• A new study has suggested that an anti-inflammatory diet might help lower dementia risk, particularly in people with Alzheimer’s pathology.
• Among the diet patterns the researchers studied were also the Mediterranean-style diet, which showed protective effects only in people with lower baseline levels of Alzheimer’s biomarkers.
• The authors caution that this observational study cannot prove the effects of diet, but reinforces the evidence that diet quality affects brain health.

According to the World Health Organization, 57 million people had dementia worldwide in 2021. These numbers are increasing; a recent study suggested that more than 150 million people would have the condition by 2050.

A person’s risk of developing some types of dementia is influenced by genetic factors, but lifestyle can also have an effect. Factors that may reduce a person’s risk include being physically active, preventing or managing diabetes, managing blood pressure, correcting hearing loss, not smoking, and limiting alcohol intake.

Eating a healthy diet can help prevent diabetes and manage blood pressure, and there is evidence that it might also directly improve brain health.

Now, a study has added to the evidence that healthy diets are linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that older adults who followed a diet with lower inflammatory potential had a reduced risk of developing dementia.

“Our study was observational, so it cannot prove that changing diet will improve prognosis or prevent dementia, including among people with early biological signs of disease. That said, the findings are consistent with the broader view that diet quality remains relevant for brain health. For older adults, including those concerned about dementia risk, it is reasonable to follow established healthy eating advice.”

— Anja Mrhar, corresponding author, researcher and a PhD student, University of Ljubljana, affiliated at the Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Emer MacSweeney, MD, CEO and Consultant Neuroradiologist at Re:Cognition Health, not involved in the study, commented:

“One of the most encouraging aspects of this study is that it reinforces the notion that dementia diagnosis is not determined solely by biology. Even among people with blood biomarkers showing a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease, lifestyle factors may still influence if and when dementia develops.”

How 3 dietary patterns affect Alzheimer’s disease pathology

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the development of amyloid beta plaques and tau tangles, peptides that accumulate in the brain and can interfere with cognitive processes. However, this Alzheimer’s disease pathology is often seen in people without any symptoms of Alzheimer’s, and does not always lead to the condition.

In the latest study, the researchers used blood biomarkers to identify early Alzheimer’s pathology and other indicators of neurodegeneration. 

The study used data from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen (SNAC-K), a longitudinal study that recruited people aged 60 and over between March 2001 and August 2004. Researchers on SNAC-K followed up those ages over 78 every 3 years, and those ages under 78 every 6 years until November 2019.

In this new study, researchers evaluated participants’ habitual diet using a 98-item food frequency questionnaire.

From these, they assessed adherence to 3 different diet patterns, which Mrhar explained to Medical News Today: 

• The Alternate Mediterranean Diet (AMED) — a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern, including higher intake of foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, and fish, moderate alcohol intake, and lower intake of red and processed meat.
• The Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) — a broader measure of overall diet quality was developed to reflect dietary factors linked to chronic disease prevention, particularly cardiometabolic health. It includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and legumes, long-chain omega-3 fats and polyunsaturated fats, while giving lower scores for higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, red and processed meat, trans fats, and sodium.
• The reversed Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index, or rEDII, captures the inflammatory potential of the diet. Higher scores indicate a dietary pattern with lower inflammatory potential, such as more vegetables, tea, and coffee, and less red and processed meat, refined grains, and soft drinks.

“Unlike the other two indices,” Mrhar told us, “the rEDII is based on how patterns of food intake have been associated with inflammatory markers in previous research. It therefore reflects a more specific inflammation-related dimension of diet quality.”

Inflammation-lowering diet linked to reduced Alzheimer’s risk

During the 15-year follow-up, 240 of the 1,865 participants developed dementia. However, the likelihood of developing dementia was reduced in those who adhered to healthier diets.

For people with elevated levels of the Alzheimer’s biomarkers p-tau 217, NFL, and GFAP, higher scores on rEDII were linked to 21% to 29% lower dementia risk. 

While the anti-inflammatory diet was beneficial for individuals at high risk, the Mediterranean-style diet seemed to protect brain health only in people with lower baseline biomarker levels.

MacSweeney explained the potential importance of these findings: 

“There is mounting evidence to suggest that what happens in the body can influence inflammatory processes in the brain through the gut-brain-immune axis,” she told MNT.

“It is therefore plausible that individuals who already have Alzheimer’s-related changes may benefit most because reducing inflammatory burden could help slow some of the downstream processes that contribute to cognitive decline and dementia. While we cannot say diet reverses Alzheimer’s pathology, it may help improve resilience and delay the point at which symptoms become clinically apparent,” MacSweeney added.

What kind of diet may reduce Alzheimer’s risk?

“One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is chronic inflammation within the brain. Increasing evidence suggests that inflammation does not simply occur alongside Alzheimer’s pathology but may actively contribute to disease progression and neuronal damage. An anti-inflammatory diet that is rich in fruit vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains and healthy fats may help reduce systemic inflammation throughout the body.”
— Emer MacSweeney

Diet can boost brain health

Describing their findings as “cautiously hopeful,” Mrhar called for further research. She emphasized that the findings “should not be overinterpreted. They do not show that diet can prevent dementia, nor do they prove that changing diet after biomarker changes have emerged will alter disease progression.”

Even if diet cannot prevent or delay the onset of dementia, research suggests that some diets may help keep your brain healthier as you age.

“The same dietary habits that protect the heart appear to benefit the brain,” MacSweeney advised. “Practical recommendations include increasing consumption of leafy green vegetables, berries, oily fish, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, while reducing intake of highly processed foods, sugary drinks, and processed meats. Excess alcohol should also be avoided.”

“Importantly,” she added, “no single food or supplement has been proven to prevent dementia. The overall quality and consistency of dietary habits over many years appear to matter most.”

• It’s not uncommon to lose bone density or mass as we get older, which can make older adults more prone to falls and fractures. 
• Past research shows that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death globally. 
• There are ways to help us preserve better bone health as we age, including eating a healthy, vitamin D and calcium-rich diet. 
• A new study finds that vitamin D, calcium, or a combination of the two, may not offer as much bone protection as once thought.

It’s not uncommon to lose bone density or mass as we get older. As we age, our bones begin to break down, making them more porous and more prone to fractures. Hormonal changes, such as those associated with menopause, can also speed up bone density loss. 

For this reason, older adults are more prone to falls and fractures. In the U.S., about 1 in 4 older adults ages 65 or older experiences a fall each year, with about 37% resulting in an injury that requires medical attention. 

Past research shows that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death globally. 

Previous studies show there are ways to help us preserve better bone health as we age, including not smoking, limiting alcohol use, participating in weight-bearing exercises and strength training, and eating a healthy diet with adequate protein and rich in vitamin D and calcium. 

Now, a new study published in the journal BMJ says that vitamin D, calcium, or a combination of the two, may not offer as much bone protection as once thought, providing little to no meaningful protection against fractures or falls in older adults. 

Vitamin D and calcium provide little to no fracture risk benefit

For this study, researchers analyzed data from 69 previously conducted clinical trials, encompassing a total of almost 154,000 adults. 

These studies all examined how calcium supplements, vitamin D supplements, or a combination of both impacted fall or fracture risk compared to a placebo or no treatment. 

At the study’s conclusion, scientists found little to no decline in overall fracture risk from either supplement by itself or taken together. Additionally, they reported little to no benefit in preventing specific fractures, such as hip fractures, or in reducing fall risk. 

Bones need a variety of nutrients

Medical News Today spoke with Dung Trinh, MD, internist for MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, CA, who was not involved in this study, commented that while this study is important, readers should find it clarifying rather than alarming.

“Calcium and vitamin D are important nutrients, but the BMJ review reinforces that supplements alone are not a meaningful fall- or fracture-prevention strategy for most older adults,” Trinh explained.

“I would not want patients to interpret this as ‘my bones are doomed’ or ‘I should stop everything my doctor prescribed.’ The real takeaway is that bone health requires an individualized, comprehensive approach, especially for people with osteoporosis, vitamin D deficiency, very low calcium intake, malabsorption, kidney disease, or other medical conditions,” he said. 

MNT also spoke with Jocelyn Wittstein, MD, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina and co-author of the book The Complete Bone and Joint Health Plan: Help Prevent and Treat Osteoporosis and Arthritis, who emphasized that diet is just one part of fracture prevention.

“It has long been understood that calcium supplementation alone does not improve bone density or reduce fracture risk, and it is also known that calcium supplementation combined with vitamin D primarily benefits those with a vitamin D deficiency,” Wittstein, who was also not involved in this study, explained.

“I have always recommended getting calcium from food-based sources due to the known benefits of food synergy and the overall food matrix,” she said. 

While calcium and vitamin D are important micronutrients for bone health, Wittstein said there are other micronutrients that are also important, such as:

• Magnesium — a necessary co-factor for vitamin D, also part of the structure of bone, and helps regulate parathyroid hormone (PTH)
• Vitamin C — helps with collagen cross-linking
• Vitamin K2 — activates osteocalcin and helps with bone mineralization

“Additionally, macronutrients like adequate protein and dietary fiber are important aspects of bone health,” she continued. “Adequate dietary fiber results (in) production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA) by gut microbacteria, and SCFA inhibits some of the processes that increase bone resorption. Food components act synergistically to improve bone health, and taking extra calcium or vitamins in the absence of chronic deficiency is not going to reduce fracture risk in the normal population.”

Tips for healthy bones and lower fracture risk

If calcium and vitamin D don’t protect bone health effectively as we age, then what does? Trinh said the best fall and fracture prevention plan goes beyond supplements.

“It includes strength and balance training, regular physical activity, home safety improvements, medication review, vision and hearing checks, adequate protein and nutrition, osteoporosis screening when appropriate, and using assistive devices without stigma when needed,” he details.

“Falls often happen because of multiple overlapping risks, including muscle weakness, dizziness, poor vision, unsafe home environments, and underlying bone loss. For many older adults, building strength, improving balance, reducing hazards, and identifying osteoporosis are more effective than relying on a supplement bottle,” he explained. 

And Wittstein said that exercise interventions are key to improving bone mineral density in people with osteopenia and osteoporosis, and to preventing these conditions and falls.

She recommended strength training two to three days a week, as well as impact exercises a few days a week if tolerated.

“Key components to maintaining and improving bone mineral density are resistance training — primarily increases lumbar spine bone density more than hip — and impact exercises, (which) primarily benefits the hip region. For those who can’t tolerate jumping exercises, less intense options like heel drops or moderate intensity stomping can create impact.”  
— Jocelyn Wittstein, MD

“Impact causes something called mechanotransduction, which stimulates bone formation,” Wittstein continued. “For people who have osteoporosis, strength training and any form of impact often needs to be gradually introduced — beginning with core strengthening, posture work, and lighter resistance training and then progressing.” 

Wittstein said that even walking regularly can help slow bone density loss and help reduce both fall and hip fracture risk. And balance training, agility training, and mobility exercises are also key to reducing fall risk, and multiple studies have shown that adding these interventions can reduce fall and fracture risk. 

“Better bone mineral density reduces risk of fracture, but reducing all risk is equally as important because the fall on the outstretched hand is what causes the wrist fracture, or the fall on your side with loss of balance is what breaks the hip,” Wittstein said.

“Aside from exercises to make falls less likely, common sense interventions like having your vision checked, removing throw rugs, and use of night lights can help reduce falls,” she added. 

• Cardiovascular disease is currently considered the leading cause of death in women globally.
• Previous research shows that women are more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke, when compared to men. 
• Scientists believe that making healthy lifestyle choices, such as regular exercise, can help lower a woman’s heart disease risk.
• A new study reports that adding at least two hours of strength training to your weekly exercise regimen may help lower your risk for major cardiovascular disease events, including heart attack.

According to the World Heart Federation, cardiovascular disease is currently considered the leading cause of death in women on a global scale. 

Previous research shows that women are more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke when compared to men. 

Scientists believe that making healthy lifestyle choices — such as eating a heart-healthy diet, not smoking, limiting alcohol use, maintaining a healthy weight, and regular exercise — can help lower a woman’s heart disease risk.

Now, a new study published in JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology, reports that adding at least two hours of strength training to your weekly exercise regimen may help lower your risk for major cardiovascular disease events and myocardial infarction, or heart attack.

Why focus on resistance training?

For this study, researchers analyzed data from more than 117,000 women who had taken part in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and NHS II.

Every 4 years, study participants were asked to report the amount of resistance training they were doing each week. 

“We chose to focus on resistance/strength training because it’s a practical, widely accessible form of exercise that many women can do, yet its specific effects on women’s heart disease risk are not as well understood as aerobic exercise,” Edward Giovannucci, MD, ScD, professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School Of Public Health, and co-corresponding author of this study, told Medical News Today.

“Studying it can reveal whether adding or emphasizing strength training offers unique cardiovascular benefits for women and helps refine gender‑specific prevention strategies,” Giovannucci said.

Adding 2+ hours of training a week lowers risk by 20%

At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that women who completed two or more hours of strength training a week lowered their risk of major cardiovascular disease by 20% and heart attack by 44%, which compared to women who did no resistance training. 

Scientists also found that for every extra hour of strength training a week, female participants decreased their major cardiovascular disease risk by 5% and heart attack risk by 14%. 

“These findings suggest that even relatively small amounts of resistance training can meaningfully lower women’s risk of serious heart problems,” Tianyue Zhang, MD, an endocrinologist and medical researcher at the Second Affiliated Hospital of the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China, scientist in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and first author of this study, explained to MNT.

“A 20-44% risk reduction is clinically important, and the fact that each additional hour per week brings further benefits shows a clear dose–response relationship. This supports including resistance training, not just aerobic exercise, as a key part of heart disease prevention strategies for women.”
— Tianyue Zhang, MD

Lower risk from following 3 recommendations

Researchers also found that when women added 2 or more hours a week of strength training with 150 minutes of aerobic activity each week had a 45% lower chance of having a heart attack than women who stayed sedentary. 

And women who met the weekly recommended amounts of resistance training and aerobic activity, as well as less than two hours of sedentary TV watching, had the lowest risks for major cardiovascular disease events, heart attack, and stroke, when compared to participants who met some or none of the weekly recommendations. 

“This shows that resistance training and aerobic exercise work together to give extra heart protection, rather than replacing each other,” Giovannucci said.

“For women who already meet aerobic guidelines, adding at least two hours of resistance training per week can nearly cut their heart attack risk in half, which strongly supports combining both types of exercise in prevention recommendations.”
— Edward Giovannucci, MD, ScD

How strength training offers women heart health benefits

MNT spoke with Clarinda Hougen, MD, a primary care sports medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics in Los Angeles, CA — who was not involved in this study — about how strength training may help lower a woman’s heart disease risk. 

“Strength training directly targets both bone and muscle health by stimulating bone formation and preserving lean muscle mass. Importantly, its benefits extend beyond the musculoskeletal system. Skeletal muscle is metabolically active, and increasing muscle mass can improve insulin sensitivity, reduce visceral fat, and support overall cardiometabolic health.”
— Clarinda Hougen, MD

“These effects are particularly relevant for women, as cardiometabolic dysfunction is a key contributor to cardiovascular disease. By improving these risk factors, strength training plays an important role in reducing overall heart disease risk,” Hougen said.

Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, who was also not involved in this study, agreed. 

