosed with depression. PA-915 is a drug that blocks PAC1 receptors, which are known to play a role in stress responses and anxiety.

The researchers significantly raised the stress levels of mice employing a combination of strategies. These included repeatedly exposing the mice to an aggressive and dominant mouse, administering corticosterone (the main stress hormone in rodents) and isolating them from other mice.

“PA-915 ameliorated the increased immobility time in the forced swim test in these stress-induced mice,” wrote Shintani, Hayata-Takano and their colleagues. “In repeated social defeat stress mice, PA-915 improved anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors and cognitive dysfunction, as assessed by the light-dark, open field, elevated plus maze, sucrose preference, forced swim, Y-maze, and novel object recognition tests. In addition, we evaluated the usefulness of PA-915 as an antidepressant and compared it with ketamine and fluoxetine.”

Interestingly, the researchers found that the PA-915 molecule reduced depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors in the chronically stressed mice. The mice were found to swim more vigorously in the forced swim test, while also performing better in maze navigation and object recognition tasks.

The molecule’s antidepressant effects were also found to be long-lasting, resembling the effects previously reported with ketamine. Moreover, intake of the molecule did not appear to cause common side effects of some antidepressant or anxiolytic medications, such as hyperactivity, dependency or cognitive deficits.

“In the sucrose preference test, an antidepressant-like effect was observed for 8 weeks in mice that received a single dose of PA-915, which was a similar effect observed with ketamine,” wrote the authors.

In non-stressed control mice, PA-915 did not induce behavioral abnormalities, such as hyperlocomotion, cognitive dysfunction, or dependency. The present results show that PA-915 improves anxiety-like behaviors and cognitive impairment and exerts rapid and long-lasting antidepressant effects in chronic stress-induced mouse models of anxiety and depression, proposing a promising treatment option for stress-related disorders.”

Overall, the results of this recent study suggest that blocking PAC1 receptors is a promising pathway for treating depression and anxiety disorders. In the future, the molecule designed by the researchers could be improved further and tested on other animal models of stress-related disorders. If it proves safe and effective, it could then be assessed in human clinical trials, which could lead to its commercialization and use in health care settings.

For over two decades, finasteride—a popular prescription drug taken by millions of men to treat hair loss—has quietly carried a shadow. Behind its cosmetic promise lay disturbing signs of deeper harm: depression, anxiety, and in some cases, suicide.

Now, a new review by Prof. Mayer Brezis of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggests the medical and regulatory community failed the public—not once, but repeatedly—by overlooking mounting evidence of finasteride’s potentially devastating psychiatric effects.

The review, published in the The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, compiles data from eight major studies conducted between 2017 and 2023, showing a consistent signal: users of finasteride were significantly more likely to experience mood disorders and suicidal thoughts than comparable patients not taking the drug. The findings span multiple countries and data systems, from the U.S. FDA’s adverse event reports to national health records in Sweden, Canada, and Israel.

“The evidence is no longer anecdotal,” said Prof. Brezis, a professor emeritus of medicine and public health. “We now see consistent patterns across diverse populations. And the consequences may have been tragic.”

According to the paper, hundreds of thousands of people may have suffered from depression related to finasteride use, and hundreds—possibly more—may have died by suicide. The drug, originally approved in 1997 by the FDA to treat male pattern baldness, has remained a staple in the dermatological toolbox, often marketed directly to young men as a low-risk, high-reward solution.

But beneath the surface, critics argue, warning signs were ignored.

A delayed response, with a high cost

While the FDA acknowledged depression as a potential side effect in 2011 and added suicidality in 2022, researchers had raised alarms as early as 2002. Internal FDA documents from 2010, cited in Brezis’ paper, reveal whole paragraphs blacked out as “confidential”—including estimates of how many users could have been affected.

By 2011, the FDA had recorded just 18 suicides linked to finasteride. But based on global usage estimates, that number should have ranged in the thousands. “It wasn’t just underreporting,” Dr. Brezis wrote. “It was a systemic failure of pharmacovigilance.”

Unlike weight-loss drugs or psychiatric medications that receive intense post-marketing scrutiny, finasteride’s cosmetic status may have helped it avoid deeper investigation. Notably, none of the data-mining studies cited in Brezis’ review were conducted by Merck, the original manufacturer, or requested by regulators.

