A new study from the University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital shows that even comprehensive digital symptom questionnaires may not improve assessment if the parent's underlying concern is overlooked. According to the study, a simple question about concern can help quickly identify most children with sudden and severe illness - supporting early clinical attention. Parents completed an extensive 36-item questionnaire before the professional assessment. Around one in four children was found to have a severe illness requiring intensive care, surgery or a prolonged hospital stay. A key finding was that additional questions or more detailed medical information in the questionnaire did not improve the accuracy of parents' advance assessments. “Parental concern is an important warning sign. A worried parent should not be left alone to make a remote assessment of their child's condition,” emphasizes pediatrician and MD, PhD Hilla Pöyry. The study examined whether reliable home-use tools could be developed for parents to assess the condition of a sick child. However, the extensive 36-item questionnaire did not produce a sufficiently sensitive or accurate method to replace an emergency department visit – especially in situations where the parent was already concerned about the child's condition. The study provides an important perspective for the health and social care discussion at a time when digital and AI-based tools are being widely introduced in healthcare services. “Our results show that such tools require careful validation, and they do not yet replace the assessment of a healthcare professional. Although a parent may not always be able to describe the child's symptoms in detail or accurately, they recognize a serious illness very well when asked a simple concern-based question,” Pöyry stresses. Parental Ability to Identify Severe Illnesses in Their Children. Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. Please check the box above to proceed. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Dr. Vadim Jucaud's lab at the Terasaki Institute has developed a vascularized liver tissueoid-on-a-chip (LToC) platform that recapitulates key structural, functional, and immunological features of human liver tissue, enabling the study of liver regeneration and immune-mediated allograft rejection in a physiologically relevant human system. Liver transplantation remains the primary therapeutic option for patients with end-stage liver disease, yet progress in understanding transplant rejection and tissue regeneration has been limited by the lack of experimental models that accurately reflect human liver architecture and immune interactions. Conventional culture systems fail to capture the multicellular organization, vascular complexity, and dynamic immune responses that govern transplant outcomes, limiting their relevance for translational research. To address these limitations, researchers in Dr. Vadim Jucaud's laboratory (VJLabs) engineered a vascularized liver tissueoid composed of donor-matched human hepatic progenitor cells and intrahepatic portal vein endothelial cells. Using this platform, the research team demonstrated sustained tissue viability, preserved vascular integrity, and active hepatic function, including the secretion of albumin, urea, complement factors, and hepatocyte growth factor. The LToC platform was further tested to model immune-mediated allograft rejection by perfusing the mature tissueoid with allogeneic T cells. This exposure induced hallmark features of cellular rejection, including reduced tissue viability, endothelial disruption, loss of hepatic markers, increased HLA-I expression, and a pronounced pro-inflammatory cytokine response. This liver tissueoid-on-a-chip enables us to recreate key aspects of liver regeneration and immune-mediated rejection within a human-relevant, vascularized tissue architecture." Dr. Abdul Rahim Chethikkattuveli Salih, first author of the publication "By integrating functional vasculature, multiple liver cell types, and immune responsiveness into a single platform, this system allows us to study transplant biology in a more physiologically meaningful way," added Dr. Vadim Jucaud, Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor at the Terasaki Institute. "This approach has the potential to support immunosuppressive drug evaluation and advance more personalized strategies for liver transplantation." "Dr. Terasaki believed that meaningful innovation in transplantation must always be driven by its potential to improve patients' lives," said Dr. Jucaud. "As one of the last doctoral scholars trained by Dr. Paul I. Terasaki, carrying forward his vision, through innovative, translational science that bridges engineering, immunology, and transplantation, holds deep personal significance to me." This commitment continues at the Terasaki Institute, where advancing patient-centered, translational technologies remains a guiding principle and a tribute to Dr. Terasaki's lasting impact on the field. Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