“Emerging evidence highlights that strength training is also a key component of an effective exercise program as well as reducing the risk of heart disease in women,” Chen explained.

“Resistance-based exercises, including free weights, machines, or bodyweight movements, help build and maintain muscle mass,” he said.

“This is particularly important for women, who experience age-related declines in muscle that can negatively impact metabolic health. When combined with aerobic activity, strength training provides a more comprehensive approach to reducing heart disease risk in women,” he added.

Why more research on women and heart disease is needed

While heart disease remains the leading cause of death among women, women have historically been underrepresented in cardiovascular research, Socrates Kakoulides, MD, a cardiologist and chief imaging officer of Baptist Health Heart & Vascular Care, part of Baptist Health South Florida, who was also not involved in this study, told MNT.

“We also know that cardiovascular disease can present differently in women, and risk factors such as pregnancy-related complications, menopause, autoimmune diseases, and certain cancer therapies can influence cardiovascular risk,” Kakoulides explained.

“Continued research focusing on women’s health helps us better understand which interventions are most effective, practical, and sustainable for different groups of women,” he said.

“Identifying additional lifestyle strategies that can reduce cardiovascular risk empowers both patients and their doctors to create individualized prevention plans and may ultimately improve long-term outcomes,” he added.

“Women have historically been excluded from cardiovascular research trials,” Amy Ahnert, MD, a board-certified cardiologist and director of the Women’s Heart Program at Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, added.

“Due to their under-representation, much of the existing data and recommendations about heart disease in women are extrapolated from studies focused on men,” she said. 

“Women are not just small men. Not only is our biology different; but treatments and prevention strategies may be different as well. The importance of understanding exercise and specifically which types of exercise provide cardiovascular protection for women is yet another area that deserves sex-specific attention.” 
— Amy Ahnert, MD

• A recent study found that only 8.7% of medication information sheets provided clear instructions on the type and amount of liquid to use when taking medication.
• The study examined 22 beverages and found that alkaline mineral water, in particular, could affect the breakdown of gastro-resistant coatings, meaning medication may be released before it reaches the intestines.
• Manipulatable medications — such as those that can be split or crushed — may break down more quickly, potentially making the liquid choice particularly important for people with dysphagia, or swallowing difficulties.
• Tap and filtered water resulted in lower medication release, potentially reducing the likelihood that they would alter the treatment’s effectiveness.

A study published in Pharmaceutics in April 2026 looked at whether different liquids could affect how medication is released in the body.

The study examined 22 beverages to determine whether any sped up the release of medication. It found that alkaline mineral water impacted the breakdown of gastro-resistant coatings.

Gastro-resistant coatings, or enteric coatings, are coatings on certain medications designed to protect the drug from stomach acid. The coating helps ensure the medication does not break down in the stomach, releasing it once it reaches the intestines.

Swallowing certain pills with vehicles such as alkaline mineral water may therefore affect how well the treatment works. Better instructions on how to take the medication, such as taking it with tap water, could help reduce this risk.

Why does liquid type matter when taking pills?

If medication does not come with clear instructions on the vehicle, or liquid, with which to take it, individuals may opt for something they find easier to swallow or more palatable.

Depending on the liquid type, it may affect when the active ingredients are released, and this may make the treatment less effective or not effective at all.

The study focused on 22 commonly consumed beverages to see how they affected gastro-resistant coatings. Examples include:

• tap water
• filtered water
• mineral water
• apple juice
• capsuled coffee
• black tea
• milk

The research found that the gastro-resistant coatings began to break down in 5 to 15 minutes when tested in Salvus medicinal mineral water and Peridot natural mineral water, respectively.

For example, soaking the tablets in Salvus medicinal mineral waters for 5 minutes saw the premature release of more than 90% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients. The study referred to this as a “near-complete coating failure.”

Prolonged soaking of 15 and 30 minutes further increased this premature release also in Peridot natural mineral water, Parádi, and Hunyadi medicinal mineral water.

On the other hand, tap water and filtered water both produced a lower drug release.

“With one of the alkaline medicinal mineral waters, over 90% of the drug was released after just five minutes of soaking. And the fact that the patients most likely to open capsules — elderly or dysphagic ones — are often the same people who drink these alkaline waters makes it a real safety concern, not just a lab curiosity,” Nikolett Kállai-Szabó, PhD, an author of the study, explained to Medical News Today.

Only 8.7% of oral drugs come with clear instructions

The study examined the patient information leaflets and summaries of product characteristics (SmPCs) for 103 medications with a gastro-resistant coating to determine whether there was guidance on the type of liquid to take with the medication.

There was no specific guidance in 42 SmPCs, whereas 21 SmPCs recommended taking the medication with water. However, they did not specify the type of water.

There were clear administrative instructions in 9 SmPCs, with examples of suggestions including water, apple sauce, apple juice, tomato juice, and yogurt.

The study notes that all 9 of these cases were for manipulable medications. These are medications that can be split, crushed, or opened to change the dosage or make it easier to swallow.

“It’s interesting to see that beverages people often perceive as healthy or harmless may still interact with medications,” Opel Baker, GP at Mayfield Clinic Brighton & Hove, said to Medical News Today. Baker was not involved in the study.

“Many patients are aware that grapefruit juice can affect certain drugs, but fewer realise that products such as mineral waters, fruit juices, protein drinks or herbal beverages can likewise influence medication stability or absorption.”

Manipulating the drugs may also affect how quickly or when in the body it is absorbed, so clear guidance on administration may be particularly important in these cases.

Ultimately, the study found that only 8.7% of the oral medications assessed came with clear instructions on what liquid to take them with.

When asked about the absence of specific guidance, Kállai-Szabó explained that, “Our hope is simply that studies like ours can help fill that gap, so that future guidance can give patients and carers a little more clarity in these real-world, everyday situations.”

“Regulatory information has traditionally focused on factors known to have a significant clinical impact, such as food interactions, alcohol consumption or specific contraindications. If emerging evidence suggests that the type of water or beverage used can meaningfully affect certain medications, there may be a case for reviewing and strengthening guidance in this area,” said Baker.

The importance of clear, consistent instructions

The study authors explain that unclear administration instructions may affect the outcome of the treatment. This means that taking oral drugs with certain medications may make them less effective or even not effective at all.

The authors also point out that this may be particularly problematic for people with dysphagia, or swallowing problems, as they may be more likely to split the medication to make it easier to swallow. Older evidence suggests that around 300,000 to 600,000 people in the United States are affected by swallowing disorders each year.

People with dysphagia may also be more likely to take the medication with alkaline mineral water, according to the study authors.

“Even simple guidance, like recommending drinkable tap water or filtered water, could help — especially the elderly and those with swallowing difficulties, who most often modify how they take their medication,” said Kállai-Szabó.

“If robust evidence shows that certain beverages reduce the effectiveness of specific medicines, then clearer guidance should be provided both in patient information leaflets and during consultations. This would help patients make informed decisions and reduce the risk of treatment not working as intended,” explained Baker.

“At the same time, any recommendations need to be proportionate and evidence-based. We do not want to create unnecessary anxiety or make medication management more complicated than it needs to be,” added Baker.

• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid. It is found in fish, but people can also take supplements containing it. 
• Research is mixed on whether DHA helps with cognition. 
• One study found that among adults with no dementia and low omega-3 intake, taking DHA supplements did not provide brain benefits, including among participants at a high risk for Alzheimer’s disease. 

People are often on the lookout for ways to improve brain health and possibly prevent cognitive problems like dementia.

One area of interest in the research is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid that people can get from fish and supplements.

A recent study published in eBioMedicine explored whether taking DHA supplements held cognitive benefits for people who had lower levels of omega-3 intake.

Researchers found that while supplementation did increase DHA levels, participants did not show benefits when it came to brain changes and cognition. The findings suggest that DHA supplements alone may not help with dementia prevention.  

DHA supplements and cognitive benefits

As noted in this study, people who have the APOE ε4 allele have a higher genetic risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. People with APOE ε4 status also tend to have lower levels of DHA, and lower DHA is also linked to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. 

Researchers of the current study wanted to see if supplementing with high-dose DHA before the onset of dementia could be helpful.

The trial was a randomized, double-blind, single-center phase 2 placebo-controlled study. Participants were 55 to 80 years old and did not have dementia at baseline. They also had lower intake of DHA and at least one risk factor for dementia or cardiovascular problems. 

Participants either received DHA supplementation or a placebo for 2 years, with study visits every 6 months. Researchers evaluated certain brain changes and also measured levels of DHA in cerebrospinal fluid among some participants.

Exploratory outcomes included looking at components like plasma biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive performance. Researchers also collected blood samples from participants to look at fatty acid concentrations. 

In the end, 365 participants were randomized, and 225 participants completed the entire study. Researchers further divided participants into a group that underwent lumbar puncture to collect cerebrospinal fluid samples and those who did not. Almost half of participants had the APOE ε4 allele.  

Compared to the placebo, DHA supplementation appeared to help with DHA levels in cerebrospinal fluid at 6 months. This was true for participants who were APOE ε4 carriers and those who were not. Additionally, DHA supplementation also increased blood levels of DHA. 

While there were some brain changes that occurred throughout the course of the study, DHA supplementation did not appear to have a significant impact.

When it came to cognitive function, DHA supplementation appeared not to impact the results, and this was true for APOE ε4 carriers and non-carriers. Safety outcomes were similar between the placebo and intervention groups. 

Thus, while DHA did reach the brain through supplementation, the results suggest that it didn’t help with certain brain changes or cognitive function. Study author Hussein N. Yassine, MD, Professor of Neurology, Medicine, and Physiology & Neuroscience, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Kenneth and Bette Volk Professor in Neurology, and Director at the Center for Personalized Brain Health, USC, explained the following: 

“The main finding of our research is that high-dose DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, was able to reach the brain in older adults who were at risk for dementia and had low omega-3 intake…However, even though the DHA reached the brain, we did not see improvements in memory, thinking skills, or brain structure over the 24-month study.”

“This is an important distinction: getting more DHA into the brain does not automatically mean that it will prevent memory loss or dementia, at least not when taken as a supplement by itself over this time period.”

– Hussein N. Yassine, MD

Study limitations and continued research

This study was thorough and included a placebo and intervention group. However, there are still some limitations. Mainly due to COVID-19, there was a 38% drop-out rate in the study, which may have affected the results, and there was also missing data to consider. 

There are also some limitations when it comes to generalizability. For example, researchers note that there were differences between participants who completed the study and those who did not, which may limit generalizability. 

Misclassification is also possible. For example, some participants could have been experiencing cognitive problems that researchers missed. Some data also came from participant reporting. One author noted some possible competing interests as well. 

Researchers note their possibly limited ability to truly detect the effects of the intervention because of certain factors like how participants were relatively young.

They also admit that their study population “may not represent typical clinical prevention populations.”  Choosing to focus on just one nutrient also has its limits.

Finally, researchers note measurement variability because they chose to use “questionnaire-based lifestyle measures with broad cognitive inclusion criteria.” 

More long-term data with more detailed measurements may be helpful as research moves forward. 

Clinical implications: What can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease?

Overall, the results of this research indicate that consuming DHA supplements does not help the brain. Yassine noted that “our findings do not support the idea that people should take high-dose DHA supplements alone to prevent dementia.” 

However, this doesn’t mean that omega-3s are not important. Yassine explained the following: 

“Omega-3s remain an important part of a healthy diet. Foods rich in omega-3s, such as fatty fish, support overall heart and brain health and should be encouraged as part of a balanced dietary pattern…In clinical practice, these results suggest that we should focus less on single-supplement approaches and more on overall brain-healthy lifestyles.”

“That includes eating a balanced diet that contains omega-3-rich foods, staying physically active, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, sleeping well, and managing other dementia risk factors.”  

Non-study author Dung Trinh, MD, internist, of MemorialCare Medical Group and Chief Medical Officer of Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, CA, also noted the following:

“The supplement did reach the brain, but it did not improve brain outcomes. That distinction matters. The problem may not be delivery; the problem may be that Alzheimer’s risk is driven by multiple interacting pathways, including vascular disease, inflammation, insulin resistance, sleep disruption, inactivity, hearing loss, depression, medication effects, and underlying amyloid/tau biology.”

“The better strategy is a multimodal brain-health approach, not a single supplement.” Trinh added that this can involve components like controlling vascular risk factors, staying physically active, optimizing sleep, and detecting cognitive problems early.

• The ketogenic, or keto, diet has become increasingly popular over the years, particularly for its potential weight-management benefits.
• Recent studies suggests that it may also aid health in other ways. One study, for instance, drew a link between keto and improvements in treatment-resistant depression.
• A preclinical study in mouse models has suggested that a keto-like diet may help manage blood sugar levels.
• And research in humans suggests that a ketogenic diet could actually be effective in sending type 2 diabetes into remission.

The ketogenic — or keto — diet is a dietary plan that involved minimizing carbohydrate intake, upping consumption of healthy fats, and including an adequate amount of protein.

This dietary approach is meant to trigger ketosis, a metabolic process where the body switches from using carbs for energy to burning stored fat instead. This is why some people may choose to switch to a keto diet to achieve greater weight loss.

However, studies have shown that this type of diet may also aid health in other ways. Here is what some of the latest research covered on Medical News Today has found about the potential health benefits of this diet.

Keto may aid in the management of treatment-resistant depression

A study published in JAMA Psychiatry in February 2026 found an association between following a keto diet and experiencing improvements in the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression.

This was a clinical trial involving 88 participants from the United Kingdom, aged 18 to 65, who had treatment-resistant depression, and had scored 15 or more points on the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), which assesses the severity of depression symptoms.

Researchers randomly assigned some of these participants to follow either a keto diet or a phytochemical (phyto) control diet over a period of 6 weeks. The keto diet involved consuming 30 grams (g) of carbs or less per day. After 6 weeks, all participants were able to return to their usual diets.

When following up with the participants after 12 weeks, the researchers saw that participants who had followed a keto diet experienced a slightly higher improvement in their symptoms compared to their peers.

Specifically, participants in the keto group saw their depression scores drop by about 10 points, while those in the phyto group saw an approximately 8-point drop.

Min Gao, PhD, an epidemiologist and health behavior scientist at Oxford University, and lead study author, noted that whiles these findings were promising, keto should not be treated as a cure-all:

“The key takeaway is that a ketogenic diet may offer a small short-term benefit for some people with severe depression, but it’s not a cure, it’s difficult to stick to, and it doesn’t change current treatment recommendations. This is promising early evidence, but it comes with clear limits.”

Could a keto diet help lower blood sugar?

Another study published in February 2026, this time in Nature Communications, found a link between a keto-style, high-fat, low-carb diet and improved blood sugar control in mice.

The research team looked at mice with induced high blood sugar versus control mice with healthy blood sugar levels.

They placed some high-blood-sugar mice on a keto diet, others on a regular diet, and matched thus dietary intervention in the controls.

At the study’s conclusion, the research team found that mice with induced high blood sugar that had been on the keto diet had reverted to regular blood sugar levels.

They also found that high-blood-sugar mice on the keto diet who also underwent exercise training responded better to the exercise than high-blood-sugar mice on a control diet.

Study author Sarah Lessard, PhD, Associate Professor in the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at the Center for Exercise Medicine Research, Virginia Tech, explained:

“When combined with exercise training, a keto diet can improve the health benefits gained from exercise in mice. Specifically, mice with hyperglycemia that consumed a ketogenic diet had bigger improvements in aerobic exercise capacity (a measure of the body’s ability to use oxygen) than mice consuming a regular diet with high carbohydrate content.”