A cosmetic drug with life-altering risks

Brezis argues the drug’s classification as a non-essential, appearance-enhancing medication changes the risk calculus. “This wasn’t about life or death medical necessity,” he said. “This was about hair.”

The biological rationale is clear. Finasteride works by blocking the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT), but in doing so, it may also disrupt neurosteroids like allopregnanolone—linked to mood regulation in the brain. Animal studies have shown long-term effects on neuroinflammation and even changes in hippocampal structure.

For some patients, the consequences don’t end when the pills do. Reports of lingering symptoms—dubbed “post-finasteride syndrome”—include insomnia, panic attacks, cognitive dysfunction, and suicidal thoughts that persist months or even years after stopping treatment.

Regulatory gaps, corporate silence

The report is especially scathing toward the FDA and Merck. Despite having access to millions of patient records and robust pharmacovigilance tools, neither party acted in time, Brezis argues. The industry’s silence was strategic, he suggests, driven by market pressures and legal liability—echoing past controversies like Merck’s handling of Vioxx.

“Nothing is more important to Organon than the safety of our medicines,” the company recently claimed in a public statement. Yet none of the safety studies cited were initiated by the manufacturer.

The FDA, meanwhile, took five years to respond to a citizen petition calling for a black-box warning. Its final decision? To add suicidal ideation to the label—but not as a formal warning.

Brezis is calling for immediate changes in how drugs like finasteride are approved, monitored, and prescribed. His recommendations include suspending marketing of the drug for cosmetic purposes until safety is re-established, mandatory post-approval studies with strict enforcement, and systematic recording of drug histories in suicide investigations.

For many, those changes come too late.

The paper is dedicated to one such individual—a previously healthy man who took finasteride “just” to improve his hair. Within days, he spiraled into severe psychiatric distress. He never recovered. Months later, he took his own life.

A new Cochrane review demonstrates that vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are both safe and effective in protecting vulnerable groups that are most at risk of serious illness, including older adults and infants.

RSV is a common virus that causes coughs and colds but can also lead to life-threatening lung infections like pneumonia. Children under the age of two are at the highest risk of severe RSV infection and death, with older adults also vulnerable.

An international group of researchers analyzed 14 clinical trials with over 100,000 participants, including older adults, pregnant women, women of childbearing age, and children. Trials were conducted across a wide range of countries, spanning all continents. The work is published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Results showed strong evidence that the RSV prefusion vaccines in older adults reduce RSV-associated lower respiratory tract (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) disease by 77% and RSV-associated acute respiratory disease (such as the cold) by 67%. Vaccination of pregnant individuals with an RSV F protein-based vaccine reduced the risk of their children needing medical care for RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease by 54%, reduced the babies’ chance of severe RSV-related disease by 74%, and lowered the risk of hospitalization by 54%.

“From our review of clinical trials, we found high-certainty evidence that RSV vaccines protect older adults and strong evidence they benefit infants when mothers are vaccinated during pregnancy,” said Dr. KM Saif-Ur-Rahman, lead author and Senior Research Methodologist at Evidence Synthesis Ireland and Cochrane Ireland, University of Galway, Ireland. “That’s encouraging news for two of the groups most at risk.”

The review found little to no difference in serious side effects between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups across all age groups.

The findings of this review are based on clinical trial data, as real-world evidence on effectiveness and safety was not yet available at the time of publication.

“It’s important to be clear that our review is based on evidence from randomized trials, the strongest evidence available,” said Kate Olsson, author and vaccine expert from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). “Post authorization real-world studies are ongoing and data from those studies will continue to add to what we know about the safety and effectiveness of these RSV vaccines.”

The systematic review is planned to be complemented by two additional analyses on the efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of different RSV vaccines following search updates. ECDC plans to publish the first update with new data in the coming weeks.

Cornell researchers have contributed to a multi-institutional study of how the nomadic Turkana people of northern Kenya—who have lived for thousands of years in extreme desert conditions—evolved to survive, showing humans’ resilience in even the harshest environments.

In the study, published in Science on Sept. 18, a team of researchers from Kenya and the U.S., working with Turkana communities, identified eight regions of DNA in the genomes of the Turkana that have evolved through natural selection in the last 5,000 to 8,000 years. One gene in particular showed exceptionally strong evidence for recent adaptation: STC1, which helps the kidneys conserve water and also may protect from waste products in a diet, like the Turkana’s, that is rich in red meat.

