Clinical research, public health and biomedicine — summarized conservatively, with evidence levels and limitations.
Articles in this section summarize medical research for general information. They are not medical advice, and every article shows its evidence level and limitations.
This systematic review examined whether educational activities in medical school influence students' emotional empathy. The eight included studies reported some effects, but results differed across types of empathy and across interventions, so the overall findings remain uncertain.
Researchers studied a blood-based test designed to identify signals of several cancers and suggest where a cancer might be located. Among adults aged 50 and older without a clinical suspicion of cancer, the test detected a cancer signal in 0.54% of performance-analyzable participants, and 60.3% of positive results were linked to a confirmed cancer. The study measured test performance and safety, not whether screening improves health outcomes.
Researchers analyzed performance data from the human NHS-Galleri randomized trial, which included 142,250 adults aged 50–77. The multi-cancer early detection test produced positive results in about 0.8% to 1.0% of participants per screening round, but the study’s primary goal—reducing diagnoses of advanced cancer—was not met.
Researchers assessed electronic dental record systems in 22 dental clinics in Tehran, Iran, using checklists based on several professional standards and health-information models. Of 219 data elements reviewed, 23 were present in every system and 55 were absent from all systems; the study did not measure patient outcomes or quality of care.
A systematic review examined 12 studies of molecular tests for urinary tract infections in adults, including two randomized trials with 830 participants. The review found that PCR-based tests were more sensitive than standard urine cultures and were linked with short-term symptom improvement in both trials, but the tests were less specific and the overall clinical evidence remains limited.
This human-focused review examines chronic subdural hematoma, a blood collection around the brain that is more common in older adults. It describes evidence for middle meningeal artery embolization, a procedure intended to reduce blood flow to the membrane that can help sustain the hematoma. The review presents the procedure as a possible addition to, or alternative for, surgery in selected high-risk patients—not as a universal replacement.
Researchers studied adults with pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma, rare tumors that can produce excess stress-related hormones, using anonymized electronic health records. Compared with matched adults who had essential hypertension, those with these tumors had higher rates of fatty liver disease, serious liver complications and some cardiovascular outcomes over several years. Because this was an observational study, it shows associations rather than proving that the tumors caused these outcomes.
Researchers studied 2,632 women from a Finnish birth cohort to examine whether being classified as climacteric at age 46 was associated with anxiety, depression symptoms, and psychiatric medication purchases. Climacteric women had higher reported levels of some anxiety and depression symptoms than preclimacteric women, although this observational study cannot show that menopausal changes caused those symptoms.
This review examined human clinical evidence about GLP-1 receptor agonists and neovascular age-related macular degeneration, sometimes called wet age-related macular degeneration, in people with type 2 diabetes. The reviewed studies had conflicting results: one reported higher risk, another lower risk, and two large comparisons found no significant increase. The evidence is observational and does not show that these medicines cause or prevent the eye condition.
A prospective, multicenter phase II trial examined whether removing only the treated tumor area through the anus could preserve the rectum in people with locally advanced rectal cancer who responded well to chemoradiotherapy. Among 80 participants, three-year disease-free survival was 84.8%, and local recurrence occurred in 5.0% during the reported follow-up. Because everyone received local excision and there was no comparison group, the findings do not establish that this approach is as effective as more extensive surgery.
This retrospective human study compared a visual CT scoring method with an automated computer analysis for tracking fibrosing interstitial lung disease. Among 92 people followed with CT scans and lung-function tests, both approaches were associated with changes in lung function and signs of disease progression. The study does not show that either method improves treatment or patient outcomes.
A systematic review and meta-analysis examined how silver diamine fluoride affects human dental pulp cells in laboratory studies. Across seven in vitro studies, higher concentrations were associated with lower cell viability, but these findings do not show how the material affects dental pulp in people.
This systematic review examined human studies of long-term quality of life and depressive symptoms after fracture-related infection, a serious infection involving a broken bone. Across 15 studies, physical quality-of-life scores appeared lower than United States population norms, while evidence about mental quality of life and depressive symptoms was less consistent. The researchers said differences among studies and generally limited study quality prevent definitive conclusions.
Researchers reviewed 18 randomized trials involving 16,573 adults undergoing noncardiac surgery. Compared with standard blood pressure management, higher or individualized blood pressure targets were associated with lower risks of postoperative delirium and surgical-site infection, but showed no clear differences in several other outcomes.
This systematic review and meta-analysis examined standalone physical activity programs in pregnant or postpartum women. Across 17 randomized trials, physical activity was associated with lower depressive symptom scores in several analyses, while evidence about anxiety symptoms during pregnancy was inconclusive.
