Patient Education and Counseling News

June 28, 2025

Top Headlines

USC's New AI Implant Promises Drug-Free Relief for Chronic Pain

June 24, 2025 — A groundbreaking wireless implant promises real-time, personalized pain relief using AI and ultrasound power no batteries, no wires, and no opioids. Designed by USC and UCLA engineers, it reads brain signals, adapts on the fly, and bends naturally ...

Bed Bugs Are Most Likely the First Human Pest, New Research Shows

May 28, 2025 — Researchers compared the whole genome sequence of two genetically distinct lineages of bed bug, and their findings indicate bed bugs may well be the first true urban ...

When Doctors Skip the Numbers, Patients May Misjudge the Health Risks

May 26, 2025 — Doctors can better communicate health numbers and statistical risks to their patients. Decision psychology experts give five strategies for effective patient-physician communication on quantitative medical ...

People With Critical Cardiovascular Disease May Benefit from Palliative Care

May 16, 2025 — Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on easing symptoms, addressing psychological and spiritual needs, and helping patients and caregivers make critical decisions aligned with their ...

Mindfulness Course Effective in People With Difficult-to-Treat Depression

May 15, 2025 — Mindfulness-based therapy can offer significant relief for individuals who are still depressed after receiving treatment, according to a new clinical ...

AI Tool Uses Face Photos to Estimate Biological Age and Predict Cancer Outcomes

May 9, 2025 — Researchers developed FaceAge, an AI tool that calculate's a patient biological age from a photo of their face. In a new study, the researchers tied FaceAge results to health outcomes in people with ...

New Chronic Pain Therapy Retrains the Brain to Process Emotions

May 7, 2025 — Researchers have created an effective therapy for chronic pain that reduces pain intensity by focusing on emotional ...

Teens With Mental Health Conditions Use Social Media Differently Than Their Peers, Study Suggests

May 5, 2025 — One of the first studies in this area to use clinical-level diagnoses reveals a range of differences between young people with and without mental health conditions when it comes to social media -- ...

Machine Learning Brings New Insights to Cell's Role in Addiction, Relapse

May 1, 2025 — Researchers have applied object recognition technology to track changes in brain cell structure and provide new insights into how the brain responds to heroin use, withdrawal and ...

Trouble Hearing in Noisy Places and Crowded Spaces? Researchers Say New Algorithm Could Help Hearing Aid Users

Apr. 30, 2025 — BU researchers develop a brain-inspired algorithm that can help people with hearing loss pick out conversations in noisy, crowded ...

Long-Term Survival Rates of Some Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients Could Double With Sensitive Bone Marrow Test

Apr. 30, 2025 — A highly sensitive bone marrow test could double survival rates for some groups of younger adults with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) by helping doctors identify if they might relapse up to three ...

AI Model for Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis, With Over 90% Accuracy and Reduced Consultation Preparation Time

Apr. 25, 2025 — An interdisciplinary research team has unveiled the world's first artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to classify both the cancer stage and risk category of thyroid cancer, achieving ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:39pm EDT

Family Dynamics Shape Body Image Differently Across Cultures

Apr. 23, 2025 — Body appreciation differs between Middle-Eastern and Western societies, a new international study can reveal, highlighting how cultural and family influences shape body image and eating behaviors in ...

A Repurposed Anti-Inflammatory Drug May Help Treat Alcohol Use Disorder and Related Pain

Apr. 22, 2025 — A preclinical study finds that a drug already FDA-approved for treating inflammatory conditions may help reduce both alcohol intake and pain ...

New Analytics-Driven Framework Aims to Improve Care of Chronic Disease

Apr. 22, 2025 — A data-informed approach to scheduling patient encounters with clinicians can reduce risks associated with diabetes management by up to 19.4%, especially for underserved populations, says new ...

Insomnia and Sleep Medication Use Connected to Disability in Older Adults

Apr. 19, 2025 — For adults over the age of 65, higher levels of both insomnia symptoms and sleep medication use were associated with higher risk of disability a year later, according to a new ...

Brain Study Increases Understanding of What Triggers Drug Use Relapse

Apr. 14, 2025 — Research on the biological basis of addiction has found that the critical epigenetic enzyme histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) limits the expression of the gene Scn4b, regulating neuronal activity and ...

Sleep Matters: Duration, Timing, Quality and More May Affect Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Apr. 14, 2025 — Healthy sleep includes multiple components, such as number of hours of sleep per night, how long it takes to fall asleep, daytime functioning and ...

Early Education Impacts Teenage Behavior

Apr. 8, 2025 — Researchers explored the long-term effects of preschool expansion in Japan in the 1960s, revealing significant reductions in risky behaviors amongst teenagers. By analyzing regional differences in ...

Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Improve Chronic Low Back Pain

Apr. 7, 2025 — Eight weeks of mindfulness or cognitive behavioral therapy were associated with improved pain, physical function and quality of life and reduced daily opioid dose in adults with chronic low back pain ...

