If you have ever undergone a colonoscopy, dental procedure, or surgery, you may have been told that you would be “sedated” or “put under.” Although these phrases are often used interchangeably in everyday conversation, sedation and general anesthesia are not the same thing. Both involve medications that help patients remain comfortable during medical procedures, but they differ in how deeply they affect consciousness, breathing, responsiveness, and recovery. Understanding the

A model of the pancreas highlights the organ where pancreatic cancer develops. Researchers are now testing new immune-based approaches, including personalized cancer vaccines, to help the body recognize and target tumour cells more effectively. Introduction Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat. Even when a tumour can be completely removed with surgery, microscopic cancer cells may remain in the body and the disease can return. Chemotherapy after sur

If you've scrolled through social media lately, you may have noticed people wearing a small, round sensor on the back of their arm, paired with a smartphone app full of colorful glucose graphs. These devices, called continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), were originally designed for people with diabetes. Today, they are showing up on marathon runners, biohackers, and wellness enthusiasts with no diabetes diagnosis at all. This shift accelerated in 2024, when the FDA cleared the

Introducing Organ-on-a-chip Towards Women’s Hormonal Imbalances and Ovarian Cancer Organ-on-a-chip (OOC) technology displays a direct correlation to benefiting the treatment of women's hormonal imbalances. Historically, women's hormonal health has been understudied, leading to a landscape of medical solutions that often fail to provide long-term relief. By integrating OOC technology into the development of women’s therapeutics, the quality of life for millions of women can b

The recent surge in common mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, while having a limited number of mental health specialists has resulted in many individuals having to seek treatment of such disorders by their Primary Care Provider (PCP). Current research conducted by Physicians, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, and health systems experts have attempted to develop the means to combat the rising rate of mental health disorder seen in the population. Thus a newer

Photo Credit: Wix What is Down Syndrome Down syndrome is the most common type of chromosomal condition diagnosed in the United States with about one in every 640 babies born with it. It occurs due to presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21 (Trisomy of chromosome 21), resulting in multiple complications. With improved medical care, life expectancy of people born with down syndrome has greatly increased between 1960 to 2007 from 10 years of age to 47 years of age. Down Syn

Photo Credit: Wix Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive disorder, causes by mutations in the CFTR gene. It affects approx. 105,000 people worldwide. Before CFTR modulators were developed to treat cystic fibrosis, patients with CF rarely survived beyond their 20’s. With the advent of these transformative therapies patients with CF live well into their 60’s and 70’s. While CFTR modulators offer hope to 90% of the patients, many still are unable to benefit. About 10% of pati

Motion sickness is a common condition that occurs when the brain receives conflicting signals about movement from the body’s sensory systems. It can be triggered by traveling in a car, boat, or airplane, as well as by virtual reality or other simulated environments. Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headache, and fatigue. The severity of these symptoms varies among individuals based on their sensitivity and susceptibility to motion. Although motion sickness

Natalie Orlov Neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and glioblastoma, affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide and remain among the most difficult diseases to treat. One of the greatest obstacles in neuroscience is the inability to accurately model the human brain in a laboratory. Traditional two-dimensional cell cultures fail to recreate the complex interactions between neurons, while animal models often do not fully

Getting a medication to the right place in the body is often more difficult than simply developing the drug itself. Conventional drug-delivery systems, including nanoparticles, can face challenges such as limited targeting and rapid removal from the body. Researchers are exploring a different approach: using living cells as therapeutic delivery vehicles. Rather than acting as passive containers, these cells can naturally interact with their surroundings, remain in circulation

Introduction Nanomedicine is often associated with cancer therapy or the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Yet researchers are now using nanoparticles to deliver antibiotics, cross the blood–brain barrier, repair damaged tissues, and even improve vaccine design. As nanotechnology matures, its role in medicine is expanding far beyond oncology. What is nanomedicine? A nanometre (nm) is one-billionth of a metre (10⁻⁹ m), or roughly the length of three atoms lined up. To put this into pers

GLP-1 receptor agonists (often called “GLP-1s”) are medicines commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes and help with weight loss. Researchers are now looking at whether these medicines might also help with addiction. Early studies and patient reports suggest that some people taking medicines like semaglutide or tirzepatide notice fewer cravings—for example, they may feel less urge to drink alcohol or smoke. Because of these reports, more studies are underway to see if GLP-1s co

Neurographic art, a relatively new therapeutic practice developed by Russian psychologist Dr. Pavel Piskarev, is attracting growing interest among therapists, educators, and artists as a tool to reduce stress, express emotions, and aid self-reflection.

Neuroaesthetics is a relatively new interdisciplinary field that investigates how the brain and mind perceive, process, and respond to aesthetic experiences. A combination of neuroscience, cognitive psychology, the philosophy of aesthetics, and the fine arts, the field seeks to explain why humans find certain visual forms, sounds, movements, and environments beautiful or emotionally meaningful.

Where Do We Go From Here? A series of MedReport articles exploring the botanical origins of the medicines we use every day, by B. Kristine Burneko, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, APHN-BC. Fig. 1 /Herbal Apothecary Tools. From Wix [photograph] (educational use.) This article is a continuation of the series, "Nature's Medicine Cabinet: The Surprising Plant Origins of Common Medicines" available by this author on the MedReport website. The Future of Plant-Based Medicine Long before the

Introduction Migraine affects more than one billion people worldwide and remains a leading cause of disability. Although conventional treatments such as triptans, CGRP inhibitors, and preventive medications have improved outcomes, many patients continue to experience inadequate symptom control, adverse effects, or accessibility challenges, driving growing interest in herbal medicine. Unlike conventional drugs that typically target a single pathway, herbal medicines contain mu

As AI becomes increasingly apparent in everyday tasks and continues to advance, the question of how it will revolutionize healthcare has become clear. To define AI (artificial intelligence), it is the study of algorithms that give machines problem-solving abilities, such as visual perception, word recognition, and making predictions based on inferences. AI and robotics can be used in a number of ways when it comes to surgery and operations. Before surgery, AI algorithms can b

Introduction The human nervous system is constantly active. Every movement, emotion, sensation, and thought relies on electrical signals traveling throughout the brain and body. Most of the time, these signals work quietly in the background without much thought. But when those signals become dysregulated, the effects can be difficult to ignore. For many people living with chronic neurological symptoms, the experience can feel frustrating and exhausting. Migraines, chronic pai

As global urbanization accelerates, cities are becoming the primary areas of human population growth, placing increasing pressure on traditional agricultural systems. Feeding dense urban populations sustainably is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. In response, vertical farming, which is the cultivation of crops in vertically stacked layers within controlled indoor environments, has emerged as a transformative approach to food production. By integrating advan

A third-year medical student stands at the bedside of a 58-year-old woman with fatigue, mild confusion, and a sodium of 118. She has memorized the causes of hyponatremia. She can recite the SIADH criteria. She orders the right labs. And yet, when asked what she thinks is going on, she hesitates - not because she lacks knowledge, but because nobody has ever really taught her how to think. This is the quiet crisis at the center of medical education. For all the curriculum refor