While previous research has suggested a link between low levels of vitamin D in the blood and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, a new Michigan State University study has found that taking vitamin D supplements did not reduce that risk. The large-scale study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Cardiology, found that vitamin D supplements did not decrease the incidence of heart attacks, strokes or other major adverse cardiovascular events.

Immunotherapies have transformed cancer care, but their successes have been limited for reasons that are both complex and perplexing. In breast cancer especially, only a small number of patients are even eligible to undergo treatment with immunotherapies, and most see little benefit.

The age of one-size-fits-all medicine is fading. Taking its place is an era of personalized medicine - the practice of tailoring disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to patients as individuals. Many cancers, for example, are resistant to conventional therapies but respond to medications that target specific cancer-causing genetic mutations.

Depression is a common and serious problem for older adults. Some 15 to 20 percent of people aged 65 and older who live independently deal with symptoms of major depressive disorder. For residents of nursing homes, the rates of depression may be as high as 50 percent. For some people, medication is an effective part of treatment for depression.

A team of researchers led by a member of the University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty at the Anschutz Medical Campus examined post-advisory financial relationships between U.S. physicians who advised FDA committees during dermatological drug approval processes. Critics of these industry-physician relationships claim these types of payments could incentivize advisors to alter their voting habits.

A novel gene therapy clinical trial at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center is showing promising results, garnering funding with a prestigious U01 Grant from the National Cancer Institute. The trial focuses on turning patients with a poor prognosis into those with a good prognosis.

After reviewing tens of millions of insurance claims for the country’s 49 most popular brand-name prescription drugs, a team from Scripps Research Translational Institute found that net prices rose by a median of 76 percent from January 2012 through December 2017 - with most products going up once or twice per year. The substantial price increases were not limited to drugs that recently entered the marketplace, as one might expect, or to those lacking generic equivalents.