Author: Healthcare Propulsion Staff

Gastrointestinal and pancreatobiliary cancers can be difficult to detect early, creating a need for practical, noninvasive approaches for early detection and risk assessment. The gut microbiome has emerged as a potential source of cancer biomarkers, offering practical opportunities for noninvasive testing, as microbial changes can be assessed in fecal samples. However, using sequencing-based microbiome testing in routine clinical practice remains challenging due to its cost, analytical complexity, and need for specialized data analysis. Targeted quantitative PCR (qPCR) could offer a simpler way to translate microbiome signals into accessible testing.  Against this backdrop, a research team led by Associate Professor Tadashi…

SCAN Health Plan is partnering with retail giant Walmart to launch a co-branded Medicare Advantage plan in two states, the companies announced Wednesday. SCAN and Walmart will connect co-branded Medicare Advantage offerings “more closely” with Walmart’s health and wellness products and services and its technology capabilities. Pending regulatory review and approvals, the companies say offerings could include pharmacy services, vision services, food and over-the-counter benefits. Moreover, Walmart will use its artificial intelligence-driven platform Everyday Health Signals, which allows users to share wellness goals and receive personalized insights. “At SCAN, we believe healthcare is better when it is personalized to the…

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can affect attention, activity levels, and impulse control, with symptoms often beginning in childhood and sometimes continuing into adulthood. Although the exact causes of ADHD are not fully understood, changes in the brain’s dopamine system have long been linked to the condition. Dopamine is a chemical messenger that helps brain cells communicate and plays an important role in movement, motivation, and behavior. While dopamine-related changes have been associated with ADHD, it remains unclear how the brain cells that respond to dopamine are maintained and how their disruption may contribute to ADHD-related behaviors.…

A researcher was perusing a collection of old Egyptian texts in a Dutch library when he stumbled upon a torn piece of parchment containing a pivotal story: a section from Homer’s “Odyssey.” The fragment appears to be from a pocket edition of the epic produced in Egypt around A.D. 300.The researcher, Mark de Kreij, a Greek literature expert and professor at Radboud University in the Netherlands, found the parchment while studying early Christian manuscripts that the Utrecht University library purchased in the mid-20th century, according to a Sept. 14 statement from Utrecht University. Among a collection of Egyptian and Greek…

Pain is a natural protective mechanism that alerts the body to actual or potential injury. But when nerves themselves are damaged, they can generate abnormal pain signals even in the absence of a new injury. This condition, known as neuropathic pain, can be persistent and difficult to treat. Medicines can sometimes provide inadequate relief or cause unwanted effects, leading to a need for treatment that can reduce abnormal pain without interfering with normal pain sensation.  To address this, the researchers targeted a protein called Nav1.7, a voltage-gated sodium channel expressed in sensory neurons that contributes to the transmission of electrical…

For young people with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), a disorder that affects the brain’s ability to plan and coordinate the movements needed for speech, speech difficulties can persist well beyond childhood. Unlike many childhood speech disorders that improve with age, people with childhood CAS may continue to experience speech errors into adolescence and young adulthood and often require intensive, individualized therapy. CAS affects an estimated 0.1% to 0.2% of the population and can make it difficult for children to produce sounds and words accurately and consistently. About 78% of adolescents with CAS continue to make speech errors in conversation,…

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have published the first study to define early-onset cirrhosis caused by metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a condition known as fatty liver disease. The study results, published in the September 16, 2026, online edition of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, found that people who develop cirrhosis before the age of 50 have a distinct risk profile shaped by both inherited genetic factors and metabolic conditions, specifically type 2 diabetes. Our findings show that younger adults who develop cirrhosis from MASLD are not simply experiencing the same disease earlier. They…

The long-lost words of ancient philosophers may finally be revealed nearly 2,000 years after the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius scorched and buried them, thanks to a heavy metal that was used in the ink that penned them, a new study finds.The new research investigates the lead-enriched ink within some of the nearly 2,000 papyrus scrolls, which were found at a villa in the ancient town of Herculaneum in the 1750s. In a new paper, a team created modern scrolls with leaded ink, scorched them and found that they could read the text after using several techniques, including X-ray technologies…

Three key Trump administration leadership nominees went before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Wednesday where lawmakers grilled them on measles, vaccines, and more. The nominees in attendance were Nicole Saphier, M.D., for medical director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and surgeon general; Chris Klomp for deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and Timothy Westlake, M.D., for assistant secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use. Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, M.D., R-La., opened the hearing with remarks on the current measles outbreak in the U.S.—which has…

Ferry Health, an agentic AI platform supporting patients in administrative tasks, has launched out of stealth. The startup, founded in 2024, has raised $9 million in seed funding from a16z, Index Ventures and others.  Ferry leverages AI agents to make calls on behalf of users to find and schedule in-network care in all 50 states. It partners with health systems, payers and care navigation platforms, with over a million patients having access to Ferry today. Executives are expecting that to grow 5x by the end of 2026. Ferry agents make calls or look online to find and book needed appointments.…