A simple combination of daily physical exercise and protein-rich nutritional drinks appears to offer significant health benefits for people with dementia. In a new study from Karolinska Institutet, not only did the participants' physical ability improve, but after three months the researchers also saw signs that they were able to manage more everyday tasks themselves. Older people living in special housing often have an increased risk of malnutrition, muscle weakness, and frailty, which are factors that affect both health and quality of life. The OPEN study has previously shown that the program improves physical function and has positive effects on muscle mass and nutritional status. A total of 102 people from eight nursing homes in the Stockholm area participated. For twelve weeks, the intervention group was asked to do standing exercises several times a day and drink one to two nutritional drinks with extra protein. Among other things, the researchers monitored how much support the participants needed with tasks such as hygiene, dressing, and moving around. However, when the results were broken down by ward type, a different pattern emerged. In the dementia wards, participants who had followed the program had improved their abilities to such an extent that they required less care time compared to the control group. One possible explanation is that people in dementia units had better physical conditions for improving their functional ability and were therefore able to do more things themselves after the intervention." Anders Wimo, researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet The researchers also point out that interviews from previous sub-studies indicate that improved function can affect how much support a person needs in different situations. "More studies are needed where care time is a primary outcome and where organizational factors, such as staffing levels and work routines, are closely monitored," says Anders Wimo. The study was conducted by an interprofessional research group affiliated with Karolinska Institutet and Stockholms Sjukhem. Impact of an exercise and nutrition program on caregiver time with residents in institutional care—A secondary analysis. Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. Please check the box above to proceed. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

A traditional Chinese mind-body practice that combines slow, structured movement, deep breathing and meditative focus lowered blood pressure as effectively as brisk walking in a large randomized clinical trial published in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology. Blood pressure reductions were seen after three months and sustained for one year. High blood pressure is one of the leading preventable risk factors for heart disease. Clinical guidelines recommend regular physical activity, yet long-term adherence to exercise programs is challenging for many people, particularly when routines require equipment, dedicated space, gym memberships or ongoing supervision. Baduanjin is a widely practiced, standardized eight-movement sequence that integrates aerobic, isometric, flexibility and mind–body components. Given its simplicity, safety and ease at which one can maintain long-term adherence, baduanjin can be implemented as an effective, accessible and scalable lifestyle intervention for individuals trying to reduce their blood pressure." Participants were 40 years old or older and had a systolic blood pressure of 130-139 mm Hg, which according to the ACC/AHA High Blood Pressure Guideline is considered stage 1 hypertension. They were randomly assigned to one of three arms: baduanjin, self-directed exercise alone, or brisk walking for the 52-week intervention. Compared to self-directed exercise, practicing baduanjin five days a week reduced 24-hour systolic blood pressure approximately 3 mg Hg and office systolic blood pressure by 5 mg Hg at both three months and one year, which is comparable to reductions seen with some first-line medications. Baduanjin showed comparable results and safety profile to brisk walking at one year. Notably, the benefits were sustained even without ongoing monitoring, a key challenge for many lifestyle interventions that struggle to maintain long-term adherence outside structured programs. "Baduanjin has been practiced in China for over 800 years, and this study demonstrates how ancient, accessible, low-cost approaches can be validated through high-quality randomized research," said Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, FACC, Editor-in-Chief of JACC and the Harold H. Hines, Jr Professor at the Yale School of Medicine. "The blood pressure effect size is similar to that seen in landmark drug trials, but achieved without medication, cost or side effects. This makes it highly scalable for community-based prevention, including in resource-limited settings." Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

A new editorial was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on February 8, 2026, titled "Polyploidy-induced senescence: Linking development, differentiation, repair, and (possibly) cancer?" The authors discuss how this process may contribute to normal tissue development and long-term repair, while also influencing cancer risk. Their perspective centers on the bladder and outlines how aging-related cellular changes may shape tumor initiation. Aging remains the strongest risk factor for bladder cancer, which is predominantly of urothelial origin. Cellular senescence is defined as a stable growth arrest in which cells remain metabolically active but no longer divide. Polyploidy refers to cells that contain extra copies of their genome. Although polyploidy is frequently associated with cancer, it also occurs in several healthy tissues as part of normal development and