While these findings are promising, experts have pointed out one main potential drawback. Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RDN, for instance, who was not involved in this study, stressed that: “[O]ne of the biggest questions [with a ketogenic diet] is sustainability. The long-term success of any dietary pattern ultimately depends on whether someone can realistically maintain it over time.”

Keto diet could help send diabetes into remission

Another key question is whether findings from animal studies do, in fact, also apply to humans, and in this case it appears they might.

A study in humans, whose findings appeared in the Journal of the Endocrine Society in April 2026, suggested that a keto diet could more effectively send type 2 diabetes into remission than a low-fat diet.

This trials involved 51 participants aged 35 to 65 with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Participants followed either a keto diet (high in healthy fats and low-carb) or a low-fat diet over a period of 12 weeks.

While all participants had experienced weight loss at the conclusion of this intervention, only participants following the keto diet experienced an decrease in proinsulin in proportion to C-peptide, a measure that indicates better function of beta cells, the cells that produce insulin, the hormone which helps regulate blood sugar.

Study author Marian Yurchishin, MS, pre-doctoral training fellow in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, explained that “proinsulin is a precursor to insulin, so elevated proinsulin levels indicate that beta-cells are overwhelmed and secreting ‘unfinished’ molecules as an attempt to keep up with the body’s increasing demands for insulin.

“A larger decrease in proinsulin suggests that the ketogenic diet reduced this stress and allowed beta-cells to work more efficiently, as evidenced by the improvements in beta-cell function,” Yurchishin noted.

According to the researcher:

“Removal of this exposure via a carbohydrate restricted diet may therefore provide an environment for beta-cells to repair their secretory mechanisms, but more research is needed to identify the specific mechanisms behind this effect. As beta-cells are responsible for secreting insulin in response to increases in blood glucose [sugar], restoration of their function allows these cells to produce adequate insulin to sustain adequate blood sugar levels.”

Once again, experts call adherence to this diet into question, however. Is it sustainable to remain on a healthy keto diet for a sufficient amount of time to experience the greatest benefits?

Longer future studies may offer further answers.

• Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic condition that people can keep in check through a combination of targeted medication and lifestyle changes.
• Recent studies now suggest that some overlooked foods and natural remedies could help improve different health problems related to diabetes.
• One study found that an oatmeal diet can effectively lower ‘bad’ cholesterol, while another suggests that eating an avocado per day may aid blood sugar control.
• Yet another study has suggested that peppermint oil could help control blood pressure, which is often associated with type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition affecting metabolic health, which occurs when the body no longer produces enough or responds to insulin, leading to elevated blood sugar.

The treatment for type 2 diabetes typically involves a combined approach of targeted medication and lifestyle changes, particularly by adhering to diets that help maintain a healthy weight, and keep blood sugar and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels in check.

Research recently covered on Medical News Today now suggests that a handful of common foods and natural remedies may help keep various aspects of diabetes, or health problems associated with this chronic condition, in check.

Here is what the latest research has found.

Oatmeal: A secret weapon against bad cholesterol?

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Bonn, in Germany, whose findings appeared in Nature Communications in January 2026, suggests that a low calorie, 2-day oatmeal diet could significantly lower LDL cholesterol levels.

For this study, the researchers conducted two parallel, randomized, controlled clinical trials involving participants with metabolic syndrome, a complex condition many of whose characteristics overlap with those of diabetes, namely: elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, high blood sugar, and overweight.

The authors found that participants who had consumed an oatmeal diet consisting of 300 grams (g of oatmeal per day for 2 consecutive days saw a 10% reduction in LDL cholesterol levels at the end of this period.

Participants following this 2-day oatmeal diet could supplement their meals with fresh vegetables or fruit, and the overall diet resulted in them slashing their typical calorie intake by half.

Even though participants later returned to their usual diets, their cholesterol levels remained lower at 6 weeks following the intervention.

According to senior investigator Marie-Christine Simon, PhD, RD, these effects were likely due to the fact that the high “dose and rapid exposure to oat components — especially phenolic compounds that are metabolized by the gut microbiota — can trigger stronger biochemical responses than a modest daily intake.”

“This large oat load significantly increased microbially produced phenolic metabolites, especially dihydroferulic acid, which were associated with the cholesterol reduction,” Simon suggested.

However, Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, a preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished, who was not involved in this research, issued a caveat, emphasizing that:

“In small, tightly managed settings, it is easier to observe pronounced short-term changes than the more gradual LDL improvements typically seen when oats are incorporated into everyday, free-living diets, where many other factors are also at play.”

“Regularly including moderate amounts of oats within a heart-healthy eating pattern, alongside other sources of soluble fiber, plant protein, and overall nutrient adequacy, continues to be a practical and evidence-based way to support LDL lowering and cardiometabolic health, without the need for extreme or short-term dietary approaches,” Routhenstein advised.

Could an avocado a day keep blood sugar in check?

More recently, a study published in Current Developments in Nutrition in April 2026 suggested that regularly eating avocados was linked to better blood sugar control.

This research — which received funding from the Hass Avocado Board — was a secondary analysis of data from the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial, which involved participants with an elevated waist circumference who were at least 25 years old.

The dietary intervention involved eating a large avocado every day for 6 months. Participants in the control group ate two or fewer avocados per month for the same duration.

At the end of the intervention period, the researchers found that participants who had eaten 1 large avocado per day had a lower dietary glycemic load — a measure of diet-induced blood sugar elevation — than their peers.

According to Karen Z. Berg, MS, CDN, a registered dietitian who was not involved in this study:

“Avocados are a nutrient-dense food and have many health benefits. They are high in calories, monounsaturated fats, and fiber. Avocados are very filling, so when people eat more avocados, they are likely eating less of other foods that are possibly less healthy. This could be why this study had such positive outcomes.”

Peppermint oil: An ally against hypertension?

Besides high blood sugar levels and heightened cholesterol, high blood pressure (hypertension) is another health issue that is often associated with type 2 diabetes, affecting 50-80% of people living with this chronic condition.

Depending on how serious this health issue is, people can treat it with both medication and natural interventions, on a case-by-case basis, following medical advice.

One lesser-known natural remedy for hypertension highlighted in the current research is peppermint oil, a type of essential oil.

According to a study published in PLOS One in April 2026, people taking peppermint oil lowered their systolic blood pressure by an average of 8.5 millimeters of mercury (mmHg).

This research involved 40 adults who had either elevated blood pressure, also known as “pre-hypertension,” or stage 1 hypertension.

One group of participants, randomly selected, received 100 microliters (μL) of peppermint oil per day, and the other, the control group, received a peppermint-flavored placebo for 20 days.

At the end of this period, those taking peppermint oil had not only lower systolic blood pressure, but also lower resting heart rate.

Lead study author Jonathan Sinclair, DSc, PhD, explained that he and his colleagues “were interested in peppermint oil because peppermint contains biologically active compounds, particularly menthol and flavonoids, that have plausible relevance to blood pressure regulation.”

According to Sinclair:

“Menthol can activate TRPM8 channels, which are found in vascular and sensory tissues, and this activation may contribute to vasodilation through calcium-dependent endothelial signalling, nitric oxide-related pathways, and relaxation of vascular smooth muscle. In simple terms, peppermint oil may help blood vessels relax, which could reduce the pressure against which the heart has to pump.”

Other experts, however, have urged some caution and called for further research to replicate these findings are provide clearer information on the mechanisms of action.

For example, Craig Basman, MD, FACC, FSCAI, associate director of the Structural and Congenital Heart Program at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, who was not involved in this study, noted that “a study with more participants would provide more robust data and help to confirm these initial findings.”

“It would also be beneficial to see longer-term studies to understand if the effects of peppermint oil on blood pressure are sustained over time and to identify any potential long-term side effects,” Basman emphasized.

• There are about 32 million people globally living with Alzheimer’s disease, with that number expected to hit 152 million by 2050. 
• While there are some medications for Alzheimer’s disease, they are only used in the earliest stages to help slow cognitive decline or at more advanced stages to treat common disease symptoms.
• A new study makes the case for treating Alzheimer’s disease with low-dose lithium as the drug helps to counter neuroprogression and provides neuroprotective benefits. 

Scientists estimate that there are about 32 million people globally living with a type of dementia known as Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers also believe the amount of people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias will hit 152 million by 2050. 

There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. While there are some medications available, they are only used in the earliest stages to help slow cognitive decline or at more advanced stages to treat common symptoms of the condition.

“Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are devastating conditions for individuals, families, and society at large,” Husseini K Manji, MD, FRCPC, professor at both Oxford University in the United Kingdom and at Yale University in the United States, co-chair of the U.K. Government Mental Health Goals Program (formerly MH Mission), told Medical News Today.

“Despite recent advances in monoclonal antibodies, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias remain a massive and growing global public health crisis. Current therapies largely focus on single pathologies, such as removing amyloid plaques, but Alzheimer’s is incredibly complex and involves a progressive cascade of cellular vulnerabilities, including mitochondrial decay, oxidative stress, and loss of synaptic connections,” Manji explained.

He is the lead author of a new study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry making the case for treating Alzheimer’s disease with low-dose lithium — a medication used to treat bipolar disorder — as the drug helps to counter neuroprogression and provides neuroprotective benefits. 

Why low-dose lithium for Alzheimer’s? 

Over the last 25 years, Manji explained, a convergence of molecular, imaging, and epidemiological data from research conducted in his lab and others, has shown that lithium is much more than just a psychiatric drug — it possesses major neurotrophic and neuroprotective properties.

“However, traditional psychiatric doses of lithium carbonate are often poorly tolerated by older individuals due to a high adverse effect burden, particularly risks to kidney and thyroid function,” he continued.

“My lab, therefore, did a number of studies with low-dose lithium to show that many of the neurotrophic and neuroprotective properties are seen at considerably lower doses/levels than those traditionally used in bipolar disorder,” Manji told us.

“These findings have been replicated by other independent laboratories,” he noted. “Thus, low-dose lithium may exert neurotrophic effects but have considerably fewer side effects.”

Low-dose lithium counters neuroprogression

In this study, Manji and his team explain that low-dose lithium is not only a mood stabilizer, but also helps to counter brain changes known as neuroprogression. 

“In bipolar disorder, neuroprogression refers to the way repeated mood episodes cause cumulative, structural damage, and shrinkage in key brain areas over time,” he detailed.

“Lithium is unique because it can actually preserve or even reverse this brain shrinkage. We believe low-dose lithium can counter a similar progressive decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Lithium exerts effects on major neurotrophic cascades — especially BDNF, bcl-2, and GSK-3 — which would be postulated to attenuate disease progression; these findings have been replicated numerous times by independent labs.”

– Husseini K Manji, MD, FRCPC 

“Additionally, in humans, lithium treatment has been shown to reverse illness-related neurotrophic deficits in bipolar disorder,” Manji added. “Although the diseases are distinct, lithium affects very fundamental cellular neurotrophic processes, which would be applicable to Alzheimer’s disease as well.”

Potential neuroprotective benefits of low-dose lithium

The study also reports that low-dose lithium may provide neuroprotective benefits. 

Manji explained that rather than just trying to clean up a single toxic protein, low-dose lithium acts like a master switch that upgrades the brain’s overall cellular defense system by turning up the production of BDNF, blocking the activity of deleterious enzymes, and improving brain energetics. 

In short, he said, lithium is helping vulnerable brain cells survive and stay healthy despite the toxic environment of Alzheimer’s.

“Seventy-five years after transforming psychiatric care, lithium is at the forefront of a new frontier as a powerful, multi-targeted intervention capable of slowing progression in early dementia,” Manji added.

“By shifting our focus to low-dose strategies, we can harness its robust neuroprotective capabilities safely, opening the door to an accessible, low-cost weapon in the global fight against Alzheimer’s disease,” he told us.

Presenting a case for further lithium exploration

MNT had the opportunity to speak with Laura Nisenbaum, PhD, executive director of drug development for the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) — who was not involved in this research — about this study. 

Nisenbaum said her first reaction to the study was one of genuine interest, and what makes this review compelling is that so many independent lines of evidence are pointing in the same direction.

“The field has been asking questions about lithium for years, and this review synthesizes more than 2 decades of research and presents a case for further exploration of lithium to determine if it’s a potential disease-modifying therapy, rather than simply a repurposed psychiatric medication,” she explained.

“The breadth of biological rationale is also intriguing. Lithium appears to act on several biological processes central to Alzheimer’s, including protein clearance, mitochondrial function, and tau pathology. That multi-target profile is significant because Alzheimer’s is not a single-pathway disease,” Nisenbaum detailed.

Nisenbaum stressed it was it is important for researchers to continue to find new potential treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. 

“The treatments available today offer meaningful progress, but they leave a lot on the table,” she explained. “There is a real opportunity to bring new treatments forward, whether in combination with existing therapies or through a precision medicine approach, the way we now treat cancer, matching the right therapy to the right patient at the right time.” 

“Repurposed drugs like lithium are worth taking seriously in that context,” Nisenbaum continued. “Lithium has a long clinical history, a well-understood safety profile at low doses, and a cost and accessibility profile that could make it viable at scale globally.“

“Identifying established therapies that target the underlying biology of Alzheimer’s and can realistically reach broad populations is an important avenue for the field to explore,” she said.

An intriguing possibility that needs further study

Finally, MNT also spoke to Dung Trinh, MD, internist for the MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of the Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, CA, about this study.

Trinh, who was not involved in the research, commented that his first reaction was one of cautious optimism.

“This review raises an intriguing possibility that low-dose lithium could affect several biological pathways involved in neurodegeneration, including neuronal survival, inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, and tau biology,” he, explained.

“That said, this is not yet a practice-changing finding,” he cautioned. “As a clinician, I would not recommend that patients start lithium on their own, especially because lithium can affect kidney and thyroid function and may interact with other medications.”

“The study is best viewed as a strong rationale for rigorous clinical trials, not as proof that lithium should be used routinely for Alzheimer’s prevention or treatment,” Trinh told us.

According to him:

“The next step should be a well-designed randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial in people with biomarker-confirmed mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers should clearly define the lithium formulation, dose, duration, blood-level targets, and safety-monitoring plan, especially for kidney and thyroid function. I would also like to see outcomes that go beyond memory testing, including biomarkers of amyloid, tau, neurodegeneration, MRI changes, daily function, caregiver-reported outcomes, and quality of life. The key question is whether low-dose lithium can provide meaningful brain benefits while remaining safe enough for older adults over time.”

• An analysis of more than 500,000 Medicare beneficiaries highlights that older adults who received the recombinant shingles vaccine (RZV) had a lower risk of developing dementia than those who were not vaccinated.
• Vaccination was associated with a 24% relative reduction in dementia risk over 4 years, equating to an absolute risk reduction of approximately 6 percentage points compared with unvaccinated individuals.
• The protective association persisted after adjusting for a wide range of demographic and health factors, suggesting the findings were not solely explained by differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups.
• Although the study adds to growing evidence linking shingles vaccination to lower dementia risk, it does not prove cause and effect.

There has been increasing research in recent years exploring whether the shingles vaccine may offer benefits beyond protecting against herpes zoster (shingles), particularly in older adults, who are at higher risk for developing shingles.