Cornell researchers helped to identify when and how the adaptive variant of STC1 emerged and to link it to changes in the environment, finding that the Turkana’s ability to thrive with less water emerged around 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, at the same time Northern Kenya went through a period of aridification.

“The project really looks at it from all these different angles and comes up with this quite coherent story which sets it apart from other studies,” said Philipp Messer, associate professor of computational biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Four years ago, lead researchers from the project—from the University of California, Berkeley; Vanderbilt University; the Nairobi-based Turkana Health and Genomics Project (THGP) and others—had already, after extensive discussions with Turkana elders and community members, sequenced 367 whole genomes and identified the STC1 gene. But they wanted to better understand how the adaptive variant of this gene evolved.

That’s when they connected with Messer and then-graduate student and second author Ian Caldas, Ph.D. ’22, who had developed a method using machine learning and simulations to infer how and when an adaptation emerged and how quickly it spread through a population.

“They wanted to know how this adaptation came about. Was it a new mutation? Did it already exist in the population previously and then become more widely prevalent as it became adaptive?” Messer said. “And Ian had developed this really cool new method to infer those parameters from genomic data.”

Messer and Caldas found that the STC1 adaptation had likely already been present in the population at a low frequency long before it began to increase between 5,000 to 8,000 years ago. In another population in East Africa, the Daasanach, researchers found that the adaptation arose independently at around the same time.

“This made a lot of sense because that’s when a lot of aridification happened in the region,” Messer said. “We were also able to measure how strong selection was at this locus, and it’s very strong.”

They calculated that the selection coefficient is around 5%, which means Turkana with the adaptive variant of the gene, on average, had 5% more offspring than those without it. “It might seem like a small number, but if you have enough individuals, then it becomes statistically significant, and that adaptation is very likely to spread through the population,” Messer said. “Five percent is in line with the strongest other examples of recent adaption in humans that we know of.”

The study provides a uniquely robust link between the environment, genetic adaptation and the human phenotype and experience of Turkana: Over the course of years of blood and urine samples, the research team found that 90% of participants were technically dehydrated but otherwise healthy. Turkana get an estimated 70 to 80% of their nutrition from animal products such as milk, blood and meat, but gout, which can be caused by a buildup of waste products related to the body’s processing of red meat, is rare in the community.

The research underlines humans’ ability to survive and adapt to harsh environments—which is particularly germane given the impending impacts of climate change, the authors write. The study also has a direct impact on modern Turkana communities; as more in their population transition to urban environments, their genetic makeup may turn from beneficial to detrimental, a phenomenon called evolutionary mismatch. The broader research team found that Turkana living in cities are more prone to chronic diseases such as hypertension and obesity.

The team is currently working on a podcast, in the native language, to reach Turkana communities and pass on the knowledge gleaned from the study.

The International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials led a multinational panel updating the McDonald criteria, adding the optic nerve as a fifth anatomical location and allowing specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers to support diagnosis without mandatory dissemination in time in defined scenarios.

Multiple sclerosis diagnosis has long required proof that lesions occur in different places and at different times, with MRI and CSF biomarkers gradually shortening time to treatment.

Previous revisions improved sensitivity and specificity across ages and regions, yet misdiagnosis risk still persists, especially with overlapping conditions and when access to specialized tests is limited.

In the study, “Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: 2024 revisions of the McDonald criteria,” published in The Lancet Neurology, researchers convened an international consensus process to revise diagnostic rules in light of advances in imaging and biomarkers.

Fifty-six contributors met in Barcelona, including 32 members of the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials. Voting used a comprehensive list of statements with predefined thresholds, and four items were voted on again after discussion.

Experts applied a modified nominal group technique with anonymous electronic voting on a five-point scale. Consensus required at least 90% participation and 80% agreement. Evidence covered optic nerve assessment by optical coherence tomography (OCT), visual evoked potentials (VEP), and MRI, central vein sign methods, paramagnetic rim lesions on susceptibility imaging, and kappa free-light chain assays, along with algorithms for relapsing, progressive, pediatric, and radiologically isolated presentations.

Findings set the optic nerve as a fifth site for dissemination in space when no better explanation exists.

Dissemination in space is fulfilled when two of five regions show typical lesions, symptomatic or not, with a provision that lesions in four or five regions can suffice for diagnosis in typical presentations.

Dissemination in time (DIT) is no longer mandatory in defined scenarios, yet was retained in the criteria because new or simultaneous enhancing and non-enhancing lesions increase diagnostic specificity.