adaptation to stress. The editorial highlights increasing evidence that polyploidy and senescence can function together as a coordinated biological program. Rather than representing dysfunction, this state may help maintain tissue architecture, reinforce barrier integrity, and support resistance to environmental stress. In this context, polyploidy-induced senescence may act as a differentiation program that preserves organ structure. "Polyploidization and senescence may be interrelated stress responses, yet they have been studied mostly in isolation." Polyploidy-induced senescence depends on intact tumor suppressor pathways, including regulators such as p16. If these safeguards are lost through mutation, deletion, or epigenetic silencing, polyploid senescent cells may escape growth arrest. The authors propose that a subset of bladder cancers may arise from polyploid umbrella cells that have bypassed this senescent barrier. Many anticancer treatments induce senescence and polyploidization in tumor cells. Although this approach can initially suppress proliferation, some polyploid cancer cells may later adapt, reduce their ploidy, and resume division, contributing to relapse and treatment resistance. Understanding how polyploidy and senescence interact may therefore inform therapeutic strategies. Integrating ploidy assessment into large-scale mapping efforts of senescent cells may improve insight into aging biology, tumor initiation, and resistance to therapy. Polyploidy-induced senescence: Linking development, differentiation, repair, and (possibly) cancer? Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Therefore, postoperative rehabilitation plays a crucial role in helping patients recover to their pre-injury ADL level. Previous studies have shown that providing rehabilitation on weekdays and outside of normal business hours, such as on the weekend and public holidays, during hospitalization promotes improvements in ADL. To devise a better course of action, a Graduate School of Medicine research group, led by the student Tsubasa Bito, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Ryota Kawai, and Professor Ayumi Shintani from the Department of Medical Statistics and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery's Dr. Shinji Takahashi, analyzed 77,947 patients aged 60 or older who underwent surgery after a hip fracture. Using the Barthel Index, which assesses ADL from 0 (complete dependence) to 100 (complete independence), the research team analyzed the impact on ADL at discharge when rehabilitation was provided within 7 days after surgery, including on holidays. The team made comparisons according to differences in age and ADL status at admission. Their findings revealed that patients over 80 and those with initial Barthel Index scores of 0−10 who received rehabilitation on holidays had higher ADL scores at discharge. In contrast, those admitted with higher Barthel Index scores did not show significant improvement in ADL scores after additional holiday rehabilitation by the time they were discharged. "The results of this study provide large-scale data supporting the practice of prioritizing interventions for elderly patients and those with difficulty performing activities independently, which had previously been based on empirical experience," stated Bito. We believe the research findings will provide useful information for prescribing effective rehabilitation with limited human resources." Professor Ayumi Shintani, Department of Medical Statistics, Osaka Metropolitan University The findings were published in Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine. Association between additional non-weekday rehabilitation and discharge function after hip fracture, modified by age and admission function: a retrospective study. Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Researchers from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences have developed a novel implant that delivers tiny growth-promoting particles directly to injured nerve cells, helping them to regrow after spinal cord injury. The study, published in the journal Bioactive Materials, shows how a 3D implant designed to mimic the structure and stiffness of the spinal cord can be combined with tiny particles engineered to carry RNA to encourage nerve cells (neurons) to grow. Spinal cord injuries often result in permanent paralysis because damaged neurons in the central nervous system have a very limited capacity to regrow. While biomaterial implants can provide physical support at the injury site, these cells also face molecular barriers that prevent their regrowth. To overcome this, the team developed a multifunctional implant that not only supports regenerating tissue but also delivers RNA-based signals that encourage neurons to switch their growth mechanisms back on. These signals target one such barrier, a gene called PTEN, which is known to suppress neuron regrowth after injury. By silencing PTEN at the injury site, the implant helps remove an internal barrier to repair in these cells. We've created an environment that both physically and biologically re-enhances the regenerative capacity of injured neurons, which is a key requirement for restoring function after spinal cord injury. In laboratory models of spinal cord injury, neurons exposed to the RNA-activated implant showed significantly enhanced growth." The research was developed with guidance from an advisory panel supported by the Irish Rugby Football Union Charitable Trust (IRFU-CT), bringing together people living with spinal cord injury, clinicians, neuroscientists and engineers to shape research priorities and ensure relevance to patients' real-world needs. "While this study focused on laboratory models, the next steps will to be to test the approach in vivo and explore how RNA-activated biomaterials could help bridge damaged spinal cord tissue and restore lost connections," said Dr Tara McGuire who carried out the research as a PhD student in TERG. Development of a PTEN-siRNA activated scaffold to promote axonal regrowth following spinal cord injury. Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Oral cancers with a high risk of recurrence can be identified at an early stage by examining the lymphatic vessels of the tumor. Finnish researchers have discovered for the first time that the surface cells of the lymphatic vessels in oral cancer contain proteins that indicate cell division and strongly predict disease progression and mortality. Oral cancers are the most common malignant tumors in the head and neck region, causing more than 188,000 deaths worldwide each year. Unlike in many other cancers, even small and early-stage tumors in oral cancer can lead to death. By studying multiple different protein markers, the researchers made the surprising discovery that some tumors showed a higher number of proliferating lymphatic vessels than normal. The high number of proliferating lymphatic vessels predicted cancer recurrence and death better than any other previously known risk factor for oral cancer.Lymphatic vessels are normally present in the mouth, but in a healthy oral cavity, their cells rarely divide and marker proteins indicating this process are not usually seen. Currently, local oral cancer treatment mainly involves surgery, and there are no precise methods for targeting adjuvant therapies. We need biomarkers so that we can treat high-risk patients more effectively and avoid exposing patients with a better prognosis to the potentially serious adverse effects of adjuvant therapies." Joni Näsiaho, lead author of the study, Doctoral Researcher at the University of Turku and physician specializing in oncology "We are excited about the results and believe that the findings could also be applied as a practical tool for clinical use. Furthermore, it would be interesting to find out whether the marker we discovered has a similar predictive value in other cancer groups," says Näsiaho.The study was published in the prestigious medical journal Cell Reports Medicine. Spatial single-cell analysis reveals tumor microenvironment signatures predictive of oral cavity cancer outcome. Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. Please check the box above to proceed. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Axol Bioscience Ltd. (Axol), a leading provider of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies for drug discovery and research, today announced that it has acquired the ophthalmology business of Newcells Biotech (Newcells), a leading drug discovery partner specializing in the development of in vitro models and bespoke assay services. Developed over more than a decade, the platforms encompass advanced retinal organoids and 2D retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) models designed to support preclinical research and translational drug development. Growing investment in research to discover new therapeutics for eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and rare disease has driven Axol's strategic expansion into ophthalmology with the acquisition of Phenocell in October 2024. The news follows Axol's recent $2.8 million financing, led by US life sciences investor BroadOak Capital Partners, which is supporting expansion of its US commercial operations, product development and manufacturing scale-up. Following our recent financing and continued strong revenue growth, we are executing on a clear strategy to scale Axol internationally and deepen our scientific capabilities. The addition of Newcells' retinal organoid business is our third acquisition in five years and significantly enhances our ophthalmology offering, combining complementary expertise and intellectual property to create the most comprehensive independent portfolio of iPSC-derived retinal models globally." "Newcells has developed a highly sophisticated and scalable retinal organoid platform focused on predictive, human-relevant iPSC-derived retinal models that are recognised across the industry. As drug developers increasingly seek predictive human models to de-risk programs earlier, this acquisition further positions Axol at the forefront of ophthalmology drug discovery and safety testing" said Florian Regent, Head of Ophthalmology, Axol Bioscience. Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