One area attracting significant attention is the vaccine’s potential role in dementia prevention, with previous research suggesting it may lower dementia risk and slow disease progression for those already living with a dementia diagnosis.

Research conducted in Wales and Australia found that adults who received the older live-attenuated shingles vaccine, known as Zostavax, had a reduced risk of dementia. As of 2020, Zostavax is no longer available in the United States and was replaced by a newer recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV), known as Shingrix.

As such, researchers wanted to evaluate whether the newer RZV may also provide a protective benefit against dementia in older adults at high risk for the condition who were not up to date with shingles vaccination.

The findings, published in Annals of Internal Medicine alongside a patient summary, note that older adults admitted to skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. who received at least one dose of RZV had a lower likelihood of developing dementia during the following 4 years compared with those who remained unvaccinated.

This analysis adds to growing evidence that the shingles vaccine may offer benefits beyond preventing the painful viral condition, suggesting Shingrix could also be associated with a substantially lower risk of developing dementia.

What did the study find?

Researchers from Brown University School of Public Health and collaborating institutions analyzed Medicare claims and electronic health record data from older adults ages 66 years and older admitted to more than 5,500 skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. between 2017 and 2022. Only 8,843 of 509,926 participants received the Shingrix vaccine.

Using a study design known as a ‘target trial emulation,’ the investigators sought to mimic the conditions of a randomized clinical trial as closely as possible using real-world health data.

To be eligible for the study, participants could not have a prior diagnosis of dementia and had to be eligible to receive Shingrix. The team compared residents who received at least one dose of the RZV within 12 months of entering a skilled nursing facility with similar residents who did not receive the vaccine.

Over a 4 year follow-up period, vaccinated individuals experienced a 24% relative reduction in dementia risk and a 6-percentage-point absolute reduction in dementia risk. Only 18.8% of vaccinated adults developed dementia compared with 24.6% of those who were not vaccinated.

“Our findings show that as many as 1 in every 17 dementia diagnoses may be prevented through shingles vaccination,” lead study author Kaley Hayes, PharmD, PhD, an assistant professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health, told Medical News Today.

“We don’t know with certainty why the risk of dementia is lower with shingles vaccination, but we have a lot of ideas. The most obvious factor is through the reduction of shingles infections, which cause neuroinflammation and increase the risk of stroke.”

– Kaley Hayes, PharmD, PhD

What does this mean for older adults?

The recombinant shingles vaccine is already recommended for people 50 years and older, as well as younger immunocompromised individuals, as it provides strong protection against shingles and its complications.

While it is too early to recommend the vaccine specifically for dementia prevention, the new findings add to growing evidence that vaccination could offer broader health benefits than previously recognized.

As researchers continue to investigate the connection, the study provides another reason to explore how preventing infections and supporting immune health may influence long-term brain function.

While the exact biological mechanism remains unclear, one suggestion is that preventing shingles and reducing viral reactivation may help protect the brain from inflammation or other neurological effects associated with the varicella-zoster virus.

Another hypothesis focuses on the vaccine’s immune-stimulating properties. Some research suggests that components known as adjuvants, which enhance immune responses, could play a role in promoting protective effects beyond infection prevention, which could help lower dementia risk.

“There are also emerging hypotheses that vaccination in general, particularly those that result in really robust immune activation, might be the protective mechanism here,” Hayes explained. “Trials and well-designed observational studies comparing dementia risk between vaccines may be the next step to understand these mechanisms.”

“Understanding how we can prevent upstream causes of dementia is key to the future of brain health, as we currently have no preventative treatments.”

“The shingles vaccine may just be one intervention of many that can help to reduce risk, and it’s encouraging to see that something designed to prevent the physical ailment of shingles may also help to keep our brains healthy, too.”

– Kaley Hayes, PharmD, PhD

“A future trial that compares the benefits of shingles vaccination as compared to other vaccinations, as well as usual care or no vaccination, would help to solidify the evidence and better understand whether there is a larger immunologic mechanism by which vaccines preserve brain health, or the effects are through prevention of shingles.”

For now, experts emphasize that shingles vaccination should continue to be viewed primarily as an effective way to reduce the risk of shingles, while its potential role in dementia prevention remains an active area of research.

Important limitations

Although the findings are encouraging, the study does not prove that the shingles vaccine directly prevents dementia.

Because the research was observational, unmeasured differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals may still have influenced the results despite extensive statistical adjustments.

For example, those who got vaccinated tended to be younger and healthier than those who did not, which may have also lowered their dementia risk. However, after adjusting for a wide range of demographic and health-related factors, the association remained.

The study data also notes that vaccination rates among skilled nursing facility residents were relatively low, highlighting an ongoing gap in vaccine uptake among a population at elevated risk for both shingles and dementia.

As such, further trials are still necessary to establish whether shingles vaccination directly reduces dementia risk and to determine the mechanisms involved.

Additionally, the authors acknowledge funding from GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures Shingrix, noting that the company had no control over the study design, analysis, or decision to publish the results.

• Prediabetes is a condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, and without intervention, it can lead to type 2 diabetes.
• It also increases the risk of many other chronic conditions, including heart disease and stroke.
• A new study has found that, in a group of adults with prediabetes, lifestyle modifications were more effective at preventing multiple chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, than metformin or placebo.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2 in 5 adults in the United States have prediabetes, a condition where blood glucose levels are higher than they should be, but not as high as in type 2 diabetes.

Risk factors for developing prediabetes include having overweight or obesity, being at least 45 years old, having a close relative with type 2 diabetes, having ever had gestational (pregnancy) diabetes, or given birth to a baby weighing more than 9lbs (4kg).

People with prediabetes are at risk of developing a number of chronic health conditions, as well as progressing to type 2 diabetes, and often end up with multimorbidity — having 2 or more chronic conditions.

A number of lifestyle changes, including losing weight, being more physically active, and adopting a healthier diet, can help prevent this. If these changes do not lower blood glucose, clinicians may prescribe the type 2 diabetes drug metformin.

However, a study published in JAMA has shown that lifestyle modifications may be more effective than metformin for preventing multimorbidity in people with prediabetes.

“This is a very important finding because it shifts the conversation from preventing a single disease to promoting long-term health across multiple organ systems. The study showed that lifestyle intervention not only reduced progression to diabetes but also lowered the risk of developing multiple chronic conditions over more than two decades of follow-up. That is particularly meaningful given the growing burden of multimorbidity in aging populations.”

– Thomas M. Holland, Physician Scientist and Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, RUSH Institute for Healthy Aging, Chicago, who was not involved in the study.

Multimorbidity increasingly common in older adults

“Everyone wants to live a longer, healthier life,” David Cutler, MD, board certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was also not involved in the study, told MNT. “The biggest enemy preventing this is something now called multimorbidity. The concept here is that it is the many diseases associated with aging that rob us of quality in life as we age.”

He advised that the 15 common conditions included in multimorbidity are:

• Hypertension
• Heart failure
• Coronary artery disease
• Cardiac arrhythmias
• Hyperlipidemia
• Stroke
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Dementia
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Osteoporosis

Multimorbidity has been estimated to affect up to 95% of the primary care population aged 65 years and older, and the risk is increased in people with prediabetes.

“One of the most encouraging aspects of this study is the reminder that chronic disease is not simply an inevitable consequence of aging. While aging itself is unavoidable, many of the biological processes that contribute to chronic disease can be influenced by the choices we make throughout life.”

— Thomas M. Holland, assistant professor

Assessing diet, weight loss, and exercise vs. metformin

The researchers carried out a 21-year observational study using data from participants in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and DPP Outcomes studies (DPPOS). The 1,173 people analyzed were randomly allocated to a lifestyle intervention, metformin, or placebo. 

The lifestyle intervention group undertook 16 individual sessions, then monthly sessions for approximately 2 years, which aimed to reduce their calorie and fat intake (<25% kcal from fat), and incorporate at least 150 minutes of physical activity a week to achieve at least 7% weight loss from baseline. They were then offered booster sessions twice a year.

The metformin group took 850mg metformin twice daily, and the placebo group took an identical dummy tablet twice daily. Both these groups were also offered lifestyle advice sessions 4 times a year.

At the beginning of the 21 years, the participants had a median age of 51 years, and a median BMI of 32.1 (having obesity). The majority, 56%, were non-Hispanic white, with almost a quarter non-Hispanic Black, and the rest Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American.  

At the end of follow-up, 85% of participants had multimorbidity, with the most common conditions being hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol, 76%), hypertension (high blood pressure, 75%), and diabetes (67%).

Fewer chronic conditions in healthy lifestyle group

However, the number of chronic conditions differed between groups. In the placebo and metformin groups, participants had a median of 5 chronic conditions, whereas in the lifestyle group, the median was 4. 

In total, 82% of the lifestyle group, 85% of the metformin group, and 87% of the placebo group had 2 or more chronic conditions.

However, while 81% of both the placebo and metformin groups had more than 3 chronic conditions, just 72% of the lifestyle group did.

“Lifestyle interventions are likely more effective because they target several different biological pathways simultaneously, rather than focusing on a single aspect of a disease. Metformin is an important and effective medication that primarily improves insulin sensitivity and reduces glucose production by the liver. Lifestyle changes are multifaceted and influence far more than blood sugar,” Holland told Medical News Today.

Lifestyle changes should be priority to prevent later ill health

“Lifestyle interventions are one of the cornerstones of chronic disease prevention. While medications are often necessary and can be lifesaving, lifestyle factors influence many of the underlying biological mechanisms that drive disease development in the first place.”

— Thomas M. Holland

Holland advised further: 

“From a mechanistic perspective, healthy lifestyle behaviors can reduce chronic inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, support vascular health, optimize blood pressure, preserve muscle mass, and promote healthy brain aging,” he told MNT. 

He added that, like many chronic conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, kidney disease, and certain cancers, share a number of common pathways, improving lifestyle can produce benefits that extend well beyond any single diagnosis. 

Habits that help prevent diabetes

“For most people,” he told MNT, “the takeaway is simple — the same habits that help prevent diabetes are often the same habits that help protect your heart, brain, overall health, and quality of life.”

“For some people, that may mean taking longer daily walks or incorporating resistance training into their routine. For others, it may involve improving dietary quality by eating more fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins while reducing highly processed foods. Others may benefit from focusing on sleep, stress management, or strengthening social connections,” said Holland.

“The take home message here is clear and not new: diet and exercise work to improve quality of life. Getting this message out has been a struggle for the medical community. Large amounts of money go into marketing drugs, devices, and customized therapies to improve quality of life. There is not enough time or energy devoted to getting out the message that diet and exercise are potent tools for longevity and anti-aging.”

— David Cutler

• An early analysis from the ongoing RESTORE trial suggests semaglutide may improve fertility-related outcomes in females with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), formerly known as PCOS.
• A review also suggests that GLP-1 drugs may support male reproductive health in those with obesity by improving testosterone levels, reproductive hormones, and sperm quality while also improving metabolic health.
• The findings support the idea that treating obesity and metabolic dysfunction with GLP-1 drugs could help restore hormonal balance and reproductive function in both women and men. However, larger, longer-term studies are necessary to confirm these effects.

Fertility is closely linked to metabolic health, with obesity being a significant factor that can negatively affect reproductive function in both males and females.

Having overweight or obesity can contribute to hormonal imbalances, insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and altered reproductive hormone signaling, all of which may impair fertility.

In females, obesity is often associated with conditions such as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), formerly knows as PCOS, while in males, it can reduce testosterone levels and adversely affect sperm quality.

Thus, lifestyle changes, such as adopting balanced dietary plans, engaging in regular physical activity, and maintaining a healthy weight, can help enhance reproductive outcomes and support fertility.

GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as Wegovy, which contain the active ingredient semaglutide, are a class of medications widely used for obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Now, emerging research suggests these medications may also have positive effects on reproductive health. Two studies indicate that GLP-1 drugs may offer reproductive benefits, in addition to supporting weight loss and metabolic health.

Firstly, an analysis published in Fertility and Sterility found potential improvements in fertility-related outcomes among women with PMOS.

Secondly, a review of clinical trials presented at ENDO 2026 — which is yet to appear in a peer-reviewed journal — found that GLP-1 drugs may improve testosterone levels and sperm quality in some men with obesity.

While the findings add to growing interest in the relationship between metabolic health, weight management, and reproductive function, the study authors advise caution and note that further research is necessary to investigate this association.

Semaglutide improved reproductive outcomes in PMOS

In a proof-of-concept study, researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus evaluated a subset of participants enrolled in the ongoing RESTORE clinical trial.

The RESTORE study is investigating whether semaglutide or metformin can help restore ovulation and improve reproductive health in adolescents and adults with PMOS and obesity.

PMOS is a common endocrine and metabolic condition associated with infertility and obesity. Many females with the condition are unable to find treatments that effectively address both reproductive symptoms and metabolic complications.

“Raised body mass index (BMI) reduces fertility by causing hormonal imbalances, which can disrupt ovulation in women,” Clare Thompson, MBBS, BSc, nMRCGP, General Practitioner at the Cadogan Clinic, where she leads the Weight Management Service, who was not involved in the study, explained to Medical News Today.

“Excess fatty tissue produces oestrogen, which changes the natural hormone balance required for regular menstrual cycles and egg release. A higher BMI can also alter the fluid surrounding developing eggs, affecting their quality and ability to be fertilised by sperm,” Thompson explained.

“Finally, a higher BMI changes the uterine lining which can make it harder for an embryo to attach and therefore increases the risk of miscarriage,” she added.

“GLP-1 medications can help a patient to lose weight safely which can kick start their fertility by regulating the hormone balance again which may cause regular ovulation to occur, resulting in an increased chance of pregnancy,” Thompson noetd. 

However, “there are many other reasons a female may be overweight other than simple lifestyle choices, such as PMOS, which primarily reduces fertility by disrupting ovulation,” she further explained.

“It describes a scenario where the hormone imbalance causes a relative rise in androgens (male hormones) alongside insulin resistance, which stalls egg development. Without regular ovulation it becomes difficult to conceive and predict when a woman’s fertile window is for reproduction. Some PMOS patients also experience lower egg quality and viability or even issues with their uterine lining, which can make implantation harder.” 

– Clare Thompson, MBBS, BSc, nMRCGP

How might semaglutide improve fertility in PMOS?

The analysis focused on participants ages 12 to 35 years who achieved at least 10% weight loss while receiving injectable semaglutide.

Investigators reported that improvements in reproductive markers appeared earlier than anticipated, prompting the publication of preliminary findings before completion of the larger study.

According to the researchers, the findings suggest that semaglutide could potentially address both aspects of the condition simultaneously, by improving metabolic health while also supporting reproductive function.

However, the study authors emphasized that the current analysis is preliminary and involved only a subset of participants. The RESTORE trial is ongoing, and longer-term data will be necessary to determine whether the observed reproductive benefits are sustained.

“The researchers concluded that substantial weight loss during semaglutide treatment was linked to considerable improvements in reproductive health among women with PMOS and obesity,” Thompson highlighted.

“The results suggest that addressing excess weight and the underlying metabolic dysfunction associated with PMOS can help restore hormonal balance and improve reproductive function. The findings deliver early evidence that semaglutide may offer a dual benefit, targeting obesity and key reproductive challenges associated with the condition, including irregular menstruation and impaired fertility.”

– Clare Thompson, MBBS, BSc, nMRCGP

What about fertility in men?