Central vein sign using the select-6 method is sufficient to diagnose multiple sclerosis in clinically or radiologically isolated syndrome when lesions involve at least two anatomical locations. In patients with typical clinical presentations with lesions in only one location, select-6 positivity together with either positive CSF or DIT on MRI is also sufficient for diagnosis.

Paramagnetic rim lesions can similarly increase specificity and, in defined scenarios, contribute to diagnosis with CSF positivity or dissemination in time. Kappa free light chain index is interchangeable with oligoclonal bands for identifying positive CSF.

Radiologically isolated syndrome and other non-specific presentations can meet criteria when dissemination in space is present with additional features such as positive CSF, central vein sign, or dissemination in time.

A single framework now applies to pediatric-onset and adult-onset disease and to relapsing and progressive courses, with recognition that two or more spinal cord lesions can demonstrate dissemination in space in progressive presentations.

Additional tests are strongly recommended for individuals aged 50 years or older or with vascular risk factors, including spinal cord lesions, positive CSF, or central vein sign positivity, to reduce misdiagnosis.

Authors conclude that updated criteria should expedite diagnosis while maintaining specificity across diverse settings. The updated guidance addresses older age and comorbidities, incorporates accessible paraclinical tools, and moves toward a unified biological framework that can improve pathways to timely care.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association funded research finds that Mediterranean-style eating with lean beef produces less trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) compared with a typical American diet that included the same amount of beef.

Cardiovascular risk has been linked to diet quality and to microbiome-derived metabolites such as TMAO. Eating beef has been shown to increase cardiovascular risk due to high saturated fats raising LDL cholesterol, and chemicals produced by gut bacteria from red meat that increase TMAO levels, promoting arterial plaque buildup, and inflammation. Consuming red and processed meats is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, and death.

Previous clinical trials have hinted that lean, unprocessed red meat can fit within heart-healthy patterns without worsening traditional risk factors.

In the study, “Effect of Varying Quantities of Lean Beef as Part of a Mediterranean-Style Dietary Pattern on Gut Microbiota and Plasma, Fecal, and Urinary Metabolites: A Randomized Crossover Controlled Feeding Trial,” published in Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers conducted a randomized four-round crossover controlled-feeding trial, researchers compared Mediterranean-style diets containing 14, 71, or 156 g/day per 2,000 kcal of lean beef with an average American diet containing 71 g/day per 2,000 kcal, and in a post hoc exploratory analysis evaluated gut microbiota and TMAO-related metabolites.

Each diet period lasted four weeks with at least a one-week washout. Participants included 30 generally healthy adults from the Penn State site who completed at least two full diet periods.

Blood, 24-hour urine, and fecal samples were collected at baseline and end of each period. Plasma, urine, and fecal metabolites were quantified by proton nuclear magnetic resonance and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry.

Gut microbiota composition was profiled by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Compliance exceeded 90%. Randomization followed an orthogonal Latin-square design with blinding of coordinators, investigators, analysts, and statisticians for outcome assessment and analysis.

Sodium was lower in the Mediterranean-style menus, with target values reported as below 2,300 mg per 2,000 kcal versus around 3,500 mg per 2,000 kcal in the average American diet.

Compared with the average American diet menu, Mediterranean-style menus differed on several reported components. Mediterranean-style was 20–31% higher in total fat, 7–13% higher in protein, 91–110% higher in monounsaturated fat, 13–23% higher in polyunsaturated fat, 15–30% higher in fiber, 8–28% higher in marine n-3, and 20–32% higher in α-linolenic acid. The American diet was higher in carbohydrates by 20–33% and saturated fat by 28–54%.

Compared with the average American diet, Mediterranean-style diets differed in several reported outcomes. The Mediterranean-style was higher in gut microbiota diversity, 1.78–2.04-fold lower in plasma TMAO with 14 g and 71 g of lean beef per 2,000 kcal, 1.76–2.15-fold lower in urinary TMAO across 14 g, 71 g, and 156 g, and higher in plasma l-carnitine with 71 g and 156 g.

The American diet was higher in fecal choline than the Mediterranean-style diet, with 71 g. TMAO concentrations remained below the reported clinical cut point across all study diets.