Home Care Cooperatives May Be Key to Addressing the Critical Shortage of Caregivers for the Elderly

Apr. 7, 2025 — Home care cooperatives may be the key to alleviating the shortage of paid caregivers for older Americans. Participants in cooperatives experienced ...

Study Reveals How Alcohol Abuse Damages Cognition

Apr. 2, 2025 — For the first time researchers demonstrate in an animal how heavy alcohol use leads to long-term behavioral issues by damaging brain circuits critical for ...

Adulting Is Hard on the Heart: Teen to Young Adulthood Is a Critical Time to Address Risk

Mar. 26, 2025 — Many youth have heart disease risk factors by their late teens, and preventing or addressing these risks early may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the future, according to a ...

Maternal Depression Can Lead to Children's Emotional Overeating, Study Shows

Mar. 17, 2025 — Up to 25% of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression, which can significantly impact their parenting behavior and the wellbeing of their children. A new study looks at long-term effects of ...

Assessing Pain, Anxiety and Other Symptoms of Nursing Home Residents Unable to Speak for Themselves

Mar. 12, 2025 — As many as half of nursing home residents are cognitively impaired and may be unable to communicate symptoms such as pain or anxiety to those caring for them. Therefore, information needed for the ...

Worldwide Study Finds High Rates of Depression and Anxiety in People With Chronic Pain

Mar. 10, 2025 — A novel analysis of more than 375 published studies concluded that the association between chronic pain and rates of depression and anxiety is staggering. The study found that 40% of adults with ...

Chronic Diseases Misdiagnosed as Psychosomatic Can Lead to Long Term Damage to Physical and Mental Wellbeing, Study Finds

Mar. 3, 2025 — A 'chasm of misunderstanding and miscommunication' is often experienced between clinicians and patients, leading to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and vasculitis being wrongly diagnosed ...

Screening and Treating Maternal Psychological Health Key to Improving Cardiovascular Health

Feb. 25, 2025 — Identifying and treating risk factors for depression, anxiety and other psychological health conditions during pregnancy and postpartum may improve short- and long-term health outcomes for both ...

Impacts of Workplace Bullying on Sleep Can Be 'Contagious' Between Partners

Feb. 21, 2025 — Workplace bullying affects not only the employee's sleep but their partner's too, according to new research published ...

Lack of Discussion Drives Traditional Gender Roles in Parenthood

Feb. 13, 2025 — Conversations about parental duties continue to be led by mothers, even if both parents earn the same amount of money, finds a new ...

More Sunshine as a Baby Linked to Less Disease Activity for Children With MS

Feb. 12, 2025 — Getting at least 30 minutes of daily summer sun in the first year of life may mean a lower relapse risk for children who are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) later, according to a new study. ...

Physician's Medical Decisions Benefit from Chatbot, Study Suggests

Feb. 10, 2025 — A study showed that chatbots alone outperformed doctors when making nuanced clinical decisions, but when supported by artificial intelligence, doctors performed as well as the ...

Fear of Breast Cancer Recurrence: Impact and Coping With Being in a Dark Place

Feb. 6, 2025 — A new study of breast cancer survivors has found this psychosocial challenge impacts almost every important domain of their lives -- the emotional, behavioral, cognitive, relational and professional. ...

Testing AI With AI: Ensuring Effective AI Implementation in Clinical Practice

Feb. 5, 2025 — Using a pioneering artificial intelligence platform, researchers have assessed whether a cardiac AI tool recently trialed in South Australian hospitals actually has the potential to assist doctors ...

Researcher Uses AI to Reimagine Telehealth Billing

Feb. 3, 2025 — With the growing popularity of telehealth comes new issues with ...

AI Boosts Efficacy of Cancer Treatment, but Doctors Remain Key

Jan. 30, 2025 — A new study shows that artificial intelligence (AI) can help doctors make better decisions when treating cancer. However, it also highlights challenges in how doctors and AI work together. The study ...

Diagnostic Stewardship Optimizes Detection of Appendicitis

Jan. 29, 2025 — Although the delayed diagnosis of appendicitis is dangerous, over-testing can also be ...

Exploring Decision Making in People With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Jan. 24, 2025 — Although obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can be treated, research has shown that people with the disorder tend to have a lower quality of life than neurotypical people. Many struggle to achieve ...

Life Satisfaction Measurement Tool Provides Robust Information Across Nations, Genders, Ages, Languages

Jan. 22, 2025 — Data from 65 countries suggests that the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) -- a widely used research tool -- generally holds up well when applied across diverse groups of people, underscoring its ...

Monitoring Tumor-Informed Circulating Tumor DNA After CGP

Jan. 15, 2025 — A research team proposes a method to assess cancer patients for their likelihood to either respond to treatment or ...

From Caring Touch to Cooperative Communities

Jan. 15, 2025 — An international research team concludes that gentle touch is not only good for mental health, but also for the evolution of ...

Tumor DNA in the Blood Can Predict Lung Cancer Outcome

Jan. 13, 2025 — Scientists have found that a test to detect circulating tumor DNA can predict lung cancer ...