Separately, a review of five randomized controlled trials presented at ENDO 2026 found that GLP-1 drugs, such as semaglutide and liraglutide, do not appear to harm male fertility and may even improve testosterone levels and sperm quality in some men with obesity.

“The relationship between obesity, metabolic health, and fertility has been well established for many years,” Philip Werthman, MD, board-certified urologist, men’s health specialist, and director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Vasectomy Reversal in Los Angeles, CA, who was not involved in the study, told MNT.

“In both men and women, obesity can disrupt normal reproductive hormone signaling, impair fertility, and negatively affect reproductive outcomes. In men, we commonly see lower testosterone levels, functional hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction, and poorer semen parameters,” Werthman explained.

Researchers from the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom conducted a review of trials examining GLP-1 medications in men ages 18 to 65 years, comparing GLP-1 therapies with placebo or alternative treatments.

Across the studies, GLP-1 drugs showed no evidence of negatively affecting testosterone levels, reproductive hormones, sexual function, or sperm quality.

Notably, a 24-week semaglutide trial reported improvements in sperm morphology and cholesterol levels while maintaining stable hormone levels. Another 16-week study found that liraglutide increased testosterone and related reproductive hormones in males with obesity-related low testosterone.

The researchers note that health outcomes in these men were superior to those achieved through testosterone replacement therapy alone.

This suggests a potential shift from testosterone replacement in males with obesity and low testosterone, instead treating excess weight and metabolic health, which can restore hormone levels and preserve fertility.

“The male fertility data are also becoming increasingly compelling,” Werthman added. “Obesity-related hypogonadism is one of the most common reversible causes of low testosterone that I see in practice. Several studies have demonstrated improvements in testosterone levels and certain semen parameters following treatment with GLP-1 receptor agonists.”

“Reports involving liraglutide have shown improvements in sperm concentration, motility, morphology, and testosterone levels. More recent semaglutide data suggest improvements in sperm morphology and testosterone while preserving normal gonadotropin signaling.”

– Philip Werthman, MD

“One of the most important clinical distinctions is that GLP-1 therapies appear fundamentally different from testosterone replacement therapy for men who wish to preserve fertility,” he noted.

“Exogenous testosterone can suppress sperm production by shutting down the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. In contrast, GLP-1 receptor agonists improve metabolic health and may improve endogenous testosterone production without impairing spermatogenesis,” Werthman explained.

Why might GLP-1 drugs affect fertility?

While the exact mechanism is not fully understood, researchers suggest the reproductive benefits from GLP-1 drugs may be driven by improvements in metabolic health.

Obesity is known to affect hormone regulation, ovulation, sperm production, and overall reproductive function. Weight loss can help restore hormonal balance and improve fertility outcomes in both males and females.

GLP-1 drugs can improve blood sugar regulation, reduce appetite, and often produce substantial weight loss. These metabolic improvements may indirectly support reproductive health by reducing inflammation, improving insulin sensitivity, and restoring hormone production.

In those with PMOS, insulin resistance is a major contributor to hormonal imbalances and ovulatory dysfunction. Addressing these underlying metabolic problems may help restore regular ovulation and improve fertility.

“The evidence suggests that weight loss is the primary driver of the reproductive improvements seen with semaglutide, as substantial weight reduction is known to improve hormone balance, ovarian function and fertility in women with PMOS.”

– Clare Thompson, MBBS, BSc, nMRCGP

“However, GLP-1 drugs may also have direct effects on reproductive health via mechanisms such as insulin signalling and ovarian function. Further studies are needed to determine how much of the benefit comes from weight loss versus the medication itself,” Thompson noted.

Similarly, obesity-related low testosterone is often linked to metabolic dysfunction rather than primary testicular disease. This means that weight reduction may help restore natural hormone production.

“As a male fertility specialist, I view these findings as highly encouraging,” Werthman emphasized. “The broader benefits of GLP-1 therapy—including improvements in body composition, insulin resistance, cardiovascular risk factors, sleep apnea, and overall metabolic health—can all positively influence reproductive function.”

“Because infertility, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and low testosterone frequently coexist, treating the underlying metabolic disease may have substantial downstream reproductive benefits. Overall, I believe most of the fertility benefits observed with GLP-1 therapies are currently best explained by weight loss and metabolic improvement,” he told us.

“However, the consistency of emerging data in both men and women raises the possibility that these medications may ultimately prove to have direct reproductive effects as well. Larger prospective studies specifically designed to evaluate fertility outcomes will be needed to answer that question definitively,” Werthman added.

More research is necessary

Despite the encouraging findings, both research teams emphasize that the evidence remains preliminary.

The semaglutide study in females represents an early proof-of-concept analysis from the RESTORE clinical trial, while the male fertility findings were based on a relatively small number of studies with varying methodologies.

While the findings are promising, neither semaglutide nor other GLP-1 receptor agonists have been approved specifically as fertility treatments.

Future studies may examine whether these reproductive improvements translate into higher pregnancy rates, improved live birth outcomes, and long-term reproductive benefits.

For now, the findings provide early evidence that the fertility conversation surrounding GLP-1 medications may be more nuanced than previously thought.

• The Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has experienced one of the largest single-day increases in confirmed Ebola cases since the outbreak was declared in May 2026.
• Health authorities report the number of confirmed Ebola cases in DRC has increased to 782, with 181 deaths.
• However, the true number of cases in DRC may be higher because the outbreak likely began weeks before it was confirmed, and contact tracing has declined.
• Speaking to Medical News Today, infectious disease expert Monica Gandhi explains the fast spread of the virus, discuses current vaccine development, and emphasizes that a global spread is unlikely.

According to Congolese officials, a report from June 13, 2026 highlights 72 new confirmed cases of Ebola, including 29 deaths, marking one of the highest daily increases since the outbreak was declared in May.

An updated report from June 16, 2026 now brings the total confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) up to 837, including 196 confirmed related deaths, and 376 individuals hospitalized in isolation.

The outbreak is centered primarily in the Ituri province of the DRC, with 767 confirmed cases from 20 health zones. There are also 67 confirmed cases from 10 health zones, and three cases from one health zone in North Kivu and South Kivu, respectively.

However, the number of cases in the DRC is likely higher, as the outbreak was officially confirmed on May 15, 2026, in both the DRC and Uganda, weeks after it was suspected to have begun, and the Congolese Ministry of Health added that the contact tracing coverage rate has dropped to 64.4% across the 3 provinces.

Unlike many previous Ebola outbreaks in the DRC, the current epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. This strain is particularly challenging because there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment available.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that the risk of the ongoing outbreak remains low to the United States. The American medical missionary who reportedly contracted Ebola while in the DRC has returned to the U.S. and remained Ebola-free since May 30, 2026.

Medical News Today again speaks with Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, about the rising number of Ebola cases, vaccine development, and the potential for global spread.

• Researchers at the University of Cambridge recently developed the world’s first vaccine designed by artificial intelligence (AI) and successfully tested it in humans.
• The vaccine was created to protect against viruses in the sarbecovirus family, including both SARS and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID.
• Medical News Today spoke with a virologist and an AI scientist to discuss vaccine safety and effectiveness, and how AI can help scientists develop universal vaccines.

The world’s first human vaccine designed by artificial intelligence (AI) and developed by scientists at the University of Cambridge has passed its initial testing successfully and is currently undergoing further testing.

What makes this vaccine different from traditional vaccines is that, instead of being developed in response to current strains, it uses a predictive design.

To achieve that, scientists used AI to analyze multiple coronaviruses to create a “super antigen“. With this super antigen, they were able to target the common features of viruses in the coronavirus family and, in a sense, future-proof the vaccine against current and future coronavirus mutations.

The vaccine also has a needle-free design, using a specialized jet injector via the PharmaJet Tropis system. Rather than piercing the skin with a traditional metal syringe, it uses fluid dynamics to deliver the vaccine ingredients exactly where they need to go.

However, the technology remains highly experimental, and the first human trial included only 39 people.

The results of the trial were published in the Journal of Infection.

To decipher what this trial means for the future of vaccine development and how this technology works, Medical News Today spoke to two experts who were not involved in the research:

• Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco,
• and Marc Boubnovski, senior AI Scientist at Novo Nordisk.

What the phase 1 trial results show

The trial was small, with only 39 people as participants, and was designed to test the vaccine’s safety. A second trial involving 200 participants is currently underway to determine how effective it is.

The vaccine produced what scientists described as a “modest” immune response in humans. This, compared to a higher result in mice, shows that the real test will be whether it can trigger a robust, lasting immune response in a highly diverse human population.

“The trial achieved what phase 1 trials are mainly meant to test: early safety and tolerability. It also showed some evidence that the design can focus responses on conserved sarbecovirus regions,” Boubnovski said.

He also reiterated that the vaccine needs to undergo much larger trials before it is deemed safe and effective for the real world.

“[The trial] did not yet show the strong, broad immune response you would want before calling it a protective universal coronavirus vaccine,” Boubnovski said.

Meanwhile, Gandhi pointed out an important fact regarding individual and herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2.

“I was not surprised that the population [in the trial] already had good immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 by the time the study was conducted. The COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, and virtually every adult across the planet has been exposed to the virus already, generating strong immune responses, or has received a vaccine,” she said.

Designing a vaccine for a virus yet to exist?

Boubnovski urged caution in overinterpreting the abilities of AI-designed vaccines to protect against viruses that are not yet known. The science shows that AI employs advanced pattern recognition to identify how viruses in a particular family operate.

“[This technology] cannot design a guaranteed vaccine for an entirely unknown virus. What it can do is design against a family of related viruses. That is why the claim should be limited. It is plausible for related future variants or related viruses, not for a completely unrelated new pathogen,” he underscored.

Gandhi explained how scientists set their target for the vaccine.

“[The research] was heartening in that immune responses were generated to SARS, SARS-CoV-2, and related Sarbeco-Coronaviruses by this AI-generated vaccine because common elements from each virus were quickly determined by the AI platform, and then a vaccine was generated against those common elements. This is exactly how this technology could design a vaccine against a virus that doesn’t exist yet,” she said.

Gandhi said that a vaccine that can generate an immune response against common elements of coronaviruses would help provide broader protection, including “even ones that have not evolved yet in nature.”

“These elements are called ‘conserved’ and that just means that they are pieces of the viruses (often buried deep in the virus) that are the same across species, or common, and don’t change much even when a new coronavirus emerges,” she said.

And could this vaccine technology help against other diseases?

The researchers behind this vaccine are currently applying the same AI technology to develop universal vaccines for influenza (the flu) and Ebola.

“If we know that influenza viruses and coronaviruses are the two types of viruses that have the most pandemic potential because they are easily transmitted from human to human by respiratory contact, we know a novel coronavirus (such as SARS-CoV-2 in 2020) can be very dangerous to a non-immune public,” Gandhi said, highlighting how this technology could be helpful in preventing future outbreaks.

“I think an AI-derived vaccine for viral infections is an excellent idea because AI has the power to scan sequences of viruses quickly to determine common elements that allow for cross-protection to different viruses. This was illustrated in the case of [this] vaccine, which provided cross protection against more than one virus in the sarbecovirus family, including both SARS and SARS-CoV-2.”
— Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH

• The use of GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss has been increasing. 
• Researchers continue to examine how GLP-1s might affect a person’s health beyond type 2 diabetes management and weight loss. 
• A new study found a potential link between taking GLP-1 medications and a decrease in the overall risk of developing obesity-related cancers in people without diabetes. 

The use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist medications continues to rise, with a 155% increase in the percentage of people with type 2 diabetes taking these drugs from 2018 to 2022. 

The use of GLP-1s for weight loss is also increasing. The latest polls report that of the one in eight Americans who have taken a GLP-1 medication, about 38% have only taken them to help lose weight. 

As interest in GLP-1s continues to grow, researchers are beginning to examine how these medications might affect a person’s health beyond diabetes management and weight loss. 

“Hundreds of millions of people are taking or will soon take GLP-1 medications for the treatment of obesity and diabetes,” Aparna Kamat, MD, director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Houston Methodist Hospital, told Medical News Today.

“That scale means even an unexpected benefit, or an unexpected harm, becomes a public health event. We have an obligation to understand the full biology of these drugs, not just the intended effect. Identifying additional benefits could help us understand the biological pathways influenced by these drugs and uncover new opportunities for disease prevention and treatment, including cancer prevention.” 
— Aparna Kamat, MD

Kamat is the senior author of a new study published in the journal Annals of Oncology that found a potential link between taking GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, and Mounjaro, and a decrease in the overall risk of developing obesity-related cancers in people without diabetes. 

GLP-1 users: Those with diabetes vs. those with obesity 

For this study, researchers analyzed the health data from a national database of more than 229,000 obese, non-diabetic people. 

“Most previous studies examining GLP-1 medications and cancer risk were conducted in patients with type 2 diabetes,” Kamat explained.

“However, the majority of individuals now receiving GLP-1 medications are using them for obesity management and do not have diabetes. This is the population that has been invisible in the literature, and it is now the largest group using these drugs. They are younger, they don’t have diabetes, and they are experiencing some of the sharpest increases in obesity-associated cancers we’ve seen in decades,” she said.

Researchers have linked 13 cancers to obesity, including: 

• Breast
• Colorectal
• Endometrial
• Esophageal
• Gallbladder
• Kidney
• Liver
• Meningioma (a type of brain tumor)
• Multiple myeloma (a type of bone marrow cancer)
• Ovarian
• Pancreatic
• Stomach (gastric) 
• Thyroid

GLP-1 use linked to 41% lower overall obesity-related cancer risk

Between December 2014 and June 2025, 38% of study participants received a GLP-1 prescription, and the remaining 62% received diet and exercise counseling. 

At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that participants who took GLP-1 medications containing semaglutide or tirzepatide had a 41% decrease in their overall risk of developing an obesity-related cancer. 

“A 41% reduction across more than 229,000 patients is not a small signal,” Kamat said. “That is the kind of number that, in any other context, would already be driving clinical guidelines.” 

Kamat and her team found even higher cancer risk reductions in specific cancers, including a 58% lower risk of endometrial cancer. 

“Endometrial cancer is rising fastest in younger women, it is tightly linked to obesity, and we have almost nothing to offer for prevention,” Kamat explained. “A 58% reduction is extraordinary. If that holds up in prospective studies, it changes how we think about this disease entirely, and this finding provides a strong rationale for further mechanistic and clinical studies focused on endometrial cancer prevention and treatment.”

The most dramatic drops in risk, where this reduction was by 50% or more, also occurred in multiple myeloma, pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer, in addition to endometrial cancer.

“We are not ready to say these drugs prevent cancer — our study cannot prove causation. But we are ready to say this finding demands a serious answer. Given the rapidly increasing use of these medications, even a modest reduction in cancer incidence could have important public health implications.” 
— Aparna Kamat, MD

How might GLP-1s help lower risk of obesity-related cancers? 

When asked how GLP-1s might help lower obesity-related cancer risk, Kamat said it’s probably a combination of weight loss and other factors. 

“Separating them is one of the most important questions in the field right now. We know GLP-1 receptors are expressed directly on certain cancer cells. That means the drug could be acting on the tumor itself, not just shrinking the patient,” she said.

“If that’s true, weight loss is not the whole story but weight loss is likely an important contributor because excess adiposity promotes chronic inflammation, hormonal dysregulation, insulin resistance, and other processes linked to cancer development. Determining the relative contribution of these mechanisms remains an important area of ongoing investigation,” she explained.