Findings from the randomized crossover trial show that with beef held constant (71 g per 2,000 kcal), the average American diet produced higher plasma and urinary TMAO than Mediterranean-style eating. Within the Mediterranean-style pattern, raising lean beef from 14 g to 156 g per 2,000 kcal did not raise TMAO. Interpretation restricted to these endpoints points to the overall diet pattern, not beef, as the driver of the observed TMAO differences in this cohort.

It is important to note that this study was funded by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. While the research was conducted with rigorous controls and blinding, readers should consider the funding source when interpreting the results, as industry funding can introduce potential bias.

Outcomes were short-term TMAO, exploratory and not the prespecified primary endpoints of the parent trial, which was powered for LDL-C.

Proteins and genetic material from H5N1 influenza viruses have been found in pasteurized milk in the United States, but a study from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital shows those inactive viral pieces represent little to no health risk.

As the H5N1 outbreak in dairy cows continues in the U.S., commercial milk remains contaminated by viral pieces. However, the pasteurization process kills the virus. The researchers tested whether the resulting noninfectious viral materials could teach the immune system that these viral components were harmless, thus increasing susceptibility to influenza infections.

They found that H5N1-contaminated milk that was pasteurized did not significantly affect the immune system in laboratory models. Unpasteurized milk remains a health concern. The findings were published today in Science Advances.

“We found that consuming pasteurized milk multiple times, even if it has inactivated H5N1 virus, poses minimal health risks,” said corresponding author Stacey Schultz-Cherry, Ph.D., St. Jude Department of Host-Microbe Interactions. “We observed no benefit or detriment to subsequent influenza infection.”

The scientists were originally concerned that regularly drinking inactivated viral components in milk may teach the immune system that these molecules were safe. This loss of immunity against materials in food is called oral tolerance, which prevents humans from developing unwanted immune reactions against what they consume. However, if people gained oral tolerance to flu’s viral proteins, it could lead to greater susceptibility to later influenza infections if the body no longer recognizes the viral components as part of an invader.

To learn if drinking contaminated pasteurized milk created oral tolerance of influenza viruses, the researchers took uncontaminated milk or milk contaminated with H5N1, which were both then pasteurized, and gave them to mice. The mice were given the milk over five days, mimicking how a person would consume it over time. Weeks later, the scientists challenged the mice with an H5N1 infection. There was no difference in how the infection proceeded between the two groups.

“We found an influenza infection after repeated exposure to H5N1 virus in pasteurized milk was normal, with no adverse events,” said first author Pamela Brigleb, Ph.D., St. Jude Department of Host-Microbe Interactions. “We saw no evidence of it worsening the disease.”

Pasteurization and pre-existing immunity prevent pathogenic infections

While pasteurized milk appeared to play no role in altering influenza immunity, unpasteurized milk represented a health threat. Mice exposed to unpasteurized H5N1-infected milk succumbed to their disease in a matter of days, which other groups have also documented.

“We did see that if infected milk wasn’t fully pasteurized, that was still very pathogenic in our model,” Brigleb said. “That highlights the importance of pasteurization, especially in potentially contaminated milk.”

Until this point, the researchers had only used mice that never had the virus. To better account for pre-existing flu immunity from previous infections and vaccinations, as occurs in the human population, the scientists infected mice with a nonlethal dose of H1N1 virus, leaving another group uninfected. They then took regular milk or milk that was H5N1-infected, then pasteurized both, and gave it to the mice for several days. Weeks later, they challenged those mice with the H5N1 virus, finding that prior H1N1 infection was 100% protective against mortality regardless of what type of milk the mice drank. All mice that did not have the pre-existing H1N1 immunity succumbed to their disease.

“Most of the population has had an infection or a vaccination at some point in their life, so we wanted to reflect that in our experiments,” Brigleb said. “We found that whether or not mice received viral particles in pasteurized milk or not, prior immunity still fully protected them from the H5N1 challenge.”

The study confirms that current food safety methods and vaccination practices are likely protecting human health from the H5N1 virus in milk, though the need for continued vigilance remains.

“It’s reassuring to find that these inactivated H5N1 viral components in pasteurized milk present minimal health risks and don’t alter flu immunity,” Schultz-Cherry said. “However, we also reaffirmed that consuming unpasteurized milk can expose people to this potentially dangerous infectious agent. We must continue to watch this virus and mitigate its risk of spilling over into the human population.”

Over 60 million people worldwide are affected by psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that causes red, scaly patches and persistent itching. A new study has found that following a Mediterranean diet—rich in plant-based foods, extra-virgin olive oil, and a moderate amount of fish, and poultry—could provide relief to psoriasis symptoms.

