HEALTH NEWS

Melatonin may safely reduce chronic musculoskeletal pain, study finds
Study: Nordic Walking Reduces Depression Symptoms Within Weeks
Connection or compulsion: How smartphones can deepen depression in older adults
This Popular Workout Supplement May Give Cancer Immunotherapy a Big Boost
Probiotic metabolite found to suppress melanoma tumor growth in mice

Melatonin may safely reduce chronic musculoskeletal pain, study finds University of Sydney, June 30 2026 (News-Medical)

A sleep supplement widely used to treat insomnia could help reduce reliance on some of the most common and potentially harmful pain medications, new research from the University of Sydney suggests.

Published in PAIN, the study found melatonin can reduce chronic musculoskeletal pain with effects in a similar range to medications such as opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and paracetamol.

The study analyzed data from 2028 adults across 23 randomised controlled trials conducted in countries including the United States, Russia, Brazil, Egypt and China. Participants included people with conditions such as low back pain, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, as well as those recovering from surgeries including joint replacements and spinal procedures.

On average, the study found that melatonin reduced pain by around nine points on a 0-100 scale, with the most rigorous trials showing reductions closer to 10 points, a similar magnitude to widely used pain medications.

Across the trials, the dose and timing of melatonin varied depending on the condition and setting. For chronic musculoskeletal pain, doses typically ranged from 3 to 10 mg, with 3 mg per day the most commonly used. For postoperative pain, doses ranged from 1 to 10 mg, with 5 to 6 mg most common. Melatonin was generally taken at bedtime or up to one hour before sleep.

Study: Nordic Walking Reduces Depression Symptoms Within Weeks

Université Grenoble Alpes (France), July 1 2026 (Natural News) A randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that supervised Nordic walking significantly reduced depression symptoms in adults with moderate to severe depression. The most pronounced improvements occurred within the first five weeks of the 10-week program, according to researchers. The study enrolled 64 adults, with 48 assigned to Nordic walking and 16 to a non-active control group.

The findings challenge the commonly cited three-month timeframe for exercise benefits on depression.

A secondary analysis examined whether participants with severe depression responded differently than those with moderate symptoms. According to the study, Nordic walking is a low-impact activity that engages the upper and lower body using poles, similar to cross-country skiing.

The Nordic walking group showed significantly greater reductions in depression symptoms compared to the control group over the full 10 weeks. The largest reduction occurred from baseline to week five, with a large effect size; improvements from week five to week ten were smaller and not statistically significant. Participants with severe depression at baseline experienced even larger and faster improvements in the first five weeks, according to the secondary analysis.

Connection or compulsion: How smartphones can deepen depression in older adults

Rutgers University, July 1 2026 (Eurekalert)

Compulsive smartphone habits in older adults can be linked to a higher risk of depression, according to a study led by a Rutgers researcher.

Researchers said their findings raised concerns that technology widely promoted to build connections can instead deepen late-life isolation: While mobile devices can be invaluable lifelines, their impact on mental health depends heavily on the way people use them. A critical distinction, the researchers said, is whether someone uses technology to actively engage with the world or to withdraw.

The study, published in JMIR Aging, drew on survey responses from 2,585 adults ages 60 and older living in 87 communities. Researchers collected health and demographic information, including age, gender, marital status, education and income, and measured depressive symptoms with a screening tool commonly used with older adults.

Limited social participation emerged as the strongest predictor of depression, followed closely by smartphone addiction, defined as compulsive or excessive use that disrupts daily functioning. Problematic phone reliance appeared in nearly all cases of clinical depression, with older adults who rarely used interactive communication features facing the greatest risk.

Another high-risk pattern emerged among older adults of both sexes: Those with higher incomes and education levels who suffered from smartphone addiction were more prone to clinical depression. This finding suggests that wealth, education, and technology access fail to protect against loneliness when screen time replaces real-world connections.

This Popular Workout Supplement May Give Cancer Immunotherapy a Big Boost University of California at Los Angeles, July 1, 2026 (SciTech Daily)

Creatine, a supplement widely used by athletes and bodybuilders, may also strengthen the immune system’s ability to fight cancer, according to new research from UCLA.

Previous findings from the same research team show that creatine boosts the activity of killer T cells, which destroy cancer cells. The new research found that creatine also supports dendritic cells, the immune cells responsible for detecting tumor material and activating killer T cells to launch an attack.

Although many approved cancer immunotherapies target killer T cells, only about 20% to 40% of patients benefit from these treatments. Enhancing dendritic cells, which prepare and activate T cells, could improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy for more people.

The researchers found that dendritic cells inside tumors produced much higher levels of the gene responsible for the creatine transporter, the protein that moves creatine into cells, than dendritic cells found in healthy tissue.

They investigated whether increasing creatine could improve dendritic cell performance. Daily creatine injections in mouse models of melanoma slowed tumor growth while increasing both the number and activity of dendritic cells within tumors. The treated dendritic cells also released more chemical signals that attracted additional immune cells to the tumor.

Probiotic metabolite found to suppress melanoma tumor growth in mice Southern Medical University (China), June 30 2026 (News-Medical) Immune checkpoint inhibitors like anti-PD-1 have transformed melanoma treatment, yet more than half of patients fail to respond or eventually develop resistance. The tumor microenvironment and the gut microbiome are increasingly recognized as critical determinants of immunotherapy outcomes. Melanoma patients often show reduced levels of beneficial gut bacteria, including Bifidobacterium, and lower microbial diversity.

Researchers have discovered that Bifidobacterium animalis—a probiotic commonly found in fermented dairy products—produces mannose, which activates CD8⁺ T cells and suppresses melanoma progression in mouse models. The study reveals a novel gut-microbiome-immune axis that could lead to new adjuvant strategies for melanoma immunotherapy.
When given orally to mice with melanoma tumors, the bacterium significantly reduced tumor volume and weight—without ever colonizing the tumor tissue itself, indicating that its effects were mediated entirely through secreted metabolites.

Using size fractionation and metabolomics, the team identified mannose as the key bioactive molecule—a small, non-protein compound under 3 kilodaltons. In mice, drinking water supplemented with 1% mannose replicated the anti-tumor effects of the live probiotic, increasing tumor-infiltrating CD8⁺ T cells and boosting their production of killer molecules like granzyme B (GZMB), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α).