David Greenberg, MD, FACP, section chief of Hematology/Oncology at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey, who was not involved in this study, commented that he was not surprised by this study’s results, as we’ve known for decades that lifestyle, obesity, and toxic exposures play a critical role in the development of cell mutation and cancer. 

“My cardiology colleagues have promoted GLP-1 drugs for several years to potentially improve a patient’s overall health,” Greenberg told Medical News Today.

“We know these [GLP-1] drugs not only diminish appetite and aid weight loss, but they also likely affect cardiovascular health, improve insulin sensitivity, and thus decrease overall inflammation in the body. Anything that decreases inflammation likely also decreases a person’s overall cancer risk. So I believe other factors are at play besides losing weight.”
— David Greenberg, MD, FACP

Why more long-term research on GLP-1s is needed

MNT spoke with Lauren Carcas, MD, a medical oncologist with Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, about this study’s findings, who commented that while they’re exciting, the data must be interpreted in context.

“The observational design of the study allows for potential confounding of results as it does not take into account socioeconomic status, physical activity levels, dietary quality, and health-seeking behavior from the persons evaluated,” Carcas, who was not involved in this study, explained.

“Additionally, the results have only a median two-year follow-up.  Most obesity associated cancers have a longer latency, meaning that the recurrence of their disease may not occur within the time frame evaluated,” she added.

Anton Bilchik, MD, PhD, surgical oncologist, chief of medicine, and director of the Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Program at Providence Saint John’s Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, CA, who was also not involved in this study, agreed. 

“Obesity is a well-established risk factor for numerous cancers, including colorectal, pancreatic, liver, uterine, ovarian, and breast cancers,” Bilchik detailed.

“It is therefore reasonable to hypothesize that sustained weight loss could reduce cancer risk. While findings from this new study are encouraging, more robust and long-term research is needed before physicians can confidently prescribe GLP-1 medications to non-diabetic patients with obesity specifically for cancer risk reduction,” he said. 

• Osteoarthritis, which leads to joint pain, swelling and stiffness, occurs in more than one-third of people over the age of 65.
• Many of these will be prescribed, or will buy, glucosamine supplements, which may help to ease the symptoms.
• However, a new study suggests that glucosamine could speed the progression of dementia and even increase mortality in people with dementia.
• As glucosamine is such a widely used supplement, the researchers call for more research to verify their findings.

Joint pain, swelling and stiffness become increasingly likely as we age, and these symptoms may be due to osteoarthritis, which affects one-third of people over the age of 65.

Οne popular supplement for osteoarthritis is glucosamine sulfate, which people take to alleviate pain and stiffness.

According to one study, around 6-7% of people over the age of 70 in the United States are prescribed glucosamine to relieve symptoms.

Many more buy it without prescription as a dietary supplement, despite there being little study evidence for its efficacy.

Now, a new study has found that glucosamine may speed the progression of dementia and hasten mortality, by enhancing a process in the brain that is overactive in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The study, which is published in Nature Metabolism, suggests that glucosamine may increase hyperglycosylation — a process that impairs the function of nerve cells in the brain.

Harris A. Gelbard, MD, PhD, Director of the Center for Neurotherapeutics Discovery, and Professor in the the Departments of Neurology, Pediatrics, Neuroscience and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Rochester Medicine, not involved in this research, commented on its findings to Medical News Today:

“Their study carries enough weight to further define the relationships between age of onset of glucosamine supplementation and specific types of dementia. This is especially true with respect to their findings of accelerated mortality since patients with late onset dementia can live a relatively long time, albeit in a cognitively impaired state.”

Hyperglycosylation may speed Alzheimer’s progression

The researchers analysed samples from post-mortem human brain tissue, from people with and without Alzheimer’s disease.

They found that brains from people with Alzheimer’s disease showed a pattern of increased synthesis of glycans — carbohydrate molecules that attach to proteins and change their function. The later the stage of Alzheimer’s, the higher the production of glycans.

Gelbard explained how hyperglycosylation can affect the functioning of nerve cells, and speed Alzheimer’s disease damage.

“Key to understanding this is the observation from the present study that these changes occur after clinical evidence of cognitive decline as opposed to the early asymptomatic or mild phases,” he told MNT.

“Hyperglycosylation can greatly increase the brain burden of sugar molecules called N-glycans that overload metabolic processing and disrupt critical cellular processes like synaptic signaling (sending messages between neurons) in regions of the brain devoted to learning and making new memories,” Gelbard explained.

“As these N-glycans continue to accumulate in the brain,” he continued, “this leads to destruction of synapses [connections between nerve cells], with the potential to activate the immune system and create a vicious cycle of brain damage.”

Similar changes seen in mouse models of Alzheimer’s

The researchers carried out experiments in mice genetically modified to develop two different forms of Alzheimer’s disease.

They found similar patterns of hyperglycosylation to those seen in human brains, with most hyperglycosylation in regions associated with memory, cognitive processing and neuroinflammation, the areas that show most neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

They established that this was a result of increased glycan synthesis, rather than impaired breakdown of glycans in the brain.

When they blocked glycan formation in mice, the mice performed better in memory tests.

Glucosamine speeds nerve cell degeneration in mice

Glucosamine can easily cross the blood-brain barrier and is incorporated into brain glycans, so the researchers tested, in mice, whether glucosamine speeded up degeneration of nerve cells.

In mice with the 5xFAD version of Alzheimer’s disease, glucosamine supplementation significantly increased glycan production and worsened social memory.

Gelbard cautioned that, while their methodologies were sophisticated, appropriate and robust for this study, the researchers were using an aggressive model of Alzheimer’s.

“The use of the 5xFAD model represents an aggressive, accelerated dementia phenotype of EOAD (early onset Alzheimer’s dementia) and thus represents a relatively small percentage of Alzheimer’s disease in general (i.e., LOAD or late onset Alzheimer’s dementia),” he told MNT.

Courtney Kloske, PhD, director of scientific engagement for the Alzheimer’s Association, likewise not involved in the study, summarized:

“In this study, researchers found that glucosamine appeared to increase activity in a biological process that may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, and was associated with worsening memory outcomes in animal models.”

Similar effects seen in people with Alzheimer’s disease

To assess whether glucosamine might have similar effects in people, the researchers analysed data from more than 50,000 people with Alzheimer’s-disease-related dementias (ADRD) in the University of Florida Health system.

They identified people who had used glucosamine supplements for at least a year after a dementia diagnosis then compared them with people who had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a small reduction in memory and thinking skills which often precedes dementia.

They identified 24,481 patients with ADRD and 41,884 patients with MCI for the survival analysis, and followed them up for a mean of around 5 years. Of this group, 1,896 patients with ADRD and 2,750 patients with MCI, approximately 8%, had taken glucosamine.

They found that glucosamine use was associated with a 25% increase in mortality risk among ADRD patients, but that there was no increase in mortality risk in people with MCI.

Should people with AD avoid glucosamine supplements?

“The evidence is compelling enough, even with the limitations I mentioned, to have physicians suggest a cautionary note in self-medication with neutraceuticals,” Gelbard advised.” It further emphasizes the need for biomarker studies in patients with family histories of dementia to perform watchful waiting.”

Kloske stated that more research was needed, adding that “the results should not be interpreted as a recommendation to start or stop glucosamine or any other supplement without first consulting a healthcare provider.“

“While these findings add to our understanding of the potential relationship between glucosamine, brain health, and Alzheimer’s disease progression, the data do not establish cause and effect,” she cautioned.

She further advised: “A growing body of research suggests that healthy dietary patterns and balanced nutrition may help support overall brain health and may contribute to reducing the risk of cognitive decline. However, no single food, beverage, ingredient, vitamin, or supplement has been proven to prevent, treat, or cure Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. “

“The most important takeaway for consumers is to have informed conversations with their healthcare team before starting, stopping, or changing any supplements.”

– Courtney Kloske, PhD

• People with type 2 diabetes can be at a higher risk for broken bones when they use weight-loss strategies. 
• Semaglutide is a medication that can help with diabetes management and weight loss. 
• A recent study found that, compared to other weight-loss medications, semaglutide appeared to help the most with weight loss and was linked to a 15% decrease in fractures. 

The use of weight-loss medications like semaglutide is becoming more and more popular.

Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist used to help with type 2 diabetes management and weight loss. One area of less research is how semaglutide impacts bone health.

Recent study results shared at the Endocrine Society meeting ENDO 2026 indicate that semaglutide was linked to higher weight loss and a 15% decrease in broken bones when it was compared to other weight loss medications.

These findings — which are yet to appear in a peer-reviewed journal — suggest that semaglutide may be beneficial for bone health. 

Semaglutide and fracture risk in people with type 2 diabetes

This current study involved people with type two diabetes who received weight-loss medication. The study authors explain that in people with type 2 diabetes, weight loss interventions can increase the risk of bone breakage because people experience accelerated bone loss.

They also note that semaglutide might benefit bone health and thus set out to compare it to other weight-loss medications.  

Researchers utilized the Atropos Health Eos electronic health record dataset. This allowed them to look at extensive data from people in the United States.

Eligible participants were adults who had type 2 diabetes and no previous fractures. Participants were also not on medications to treat osteoporosis. 

Researchers looked at body mass index (BMI) at baseline, after 1 year’s time, and how BMI changed in the interim. 

Baseline characteristics like age and BMI were similar between the two groups after researchers conducted matching.

There were 17,506 participants in each group, and 4,191 pairs had available information on BMI.

The control group used three other medication options: phentermine and topiramate, bupropion and naltrexone, or dulaglutide. The intervention group received semaglutide. The semaglutide group had the best results.

Study author Sun H Kim, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Gerontology, and Metabolism at Stanford, summarized the findings to to Medical News Today, saying:

“We found that semaglutide compared to other weight loss medications, including another GLP-1 medication called dulaglutide, reduced risk of future fractures despite being associated with greater weight loss.”

Overall, semaglutide was linked to a bigger decrease in BMI. The semaglutide group also experienced fewer fractures than the control group. The average follow-up time looking at fractures was over 3 and a half years.

The group on semaglutide only experienced 794 fractures, while the control group experienced 1,045. Researchers concluded that “semaglutide was associated with a 15% reduction in fracture incidence.” 

Research limitations and continued research

The full research has not been published yet, so the full limitations are not clear at this time. However, it is possible that researchers did not account for factors that played into the observed results.

Since researchers used electronic health record data, missed information is also a possibility. Furthermore, the data they had access to only included individuals seen at academic medical centers and community hospitals. 

Additionally, researchers did not have data on BMI for many participants, which also limits the findings. And using BMI as a way to measure weight loss also comes with its own limitations. 

This research specifically focused on people with type 2 diabetes, so more research is needed in other groups, and the results should not be generalized. 

Burak Altintas, MD, an orthopedist with UTMB, who was not involved in this study, further highlighted the following limitations of the research:

“The limitations include retrospective design and likely residual confounding despite matching as fracture risk is influenced by many variables that are not reported […] Further, the comparison group is heterogeneous, combining another GLP-1 receptor agonist (dulaglutide) with two mechanistically different weight-loss medications. The relatively small BMI-analysis cohort (4,191 matched pairs) compared with the overall matched cohort raises concerns regarding missing data and potential selection bias. In addition, the fractures were analyzed as a composite outcome. Thus, it is unclear whether effects differed between hip, vertebral, wrist, or other fractures.”

Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, likewise not involved in this study, also noted that “this research shows a benefit of semaglutide over other diabetes treatment approaches.“

“However,“ Ali cautioned, “it is difficult to attribute the improvement solely to semaglutide based on this study alone. Additional research is necessary to examine fracture reduction independent of weight loss.”

This research may also mainly pave the way for more research, rather than giving definite answers. Altintas stressed that “The findings should be viewed as hypothesis-generating rather than practice-changing.“

“The study suggests that semaglutide does not appear to increase fracture risk and may potentially reduce it, but randomized prospective studies with bone mineral density, bone turnover markers, and fracture endpoints will be needed before concluding that semaglutide has true bone-protective properties,” he told us.

Clinical implications

The results indicate that semaglutide might help protect bones. “Our study suggests that semaglutide may have bone protective effects despite its effect on weight loss,” explained Kim. 

Altintas also noted that “if these findings are confirmed by prospective studies, several important clinical implications emerge.“

“First, clinicians may be less concerned that semaglutide-induced weight loss inherently increases fracture risk in patients with type 2 diabetes. Second, for diabetic patients at elevated fracture risk, semaglutide could become a preferred weight-loss agent compared with alternatives that may have less favorable skeletal effects. Third, as GLP-1 receptor agonists become increasingly utilized, understanding their effects on bone health becomes critical, particularly in older adults and postmenopausal women.”

– Burak Altintas, MD

Still, the results don’t mean that semaglutide is always the best option when it comes to weight loss. Ali also noted that, “if it can be demonstrated that semaglutide improves fracture risk independent of weight loss, it would provide another clear indication for its prescription.“

“However,“ he said, “I do not believe that conclusion can be made based on this specific study. While numerous studies have shown the benefits of semaglutide, we often see similar outcomes when patients achieve a healthy weight through other means, such as surgery.“

“Further research into semaglutide and other hormone agonist medications is needed to determine which effects are independent of weight loss,” advised Ali.

It is important for anyone interested in using semaglutide or other weight loss medications to talk with their doctors about options and form an appropriate weight loss plan. 

• People going through menopause often experience a range of symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep disturbances, mood changes, brain fog, and osteoporosis.
• Hormone therapy can help alleviate these symptoms, but some people are reluctant to take it because past studies have suggested it may increase the risk of endometrial, breast, and ovarian cancer.
• Now, a study has added to the evidence that hormone therapy can improve bone density, helping to prevent bone fractures.
• The researchers found that women taking menopausal hormone therapy had a 69% lower risk of low bone mineral density than those not using hormone replacement.

Some people sail through menopause, the end of a woman’s reproductive years, with the cessation of menstrual periods being the only sign that it has happened. For others, the years leading up to and following menopause are a time of hot flashes, disturbed nights, urinary problems, thinning hair, mood changes, brain fog, and a loss of bone density, which can lead to osteoporosis.

Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) can help to alleviate these symptoms, but it is not suitable for everyone going through the menopause.

Now, a small study being presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Chicago, is adding to the evidence that menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) can help prevent bone density loss that often leads to fractures.

In their study, researchers found that women on MHT were 69% less likely to have low bone mineral density than women who were not on the treatment.

“We’ve known that bone protection is a benefit of menopause hormone treatment and this study supports that long-held belief.” 

— Ruthann Devera, M.D., OBGYN at MemorialCare Medical Group, Long Beach, California, who was not involved in the study

The findings of the study are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Retrospective study using bone scans

The researchers carried out a retrospective cohort study of 387 postmenopausal women who had undergone DEXA bone scans between 2021 and 2025 to assess bone mineral density (BMD). All scans were carried out by the same certified bone densitometry technician and analyzed by the same clinical densitometrist to minimize inter-operative variability.

Of the cohort, 129 used menopausal hormone therapy, and 258 did not. There were no significant differences in age, vitamin D levels, and years since menopause between the 2 groups. 