In a randomized clinical trial involving 38 adults with mild to moderate psoriasis, nearly half of the participants who followed the Mediterranean diet for 16 weeks experienced at least a 75% improvement in their symptoms, whereas no such effect was observed in the control group.

Previous studies have often linked improvement in psoriasis to significant weight loss alone. The researchers of this study suggest a different mechanism at work. The beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet appear to stem from its inherent anti-inflammatory and cardiometabolic properties. These properties may directly target the biological processes that drive psoriasis symptoms, rather than relying solely on calorie restriction.

The findings are published in JAMA Dermatology.

Psoriasis is driven by an overactive immune system. In a normal immune system, the white blood cells protect us by attacking harmful invaders, such as viruses and bacteria. In a person with psoriasis, the T-cells mistake the body’s own skin cells for foreign objects and start attacking them. This triggers the body to produce new skin cells too quickly, and the buildup of these extra cells on the surface leads to the visible patches of psoriasis.

The Mediterranean diet supports psoriasis management through multiple pathways. Its rich mix of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, olive oil, and fish contains high levels of antioxidant vitamins, including β-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E, along with plant compounds like polyphenols, help reduce oxidative stress and calm inflammation.

Until now, the connection between the Mediterranean diet and psoriasis had only been explored through observational studies. These studies suggested that poor adherence to the Mediterranean diet was linked to greater psoriasis severity, but they could not establish a direct relationship.

A randomized clinical trial was needed to test the diet’s true impact, and that is exactly what researchers of this study set out to do with the MEDIPSO (Impact of the Mediterranean Diet on Patients With Psoriasis) trial.

This open-label, single-center, single-blinded randomized clinical trial was conducted between February 2024 and March 2025 at a dermatology referral clinic in Madrid, Spain. It enrolled 38 adults with mild to moderate psoriasis, defined by a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score of 2–10, where higher scores indicate more severe disease. Participants were evenly randomized into two groups. The intervention group completed a 16-week Mediterranean diet program guided by a dietitian, and the control group received only standard low-fat diet advice without dietitian support.

The results revealed that 47.4% of participants following the Mediterranean diet achieved a PASI 75 (a 75% reduction in severity) compared to 0% in the control group and these improvements occurred without significant weight loss. Participants who stuck more closely to the Mediterranean eating pattern saw even improvements in their skin condition and experienced better quality of life, improved sleep, and reduced anxiety.

This study demonstrates that, beyond conventional therapies, a well-balanced diet can be a meaningful addition to psoriasis management, providing benefits that support both symptom control and overall health.

Research published by Duke University researchers has found a strong link between higher stress in children and adverse health conditions for them later in life. Appearing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study used measurable metrics of health over time to create a more quantitative view of how stress early in life affects health.

“We’ve had an idea for a long time, since the ’80s at least, that when children have adversity in their lives, it affects how their bodies work, not just psychologically, but also physiologically. It gets underneath the skin, and it becomes embodied in the way your body handles stress,” said co-author Herman Pontzer, Duke professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health.

Researchers focused on allostatic load (AL), which refers to the wear and tear on the body because of chronic stress. The researchers “tested associations between childhood AL and adult cardiometabolic health,” relying on biomarkers that included antibodies of C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation in the body; and the Epstein-Barr virus, which is common and highly contagious; body mass index; and blood pressure.

Analysis by lead author Elena Hinz, a Ph.D. student in the Pontzer Lab at Duke, showed that a child’s stress levels, in children as young as 9 to 11 years old, is an indicator of their cardio and metabolic health in adulthood.

Usually, researchers ask adults to remember their stress. Hinz and her fellow researchers used a big study that collected quantitative—not just qualitative—samples over time.

The paper’s authors reviewed data from the Great Smoky Mountains Study (GSMS), a longitudinal study of child psychiatric disorders that began in 1992—and continues today—to determine the need for mental health services.

Hinz, who grew up in a rural community in East Tennessee, said her own coming-of-age experiences spurred her interest in childhood stress.

“I’m from the rural South and kind of have this idea of what stress looks like in that environment, in terms of childhood adversity and dietary stress and the physical environment that kids are in,” said Hinz.

Hinz said humans combat acute stress through a fight or flight response: “Your body collectively reacts by increasing your heart rate and blood pressure when you are experiencing a stressful situation,” she explained. “Those and other responses help you deal with that stress, but it’s not good to always be in that state. I’m interested in what happens when that doesn’t really subside.”

