Children's Health News

January 20, 2026

Top Headlines

Doctors Discover the Source of Mysterious Intoxication

Jan. 13, 2026 Some people get drunk without drinking because their gut bacteria produce alcohol from food. Researchers have now identified the microbes and biological pathways behind this rare condition, auto-brewery syndrome. Tests showed patients’ gut samples ...

A Little-known Health Syndrome May Affect Nearly Everyone

Jan. 12, 2026 Most U.S. adults have risk factors tied to a little-known condition called CKM syndrome, which connects heart disease, kidney problems, diabetes, and obesity into one powerful health threat. When these issues overlap, the danger rises far more than ...

The Simplest Way Teens Can Protect Their Mental Health

Jan. 7, 2026 Teens who sleep in on weekends may be giving their mental health a boost. A new study found that young people who made up for lost weekday sleep had a significantly lower risk of depression. While consistent sleep is still best, weekend catch-up ...

Why Multiple Sclerosis Slowly Steals Balance and Movement

Jan. 6, 2026 Many people with multiple sclerosis struggle with balance and coordination, and this study uncovers a hidden reason why. Researchers found that inflammation in the brain disrupts the energy supply of vital movement-controlling neurons. As their ...

Flu Drug Once Blamed for Seizures in Kids Gets a Surprising Reversal

Jan. 5, 2026 A long-running debate over Tamiflu’s safety in children may finally be settled. Researchers found that influenza, not the antiviral medication, was linked to serious neuropsychiatric events like seizures and hallucinations. Even more striking, ...

Scientists Discover Why Mental Disorders so Often Overlap

Jan. 3, 2026 A massive global genetics study is reshaping how we understand mental illness—and why diagnoses so often pile up. By analyzing genetic data from more than six million people, researchers uncovered deep genetic connections across 14 psychiatric ...

ADHD Drugs Don’t Work the Way We Thought

Dec. 29, 2025 ADHD stimulants appear to work less by sharpening focus and more by waking up the brain. Brain scans revealed that these medications activate reward and alertness systems, helping children stay interested in tasks they would normally avoid. The ...

This Cancer-fighting Molecule Took 50 Years to Build

Dec. 22, 2025 MIT scientists have achieved the first-ever lab synthesis of verticillin A, a complex fungal compound discovered in 1970. Its delicate structure stalled chemists for decades, despite differing from related molecules by only two atoms. With the ...

An 11-year-old Needed Two New Organs and Doctors Made History

Dec. 19, 2025 In a rare and historic achievement, Children’s Hospital Colorado successfully completed its first dual heart and liver transplant in a pediatric patient. The life-saving surgery was performed on 11-year-old Gracie Greenlaw, whose congenital heart ...

Young Adults Are Using Cannabis to Sleep at Alarming Rates

Dec. 18, 2025 More than 20% of young adults say they use cannabis or alcohol to fall asleep, with cannabis leading by a wide margin. Researchers warn this strategy can backfire, disrupting sleep quality and increasing the risk of long-term sleep and substance-use ...

Scientists Rewired Down Syndrome Brain Circuits by Restoring a Missing Molecule

Dec. 17, 2025 A missing brain molecule may be disrupting neural wiring in Down syndrome, according to new research. Replacing it in adult mice rewired brain circuits and improved brain flexibility, challenging the ...

Anxiety and Insomnia Linked to Sharp Drops in Key Immune Cells

Dec. 15, 2025 Natural killer cells act as the immune system’s rapid-response team, but the stress of anxiety and insomnia may be quietly thinning their ranks. A study of young women in Saudi Arabia found that both conditions were linked to significantly fewer ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:09am EST

Brain Scans May Finally End the Guesswork in Depression Treatment

Jan. 4, 2026 Researchers compared a traditional Chinese medicine, Yueju Pill, with a standard antidepressant and found both reduced depression symptoms. However, only Yueju Pill increased a brain-supporting ...

Is a Vegan Diet Safe for Kids? A Huge Study Has Answers

Dec. 21, 2025 A major new meta-analysis finds that vegetarian and vegan diets can support healthy growth in children when properly planned. Kids on plant-based diets often had better heart health markers, ...

Kids’ Anxiety and Depression Dropped Fast After COVID School Reopenings

Dec. 13, 2025 Researchers discovered that children who went back to school during COVID experienced far fewer mental health diagnoses than those who stayed remote. Anxiety, depression, and ADHD all declined as ...

Why Ultra-Processed Foods Make Teens Eat More When They Aren’t Hungry

Dec. 10, 2025 A Virginia Tech study shows that ultra-processed foods may influence adolescents differently from slightly older young adults. Participants aged 18 to 21 ate more at a buffet and snacked even when ...

Scientists Find Hidden Brain Nutrient Drop That May Fuel Anxiety

Dec. 4, 2025 Researchers found that people with anxiety disorders consistently show lower choline levels in key brain regions that regulate thinking and emotions. This biochemical difference may help explain why ...

Scientists Reveal What Really Drives the “freshman 15”

Dec. 3, 2025 College life creates a perfect storm for overeating, as students consume more calories when surrounded by friends, eating in dining halls, or following unstructured schedules. A four-week study using ...

Scientists Discover First Gene Proven to Directly Cause Mental Illness

Dec. 2, 2025 Scientists have discovered that a single gene, GRIN2A, can directly cause mental illness—something previously thought to stem only from many genes acting together. People with certain variants of ...

Fast Depression Relief? Nitrous Oxide Shows Remarkable Potential

Dec. 2, 2025 Nitrous oxide may offer quick, short-term relief for people with major depression, especially those who haven’t responded to standard medications. The meta-analysis found rapid improvements after a ...