Lead and corresponding author, Diego Espinoza-Peralta, MD, MSc, Endocrinologist, Clinical Trialist, Centro Médico Dr. Ignacio Chávez ISSSTESON / Mexican Society of Nutrition and Endocrinology (SMNE) Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, told Medical News Today that the women, who had a mean age of 59.8 years, “included women receiving menopausal hormone therapy in routine practice, including different regimens according to individual clinical indications.” 

The researchers did not have details of the individual types of hormone therapy, or whether it was by oral or transdermal administration.

Real-world evidence for hormone therapy’s bone health benefits

From the scans, the researchers identified low bone mineral density in almost half of the women (186 individuals), but it was nearly twice as common in those not using MHT, as Espinoza-Peralta outlined: “Among the women receiving MHT, 41 of 129 (31.8%) had low BMD, compared with 145 of 258 (56.2%) among non-users.”

MHT users had significantly higher BMD than non-users in both the lumbar spine and hip — two areas in which fractures are common in older women.

“I believe our findings are clinically relevant because they provide real-world evidence supporting the association between menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and better skeletal health in postmenopausal women. In our cohort, women receiving MHT had significantly lower prevalence of low bone mineral density, higher lumbar spine and total hip T-scores, and a 69% lower adjusted odds of low bone mineral density after accounting for major clinical risk factors.” 

— Diego Espinoza-Peralta

Dr Paula Briggs, Associate Clinical Professor, University of Liverpool and immediate past chair of the British Menopause Society, who was not involved in the study, welcomed the findings, but was not surprised by them: 

“Basically, this is not new — even the controversial Women’s Health Initiative from 2002 highlighted a 34% reduction in hip fracture and an overall fracture reduction of 30% in hormone therapy users.”

“Hormone therapy prevents bone loss, which can lead to osteoporosis and an increase in the risk of fractures, which can have a significant impact on quality of life,” she added.

More evidence of menopausal hormone therapy’s benefits

“One aspect that I find particularly interesting is the consistency of the association across multiple measures of skeletal health,” Espinoza-Peralta told MNT. “Women receiving MHT not only had lower prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis but also demonstrated significantly higher continuous T-scores at both the lumbar spine and total hip.”

And this is only one potential benefit of MHT, as Devera explained: 

“In addition to reducing the risk of osteoporosis, another major benefit of MHT is relief of menopause symptoms. Menopause can be a challenging time for many women due to the vast array of physiologic[al] changes. These include hot flashes, brain fog, insomnia, irritability, anxiety, and body aches to name a few. These changes can often be disruptive to a woman’s well-being; thus, MHT offers an effective treatment option.”

Hormone therapy may also have some risks

However, she highlighted that there were some risks, which people should consider before deciding whether to opt for MHT:

“Estradiol activates the uterine lining; thus, uterine cancer is a universal risk of estradiol treatment in women who have their uterus. Certain patients may also be at higher risk for heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer. These risks can vary depending on a patient’s medical history and age.”

She advised: “The decision to start MHT needs to be individualized. Although MHT offers many benefits, it’s not a safe treatment option for every woman. Also, each woman should have a clear idea of what her treatment goals are. This will allow her and her physician to make the best choice moving forward.”

And Espinoza-Peralta cautioned: “Because this was an observational study, the findings should be interpreted as an association rather than proof of causality.”

“Nevertheless,” he added, “they support the concept that MHT may represent an important and potentially underutilized strategy for preserving bone health in appropriately selected postmenopausal women.”

• Researchers at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait examined the effects of feeding mice a sugar-free, low-fat diet, which they compared to a control group. 
• The mice on the sugar-free diet developed insulin resistance and other metabolic changes.
• The sugar-free group also experienced increased inflammation in both the colon and liver.

Many people who start a new diet reduce or eliminate sugary foods and beverages to improve their health. Some eating plans, such as the carnivore diet, remove nearly all dietary sources of sugar and carbohydrates.

However, a new study in mice suggests that completely eliminating sucrose, commonly known as table sugar, from a low-fat diet may have negative effects on gut and metabolic health.

Researchers fed mice a sucrose-free, low-fat diet for 16 weeks and found they developed impaired glucose control and experienced significant changes in their gut microbiome compared with mice fed a low-fat diet containing sugar.

The researchers presented their findings at ENDO 2026, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society. These findings are yet to undergo peer review.

Effects of a zero-sugar, low-fat diet

Sugar can be found in many foods and may be present naturally, such as in fruits, or it may be added, such as in soda or candy. 

Excess added sugar consumption has been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, leading many people who want to improve their health to try low-sugar or sugar-free diets.

In the new study, researchers looked into the effects of a sugar-free, low-fat diet in mice. 

The researchers divided 12 healthy mice of similar weight into two groups. The control group consumed a low-fat diet containing sugar, while the other ate a sugar-free, low-fat diet. 

Both groups received similar calorie amounts to rule out differences in food amounts contributing to findings.

Over the study period, the researchers tracked multiple markers of metabolic health, gut health, and inflammation. They wanted to see how the mice processed glucose and responded to insulin, and also how the composition of each group’s gut bacteria changed over time.

Changes in metabolic and gut health

At the end of the study, body and liver weights remained similar between the two groups.

Despite no differences in weight gain or calorie intake, mice on the sugar-free diet showed signs of worsening metabolic health. 

This group of mice showed evidence of impaired glucose tolerance and reduced insulin sensitivity, both of which are linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. 

The researchers also observed significant changes in hormones involved in metabolism and appetite regulation, as well as lower fasting insulin levels.

One notable finding of the study involved changes in the gut microbiome and inflammation in the sugar-free mice. The researchers found lower levels of several beneficial bacteria that help support gut health and regulate inflammation, including Lactobacillus murinus.

Additionally, they noted an increase in bacteria linked to inflammatory conditions which was accompanied by signs of inflammation in the colon.

Another concerning change the researchers noticed in the sugar-free mouse group was that they developed signs of fatty liver disease and liver inflammation.

While more research is needed to determine whether these findings apply to humans, the results suggest that eliminating sucrose from a low-fat diet may alter the gut microbiome and affect metabolic health, highlighting the importance of overall dietary balance.

Surprising findings

Mir Ali, MD, bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center, spoke with Medical News Today about the study.

“I was surprised to see this result, as reducing carbohydrate and sugar intake is the mainstay of a number of successful weight loss strategies,” Ali, who was not involved in this research, said. 

He noted that a large body of research supports the health benefits of reducing added sugar intake and cautioned against overinterpreting the findings. 

“Overall, I think the positive benefits outweigh the possible negative effects,” Ali offered.

Ali mentioned that further studies need to focus on humans to see whether these results carry over.  He also discussed the strategy he suggests for his patients who are trying to lose weight. 

“What I recommend to my patients on a weight loss journey is that they should emphasize protein and vegetables in the diet and reduce carbohydrates and sugars,” Ali told us. “There is enough evidence to support that this is better for burning fat and overall metabolic health.”

Nneoma Oparaji, MD, a Houston-based physician specializing in lifestyle medicine and obesity medicine, likewise not involved in this research, shared her thoughts on the study with MNT.

“The study is intriguing because it challenges the oversimplified idea that removing sugar is automatically beneficial,” Oparaji said. 

She added the caveat that the study should not be interpreted to mean that sugar is healthy, but said that “nutrition is more complex and nuanced than removing a single ingredient.”

Oparaji noted that changes in the gut microbiome may be one of the study’s most important findings because gut bacteria “regulate glucose metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation.”

“The biggest takeaway is not to focus on a single nutrient or single study. Healthy eating is about overall dietary patterns, not a single ingredient.”

– Nneoma Oparaji, MD

• As our body naturally ages, so does our brain, causing structural and connectivity changes. 
• Previous research shows that consuming certain nutrients, like vitamin C, may assist with healthy brain aging.
• A new study found having low levels of vitamin C in blood plasma is correlated with a lower brain gray matter volume and connectivity during aging. 

As our body naturally ages, so does our brain. Structurally, the brain loses volume of gray matter — the area of the brain known for processing information, movement, and emotion control — which can make it harder for the brain to perform certain functions, such as creating new memories and multitasking. 

Additionally, the brain undergoes changes in its neurons and neurotransmitters, which can impact brain connectivity and how it receives and sends communications. 

Past studies show that followinh a healthy brain-focused diet may help slow brain aging and cognitive decline. Previous research also shows that certain nutrients, like omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, flavonoids, magnesium, vitamin E, and vitamin C may also assist with healthy brain aging.

Now a new study published in the journal PLOS One takes a further look at vitamin C, and found having low levels of vitamin C in blood plasma is correlated with a lower brain gray matter volume and connectivity during aging. 

Why focus on vitamin C in relation to the aging brain?

For this study, researchers analyzed blood samples and MRI scans of about 2,000 Japanese adults over the age of 64. Scientists measured participants’ gray and white brain matter volume, and blood plasma vitamin C levels. 

“Vitamin C is a vital antioxidant, and its concentration in the brain (cerebrospinal fluid) is more than twice as high as in the blood,” Tomohiro Shintaku, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Radiology in the Graduate School of Medicine at Hirosaki University in Japan, and corresponding author of this study, told Medical News Today.

“While previous studies have shown that a diet rich in vitamin C is linked to a reduced risk of cognitive impairment like Alzheimer’s disease, it remains unclear how blood levels of vitamin C directly relate to large-scale brain networks. We wanted to fill this gap, as no previous studies had evaluated the association between plasma vitamin C levels and the default mode network (DMN), [which involves] brain areas that become more active when the brain is resting,” Shintaku explained.

“The brain is highly vulnerable to oxidative stress, and dietary antioxidants significantly contribute to protecting neurons from oxidative damage and maintaining overall neuronal function. As neurodegenerative diseases increasingly impact brain health in older adults, understanding how modifiable lifestyle factors, like daily vitamin intake, can support cognitive reserve is crucial for public health and preventative medicine.”

– Tomohiro Shintaku, MD, PhD

Lower vitamin C levels, lower gray matter brain volume

At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that study participants with lower blood plasma vitamin C levels regularly had lower gray matter volume, as well as lower connectivity within the DMN.

“Decreased gray matter volume generally reflects brain atrophy and gross neuronal loss,” Shintaku noted. “Additionally, the DMN is a key network for cognitive functions such as memory, and its lower connectivity is a known early clinical manifestation of cognitive impairment.“

“Therefore, the significance of our finding is that maintaining optimal vitamin C levels could potentially play a supportive role in mitigating age-related cognitive decline and preserving normal brain network integrity,” he told us. 

Shintaku said that as this study is cross-sectional, they can only show an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship. 

“Our next step is to conduct longitudinal investigations to observe temporal changes — specifically, how changes in plasma vitamin C levels over time affect brain structures and cognitive trajectories,” he detailed. “We also plan to incorporate comprehensive lifestyle assessments, including body mass index (BMI) and total dietary intake, to further clarify the independent contribution of vitamin C.”

Importance of the default mode network and brain function

MNT had the opportunity to speak with Peter Gliebus, MD, chief of neurology and director of cognitive and behavioral neurology at Marcus Neuroscience Institute, a part of Baptist Health South Florida, about this study.

Gliebus, who was not involved in this research, commented that his initial reaction to its findings was optimistic. 

“It suggests a potentially simple and accessible way to support brain health, as maintaining adequate vitamin C levels may help preserve connectivity in key brain regions, including the default mode network,” he explained. “This network plays an important role in functions such as short-term memory, introspection, and self-referential thinking.” 

“It is important to continue scientifically evaluating how brain function changes with aging and how vitamin levels influence these processes,” he continued.

“As we get older, absorption may decline, and diets may become deficient in key nutrients, so understanding the underlying mechanisms and their impact is critical. This also highlights the potential for relatively simple interventions, such as optimizing vitamin levels, as a preventive strategy to help maintain cognitive health or slow cognitive decline,” said Gliebus.

Study results need to be interpreted carefully

MNT also spoke with Dung Trinh, MD, an internist at MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of the Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, CA, who was also not involved in this study. 

Trinh said he found this to be an interesting and encouraging study, but one that needs to be interpreted carefully. 

“Many older adults are understandably concerned about memory, cognition, and maintaining independence as they age, so research that connects everyday health factors — like nutrition — with brain structure is important,” he explained.

“This study found an association between higher plasma vitamin C levels and MRI markers of brain health, including gray matter volume and connectivity in the default mode network, which is involved in several cognitive functions. That said, the study does not prove that vitamin C prevents cognitive decline or that taking supplements will improve brain health. It is best viewed as a signal that vitamin C status may be one piece of a much larger brain-health picture.”

– Dung Trinh, MD

Trinh suggested the next step in this research be longitudinal studies that follow people over time to see whether vitamin C levels predict changes in brain volume, brain network connectivity, or cognitive performance. 

“It would also be useful to have repeated vitamin C measurements, more detailed dietary data, and better accounting for factors such as body mass index, socioeconomic status, and overall diet quality,” he detailed. “Ultimately, randomized clinical trials would be needed to determine whether improving vitamin C status can actually change brain outcomes.”

“I would also like to see this research replicated in more diverse populations, since this study focused on older Japanese adults,” Trinh continued.

“For patients, the practical takeaway is not to rush to high-dose supplements, but to maintain a healthy dietary pattern that includes vitamin C-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, along with other proven brain-health habits,” he advised.

• About 12% of American adults are currently taking a GLP-1 medication for weight loss or type 2 diabetes treatment. 
• Until recently, most GLP-1 medications were self injectable, which can be a potential problem for the 30% of adults who have a fear of injections. 
• A new study has found the new oral pill GLP-1 medication elecoglipron may help to significantly reduce blood sugar levels and body weight in people with type 2 diabetes. 

Recent polls show that about 12% of American adults are currently taking a glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) medication for weight loss or type 2 diabetes treatment.  

Until recently, these medications like Ozempic and Zepbound, were administered only by self-injection. 

However, for the about 30% of adults who have trypanophobia — or a fear of injections — the need to self-inject these medications may keep them from using them. 

Researchers are now developing pill forms of GLP-1s to help reach those who have injection phobia. In December 2025, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an oral pill form of Wegovy for weight loss, and in April 2026 approved the once-daily oral GLP-1 drug Foundayo (orforglipron) also for weight loss.

Now, a new study presented at the American Diabetes Association’s Scientific Session 2026 and published in the journal The Lancet has found the new oral pill GLP-1 medication elecoglipron may help to significantly reduce blood sugar levels and body weight in people with type 2 diabetes. 

Elecoglipron leads to lower HbA1c, weight loss

This study presented findings from a phase 2b randomized clinical trial called SOLSTICE to test the new oral GLP-1 medication elecoglipron.

“Elecoglipron is an oral small molecule GLP-1 RA (receptor agonist),” Vanita Aroda, MD, director of Diabetes Clinical Research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and lead author of this study, told Medical News Today.

“It works through its GLP-1 effects to decrease glucose. It is an oral GLP-1, which means it can be taken orally rather than as an injection,” Aroda explained.

At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that in all dosages, participants taking elecoglipron experienced a decrease in their glucose levels significantly more than those taking the placebo after 26 weeks. Additionally, these participants achieve an HbA1c level of 7%.

“This is clinically meaningful as we know that we can reduce the risk of diabetes related completions through achievement and maintenance of glycemic targets, with the target of less than 7% as the generally accepted standard,” Aroda said. 

Additionally, scientists discovered that up to 72.3% of participants in the treatment group lower their weight by at least 5%. 