Poverty is at the crux of the study, which indicates a stable, financially secure home is essential for a healthy childhood free of chronic stress.

“Children, eight, nine and ten years old—what’s happening to them seems to be predictive of blood pressure,” said Pontzer about early life stress.

“What helps is education and job training and all of the stuff that gets communities out of poverty. That gets people the help they need when they need it, as opposed to health care cost barriers. Making sure that a kid knows there’s going to be dinner and food on the table because that psychological stress isn’t just psychological,” said Pontzer. “It gets into the way your body works.”

A new, highly potent class of immunotherapeutics with unique Velcro-like binding properties can kill diverse cancer types without harming normal tissue, University of California, Irvine cancer researchers have demonstrated.

A team led by Michael Demetriou, MD, Ph.D., has reported that by targeting cancer-associated complex carbohydrate chains called glycans with binding proteins, they could penetrate the protective shields of tumor cells and trigger their death without toxicity to surrounding tissue.

Their biologically engineered immunotherapies—glycan-dependent T cell recruiter (GlyTR, pronounced ‘glitter’) compounds, GlyTR1 and GlyTR 2—proved safe and effective in models for a spectrum of cancers, including those of the breast, colon, lung, ovaries, pancreas and prostate, the researchers report in the journal Cell.

“It’s the holy grail—one treatment to kill virtually all cancers,” said Demetriou, a professor of neurology, microbiology and molecular genetics at the UC Irvine School of Medicine and the paper’s corresponding author. “GlyTR’s velcro-like sugar-binding technology addresses the two major issues limiting current cancer immunotherapies: distinguishing cancer from normal tissue and cancer’s ability to suppress the immune system.”

Landmark research

The study’s publication, the culmination of a decade of research, is a watershed moment and source of pride for UC Irvine and the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“This landmark study is a paradigm shift with the very real potential to change how we treat cancer patients,” said Marian Waterman, Ph.D., former deputy director of research at the cancer center and champion of the project since Demetriou, a UCI Health neurologist, began working on the concept in 2015 with his then-postdoctoral fellow, Raymond W. Zhou, the study’s first author.

Added Richard A. Van Etten, MD, Ph.D., director of the cancer center and an early supporter of the GlyTR project, “This novel technology may, for the first time, allow the widespread application of targeted T-cell therapy to solid tumors, which is the ‘holy grail’ in the immuno-oncology field.”

Current treatments, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy, use the body’s white blood cells to attack cancer. They have largely worked only for blood cancers, such as leukemia. The GlyTR technology also proved effective in targeting leukemia, the study shows.

Unorthodox approach

While many cancer researchers have sought protein biomarkers for specific cancers, Demetriou and Zhou aimed at a more abundant target, the unique coating of glycans that surround cancer cells but are found in very low density in normal cells.

These complex sugar chains are the most widespread cancer antigens known but were generally ignored by researchers because they are inert to the immune system.

To solve this problem, Demetriou and Zhou engineered the GlyTR compounds to attach themselves, Velcro-like, to glycan-dense cancer cells while ignoring low-glycan-density normal cells. Once attached, the GlyTR compounds identify the cancer cells as targets for killing by the body’s immune system.

In contrast, current cancer immunotherapies attack cells based on specific proteins regardless of their glycan density and thereby fail to distinguish tumor cells from healthy tissue.

A second impediment to developing broadly active cancer immunotherapies is the shield glycans form around solid tumors.

By targeting glycans and blanketing the tumor cells with the Velcro-like compounds, the GlyTR technology overcomes both obstacles.

Human trials

The next step will be testing the therapy’s safety and effectiveness in humans. Clinical grade GlyTR1 protein manufacturing is already being developed at the NCI Experimental Therapeutics program labs in Maryland, Demetriou said.

That will enable the launch of a phase 1 clinical trial, which could begin within about two years. It will test the therapy in patients with a range of metastatic solid cancers. The highest glycan density is typically seen in patients with refractory/metastatic disease, a population that also has the greatest unmet need for treatment.

“This is the revolutionary approach to cancer treatment our patients have been waiting for,” said Farshid Dayyani, MD, Ph.D., medical director of the cancer center’s Stern Center for Clinical Trials and Research. “We are committing all available resources to bring this exciting new trial to UCI Health as fast as possible.”