It expressed concerns that doctors are being pressured into restrictive and opaque agreements on patient care. Medical practitioners say that the contracts are affecting the choices they make for patient care by restricting treatments, rehabilitation, choice of hospital, and duration of stay. Around two thirds of all scheduled surgery in Australia is now performed in the private sector, said Julian Rait, MD, ophthalmologist and vice president of the Australian Medical Association. In a known gap contract, doctors can charge a fee over and above the reimbursed amount, but that gap is set by the insurer. The problem is that these contracts can be restrictive, and doctors have no power to negotiate, Rait told Medscape News Australia. The height of the COVID pandemic raised fears among insurers of a huge surge in demand, and since then, they have sought to protect their capital, said Rait. “They've tried to be circumspect with the reimbursement of hospitals in anticipation that this surge might come.” As a result, the medical benefits paid are not keeping pace with inflation, said Peter Sumich, MD, eye surgeon and president of the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists in Sydney. Private Healthcare Australia, which is the representative body for the private health insurance industry, has disputed accusations that profits are not being passed on to patients, saying in a statement that benefits paid to patients increased by 20% from 2017-2018 to 2023-2024, and that for every dollar patients spend on premiums, they are reimbursed $0.84. Insurers are also exerting control over treatment and management choices, said Sumich. While doctors always have the choice to practice independently, Sumich said that this option is becoming increasingly difficult to pursue as insurers gain greater market share, including through the ownership of private hospitals, and can direct patients to their preferred doctors. “I've got patients I've seen for cataract surgery, and they ring us back and say, ‘My health insurer said you're not one of our preferred doctors. The Australian Medical Association has called for greater regulation of the private health insurance sector, citing a previous observation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that there is no regulatory oversight or limitation on how doctors and insurers contract with each other. Current regulation focuses on interactions between private health insurers and patients, rather than doctors. A private health system authority could set a standard for how insurers work with healthcare providers and provide greater transparency in contracts, he said. Rait and Sumich reported having no relevant financial relationships.

Researchers at Kumamoto University have discovered that behavioral changes during the COVID-19 pandemic-particularly widespread mask-wearing-may have reduced the risk of certain types of heart attacks triggered by air pollution. The study, led by Dr. Masanobu Ishii and colleagues, was published in the European Society of Cardiology's flagship journal, European Heart Journal. Fine particulate matter known as PM2.5-tiny airborne particles small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs-has long been recognized as a major environmental risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Exposure can trigger inflammation, oxidative stress, and blood vessel dysfunction, potentially leading to acute myocardial infarction (AMI), commonly known as a heart attack. Using Japan's nationwide cardiovascular database (JROAD-DPC), the research team analyzed data from 270,091 patients hospitalized for AMI between 2012 and 2022. However, one subtype-MINOCA (myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries), a heart attack without coronary artery obstruction-showed a particularly strong association with air pollution. The findings suggest that pandemic-related preventive behaviors-especially mask-wearing-may have reduced individual exposure to harmful particulate matter, thereby lowering the risk of pollution-triggered vascular dysfunction such as coronary spasm or microvascular impairment. This study provides real-world evidence that simple protective measures can mitigate cardiovascular risks associated with unavoidable environmental exposures. Even in Japan, where no strict lockdowns were imposed, voluntary public health practices appear to have delivered measurable cardiovascular benefits. The researchers emphasize that improving air quality remains a long-term priority. However, the findings also highlight the potential of accessible interventions-such as mask use during high-pollution periods-to protect vulnerable populations. As societies confront ongoing environmental challenges, these insights may help shape future preventive cardiology and public health strategies worldwide. Ishii, M., et al. (2026) Air pollution before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: changes in risk of acute myocardial infarction. Brain microphysiological systems are reshaping in vitro neurotoxicity testing through functional validation and advanced disease modeling. Targeted protein degradation presents a promising strategy to address antimicrobial resistance, focusing on innovative approaches for gram-negative bacteria. In our latest interview, News-Medical speaks with Rosanna Zhang from ACROBiosystems about utilizing organoids for disease modeling in the field of neuroscience research. News-Medical.Net provides this medical information service in accordance with these terms and conditions. Please note that medical information found on this website is designed to support, not to replace the relationship between patient and physician/doctor and the medical advice they may provide. Hi, I'm Azthena, you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from News-Medical.net. Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content. A few things you need to know before we start. While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles. Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.