Millions Are About to Choose the Wrong Medicare Plan

Nov. 29, 2025 Millions face Medicare decisions each year, but many don’t take advantage of tools that can save them money and stress. Insurance marketing often overshadows unbiased options like SHIP, leaving ...

Why More Cannabis Users Are Landing in the ER With Severe Vomiting

Nov. 27, 2025 Chronic cannabis use is increasingly linked to recurring bouts of vomiting, now officially classified as cannabis hyperemesis syndrome. The new ICD code helps doctors identify cases more consistently ...

How Personalized Algorithms Trick Your Brain Into Wrong Answers

Nov. 25, 2025 Personalized algorithms may quietly sabotage how people learn, nudging them into narrow tunnels of information even when they start with zero prior knowledge. In the study, participants using ...

Chronic Pain May Dramatically Raise Your Blood Pressure

Nov. 17, 2025 Chronic pain might quietly push people toward developing high blood pressure—and the more widespread the pain, the greater the danger. A massive analysis of over 200,000 adults uncovered strong ...

A Hidden Breathing Problem May Be Behind Chronic Fatigue’s Crushing Exhaustion

Nov. 10, 2025 Scientists have discovered that most chronic fatigue patients experience dysfunctional breathing, which may worsen their symptoms. The likely culprit is dysautonomia, a disruption in how the body ...

Common Antidepressant Found to Work in Just Two Weeks

Nov. 8, 2025 Sertraline (Zoloft) may relieve emotional symptoms of depression and anxiety within two weeks, while physical side effects stabilize later. The research highlights how antidepressants can act on ...

Scientists Just Found a Hidden Genetic Flaw That Slowly Steals Strength

Nov. 6, 2025 A newly identified disorder, MINA syndrome, results from a mutation in the NAMPT protein that deprives motor neurons of energy, leading to severe movement problems. The discovery not only deepens ...

Scientists Find Brain Chemical Tied to Trauma and Depression

Nov. 10, 2025 Researchers identified SGK1 as a key chemical connecting childhood trauma to depression and suicidal behavior. High SGK1 levels were found in the brains of suicide victims and in people with genetic ...

Your Skin Could Warn of Hidden Mental Health Trouble

Oct. 13, 2025 People experiencing their first psychotic episode who also have skin conditions such as rashes or itching are at greater risk of depression and suicidal thoughts, according to new research presented ...

Your Type of Depression Could Shape Your Body’s Future Health

Oct. 12, 2025 Different types of depression affect the body in different ways. Atypical, energy-related depression raises the risk of diabetes, while melancholic depression increases the likelihood of heart ...

Weight-Loss Drugs Like Ozempic May Also Curb Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Oct. 26, 2025 GLP-1 drugs, originally developed for diabetes and obesity, may also curb addictive behaviors by acting on reward circuits in the brain. Early trials show reductions in alcohol intake, opioid ...

Breakthrough Blood Test Finally Confirms Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Nov. 3, 2025 A team of scientists has developed a highly accurate blood test for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The test reads tiny DNA patterns that reveal the biological signature of the illness. For millions ...

Scientists Discover a Surprising Way to Quiet the Anxious Mind

Oct. 27, 2025 Generalized anxiety disorder affects millions, often trapping sufferers in cycles of fear and isolation that conventional medications barely relieve. At UCSF, neuroscientist Jennifer Mitchell is ...

Why Gen X Women Can’t Stop Eating Ultra-Processed Foods

Sep. 29, 2025 Researchers found that middle-aged adults, especially women, are far more likely to be addicted to ultra-processed foods than older generations. Marketing of diet-focused processed foods in the 1980s ...

Childhood Plastic Exposure Could Be Fueling Obesity, Infertility, and Asthma

Sep. 22, 2025 A sweeping review from NYU Langone Health reveals that everyday exposure to plastics—especially during childhood—poses lasting risks for heart disease, infertility, asthma, and even brain ...

Half of Adults Suffer from Dry Eyes, but Most Never Get Help

Sep. 15, 2025 Dry eyes are far more common than previously believed, with over half of adults in the US and Europe experiencing symptoms, yet most remain undiagnosed for years. The large-scale NESTS study reveals ...

One Number at Age 7 Could Predict How Long You Live

Sep. 7, 2025 Children with higher blood pressure as young as age 7 face a sharply increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by their mid-50s, according to a massive decades-long study. Researchers found ...

Why So Many Young Kids With ADHD Are Getting the Wrong Treatment

Sep. 16, 2025 Preschoolers with ADHD are often given medication right after diagnosis, against medical guidelines that recommend starting with behavioral therapy. Limited access to therapy and physician pressures ...

For the First Time, Scientists Pinpoint Brain Cells Linked to Depression

Oct. 10, 2025 Scientists identified two types of brain cells, neurons and microglia, that are altered in people with depression. Through genomic mapping of post-mortem brain tissue, they found major differences in ...

Cannabis for Coping? Why It May Trigger Paranoia

Aug. 28, 2025 Using cannabis to self-medicate comes with hidden dangers—new research shows these users face higher paranoia and consume more THC. Childhood trauma further amplifies the risks, especially ...

Stronger Weed, Higher Risk? Potent THC Linked to Psychosis and Addiction

Sep. 2, 2025 A sweeping review of nearly 100 studies has raised concerns about the mental health impacts of high-potency cannabis products. Researchers found strong links to psychosis, schizophrenia, and cannabis ...

9 in 10 Australian Teachers Are Stressed to Breaking Point

Aug. 26, 2025 Australian teachers are in crisis, with 9 in 10 experiencing severe stress and nearly 70% saying their workload is unmanageable. A major UNSW Sydney study found teachers suffer depression, anxiety, ...