“GLP-1 RAs are known to help decrease body weight, in part due to decrease in appetite,” Aroda told us. “Persons with type 2 diabetes tend to also have some degree of increased body weight or obesity and we know that achieving at least 5% body weight helps to improve glucose and cardiometabolic risk factors.”

Importance of oral option for those with injection phobia

MNT spoke with Jennifer Cheng, DO, chief of endocrinology at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey — who was not involved in this study — who commented it is important to find new options for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and give patients the choice of administering either via subcutaneous injections or just a daily pill. 

“There are certain patients who are wary or afraid of injections, and this would be another way of getting the beneficial medication to patients,” Cheng explained. “More research should be done to monitor side effects and see if it also has the benefits of other GLP-1 medications, such as preventing cardiac events, protecting kidneys, and treating sleep apnea.” 

Mir Ali, MD, bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, agreed. 

“Having an oral version has some benefits in that it’s easier to transport for most people,” Ali, who was likewise not involved in this research, explained. “Especially if they don’t like taking injections, it’s easier to administer and take. And technically it should be cheaper to manufacture pills compared to injections.”

Finally, Amy Sheer, MD, MPH, DABOM, associate professor of medicine and program director of the Obesity Medicine Fellowship at the University of Florida — also not involved in this research — told MNT that more competition is a good thing in the world of GLP-1s, hopefully driving down the cost and adding to the overall safety profile of GLP1 drugs. 

“Expanding oral GLP-1 options could help many patients access effective treatment who might otherwise never start therapy because they don’t want injections. Ultimately, our goal is not to find one medication that works for everyone. Our goal is to give patients multiple evidence-based options so they can choose the treatment that best fits their lifestyle, preferences, health needs, and price point to make long-term use a viable option.” 

– Amy Sheer, MD, MPH, DABOM

What’s needed for elecoglipron next research steps

MNT also spoke with George W. Carroll, MD, co-founder and chief medical director of GLPrelief, and founder of BeSlimMD in Maitland, FL, who said that many times the what makes people stop taking GLP-1 drugs once they start is not the needle — it’s how the medication makes them feel, and what it costs. 

“Those are the real drivers,”  Carroll, also not involved in this study, explained. “So the case for oral options isn’t that injections are bad — its optionality. Every barrier you remove — the needle for one patient, the empty-stomach requirement for another — keeps one more person on a therapy that works. A medicine only helps if the patient actually takes it.”

When looking at the next research steps for elecoglipron, Carroll said he would like to see a phase 3 clinical trial involving thousands of patients over a year or more, to see where the blood-sugar and weight effects actually land and hold. 

“Second — and a 26-week phase 2 study isn’t built to answer this — cardiovascular and kidney outcomes,” he continued. “For type 2 diabetes, the modern bar isn’t just ‘does it lower the number,’ it’s ‘does it prevent heart attacks, strokes, and kidney decline.’ The injectable GLP-1s earned their place by proving that in dedicated outcomes trials, and this drug will have to as well.”

Further research, Carroll said, should also smartly test different starting doses and escalation speeds and how they impact potential side effects, and a rigorous head-to-head comparison against what oral GLP-1 options are already available. 

“And then the unglamorous decider: What will it cost, and will insurers cover it?” he added. “None of that is a criticism of the study — it’s the homework that comes next.”

• Data provided by America’s Poison Centers indicates that there was a 38.7% increase in vitamin A overdoses between January and March 2025.
• This period coincides with the measles outbreak in 2025 affecting people in 45 jurisdictions of the United States.
• A new public health research letter published in JAMA Network Open hypothesizes that the exposure to vitamin A is most likely due to the spread of misinformation regarding the role of this dietary supplement in the prevention and treatment of measles.
• The letter warns of the dangers of misinformation spread by sources widely trusted by the U.S. public.
• Medical News Today spoke to a family medicine physician and a dietitian to disentangle fact from fiction regarding the best sources of vitamin A, how much of it is too much, and whether it can really help prevent or treat measles.

According to America’s Poison Centers, between January 1 and March 31, 2025, there were 86 cases of “vitamin A exposures,” referring to overdoses of vitamin A, among children.

This, they note, represents “a 38.7% increase compared to the same period in 2024.” The figures are striking, particularly in relation to a dietary supplement that generally ought to be harmless.

So what happened? A team of researchers from Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts, Harvard Medical School, the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Department of Public Health at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, have a hypothesis.

In a public health research letter recently published in JAMA Network Open, they draw a link between the abrupt year-on-year hike in vitamin A exposures and the measles — a viral disease — outbreak in 2025, which corresponds to the period during which America’s Poison Centers recorded the increase in cases.

In 2025, there was a total of 2,288 officially recorded measles cases, of which 93% occurred among children and adults who were either unvaccinated with the MMR vaccine, or whose vaccination status remained unrecorded. The outbreak affected people in 45 jurisdictions of the United States.

The research letter authors link the increase in vitamin A exposures to the rise at that time in misinformation regarding the role that vitamin A might play in the prevention and treatment of measles.

Hike in vitamin A exposures: What happened in 2025?

In their research letter, the investigators argue that media claims from prominent public figures in office, claiming that vitamin A could help treat measles, were one likely catalyst for people to start over-administering it to their children.

Another catalyst, they suggest, were comments shared on a popular podcast, where famous figures likewise promoted vitamin A and cod liver oil as natural remedies for measles.

To support their argument, the investigators looked at internet search trends for the terms “vitamin A measles” and “cod liver measles” between January and June 2025 by using Google Search Trends.

This revealed that searches for “vitamin A” in relation to measles had risen by 7.5 percentage points compared to the expected average for those search terms, and that searches for “cod liver oil” had risen by 1.3 percentage points.

The increase in search volume further coincided with an observed increase in press coverage and social media posts on related topics.

Why is the messaging around vitamin A and measles misinformation?

The research letter places the emphasis on the dangers of spreading misinformation, but why exactly do the claims that vitamin A can help prevent or treat measles count as misinformation?

After all, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that “children who are malnourished, especially those without enough vitamin A or with a weak immune system from HIV or other diseases,” are at a higher risk of severe complications from measles, suggesting that in such cases, vitamin A supplementation may offer clear benefits.

To clarify, Medical News Today spoke to two experts: David Cutler, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, and Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, a preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.

Cutler explained that, once a person becomes infected with the measles virus, “there is no effective cure.”

“Treatment for someone with measles is simply supportive: maintaining adequate hydration, good nutrition and control of fever,” he told us. As for vitamin A, “it is essential for vision, immune function, skin integrity, and reproduction,” he noted.

“Supplementation can be helpful in specific situations, but excessive intake carries real risks because vitamin A is fat-soluble and can accumulate in the body. If your vitamin A levels are adequate, there is no benefit to supplementation, only risk,” the family physician stressed.

The only individuals who would see some benefits from taking vitamin A supplements, Cutler explained, are those with a vitamin A deficiency.

Routhenstein emphasized the same message, in no uncertain terms:

“Vitamin A does not prevent measles. In certain cases, specifically when a child is vitamin A deficient, the doctor may prescribe it in a child who already has measles to help reduce the severity of the illness and lower the risk of complications. However, it does not prevent someone from getting measles in the first place.”

In brief, vitamin A supplementation may help prevent complications in children with measles who already have a confirmed vitamin A deficiency. However, this dietary supplement cannot prevent infection with the measles virus, nor does it help treat measles once the infection has occurred.

How much vitamin A is too much?

“Vitamin A is a fat‑soluble vitamin — meaning the body stores it — and excess, especially from supplements, can build up and cause toxicity affecting the liver, bones, skin, and nervous system,” Routhenstein explained.

“For adults, ‘too much’ generally means routinely exceeding about 3,000 mcg RAE [micrograms Retinol Activity Equivalents], which is about 10,000 IU [International Units] per day of preformed vitamin A,” she advised.

“Some measles‑related misinformation promoted doses many times higher than this, in the 25,000-100,000 IU range, exceeding this regular threshold by 2.5 to 10-fold,” cautioned Routhenstein.

The recommended dose of vitamin A for adult males aged 19–50 years is of 900 mcg RAE, and for adult females in this age range who are not pregnant — of 700 mcg RAE.

Children aged 1–3 years should take no more than 300 mcg RAE if needed, children aged 4–8 years no more than 400, and those aged 9–13 years no more than 600. Recommendations vary by age.

What are the best sources of vitamin A?

“Vitamin A is found naturally in animal foods as preformed vitamin A (retinol) and in plant-based foods as provitamin A carotenoids,” Routhenstein told us.

As for the best sources, these all come from following a healthy, diverse diet rich in fresh, whole foods, she said:

“Vitamin A is found in liver, eggs, dark leafy greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, mango, and cantaloupe. For most people, focusing on colorful fruits and vegetables is the safest way to meet vitamin A needs without approaching toxic levels.”

“I would pair […] plant-based foods with a source of healthy fat for optimal absorption since vitamin A is fat soluble and needs fat to be absorbed by the body,” the dietitian advised.

Ending on a cautionary note, Cutler also emphasized the importance of obtaining vitamin A through a healthy diet. While it “is an essential vitamin, and supplements may be beneficial in situations where there is a deficiency or a specific medical need, the potential risks must be weighed against any potential benefits,” he reiterated.

“In general, people should meet their vitamin A requirements through a varied, healthy diet and consider supplementation only under qualified medical supervision,” the family doctor concluded.

• A new case study describes the reversal of symptoms in a woman with advanced Alzheimer’s disease after taking magic mushrooms. 
• The findings hint that psilocybin may temporarily relieve symptoms, at least for some people.
• However, experts call for caution and larger studies. This is not an open-and-shut case, and the paper only outlines one patient’s story.

A case study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience is making big waves in the dementia research community. 

The story involves an 80-year-old woman with advanced dementia who experienced significant improvements in symptoms following a large dose of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms.

The trouble with dementia treatments

Despite decades of intense research, treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, are disappointing. The most successful interventions can only treat symptoms and moderately slow progression.

Many of the drugs that have been trialled focus on reducing or removing the misfolded proteins that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s. 

Yet this approach has been broadly ineffective, so researchers have begun casting their nets wider. Psychedelics, with their newfound popularity, are just one port of call.

An incredible story of temporary recovery

The current case report focuses on a woman in her 80s who had received a dementia diagnosis 10 years prior. At the beginning of the recent intervention, her condition was quite advanced. 

She was incontinent, could only speak in single syllables, and could not dress herself. Walking and eating both required assistance, and she was emotionally unresponsive. 

With the consent of her legal guardians, the woman was enrolled in a psilocybin trial in Brazil.

At the first session, she received 5 grams (g) of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. This is not a small dose. When taken recreationally, 1–2 g is enough to experience a strong psychoactive response commonly referred to as a “trip.”

Shortly after receiving the dose, the patient appeared to be overheating. She also entered a prolonged sleep-like state.

Then, as the report authors write, “[a]pproximately 19 [hours] after administration, the patient spontaneously initiated autobiographical conversation lasting several hours.”

In the following weeks, the patient stopped being incontinent — even during the night — could move more easily, and became much better at social interactions. Just days after the psylocibin intervention, she could walk unaided and dress herself. 

The benefits of this intervention persisted, so the researchers decided to continue the treatment.

One month after the initial intervention, the woman received a second, slightly smaller dose of “just” 3 g. During this session, she was verbally expressive throughout and “described emotionally positive imagery involving surfing with her son on a peaceful island.” 

The authors also note that she used more facial expressions and humor, and demonstrated “emotional reciprocity.” She was also markedly better at walking unaided. 

Ethical considerations

Trialing a psychedelic dose on an older adult with significant health problems seems, on the surface, to pose various ethical problems.

Medical News Today spoke with Dustin Hines, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who was not involved in this research, about the implications of such an endeavor.

We asked Hines how the researchers were able to get ethical sign-off.

“There is already a substantial safety record for high-dose psilocybin in clinical research,” he explained. “Much of that foundation comes from the seminal work of Roland Griffiths, whose studies in patients with advanced, life-threatening cancer helped launch the modern psychedelic research renaissance.”

“In those trials,” Hines continued, “many participants were nearing the end of life and unlikely to survive their illness, so ethics boards weighed the potential to relieve profound psychological suffering against the relatively low risk of a carefully supervised psilocybin session.”

“That work helped establish the precedent for later studies using similar doses,” he told us.

However, the ethics statement given in the study paper provides little reassurance. “Ethical approval was not required for this single case report conducted in routine private clinical practice, in accordance with local legislation and institutional requirements,” it reads.

Excitement and limitations

This case study reads like a modern-day miracle, but we must temper that excitement for now. There are significant limitations. Firstly, this is just a case study, so there is no guarantee that the same effect would be seen in other patients.

Secondly, the participant’s condition had not been verified by scientists. Although her symptoms and disease course make it highly likely that she was experiencing Alzheimer’s disease, the authors did not confirm the diagnosis with scans.

Thirdly, the symptoms of dementia can ebb and flow, so it is possible that her condition just happened to improve at the very time she took the magic mushrooms.

When we asked Hines whether he was surprised by the results, and he said “yes and no.” According to him:

“The story is remarkable because the patient reportedly had advanced Alzheimer’s with years of severe impairment, then showed transient gains. That is extraordinary. However, as a neuroscientist who studies serotonin 5-HT2A signaling, I am not surprised that a powerful serotonergic psychedelic could acutely reorganize brain network activity and temporarily reveal capacities that seemed lost.”

Finally, he emphasized that: “The key word is ‘temporarily.’ This is a single case report, not proof of Alzheimer’s reversal.”

How might psilocybin help with brain health?

Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in psychedelic therapy, particularly for the treatment of depression. 

Although very little research has been conducted on psilocybin and dementia, specifically, there are theoretical reasons why it might work. 

Psilocybin, once consumed, is rapidly converted into psilocin. This molecule works at a type of serotonin receptor called 5-HT2A. Modulating this receptor: 

• improves neural plasticity, making the brain more adaptable — studies show that people with Alzheimer’s have reduced numbers of synapses, so improving plasticity might help the brain build new communication pathways
• diminishes inflammation, which is a factor in dementia and other brain conditions
• improves cognitive functions such as creativity and cognitive flexibility.

Also, previous research has shown that 5-HT2A receptors decline in density in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Hypothesizing on the potential mechanisms at play, Hines told us that: “In Alzheimer’s, some neural circuits may be impaired but not completely destroyed. Psilocybin may transiently increase network flexibility enough for residual circuits involved in memory, emotion, movement, continence, and social behavior to come back online.”

However, he also emphasized that, at this stage, this remains a hypothesis, “not established fact.”

MNT also spoke to Tim Spector, OBE, FMedSci, a professor of epidemiology at King’s College London in the United Kingdom.

Spector was not involved in this study but his own research has increasingly focused on links between gut health and brain health.

He offered up another potential mechanism by which magic mushrooms might, theoretically, improve Alzheimer’s symptoms.

“The ‘trippy’ effects of psilocybin are partly due to its influence on the brain’s default mode network (DMN),” he told us.

This network is “turned on” when our brain is at rest and plays a role in self-focused thinking, autobiographical memory, and mind-wandering.

Specifically, psilocybin reduces connectivity within the DMN and increases connectivity between the DMN and other brain regions. Interestingly, these changes can persist long after the trip has finished.

“Although this is entirely hypothetical, we also know that the DMN is altered in people with Alzheimer’s, so ‘rebooting’ it might, theoretically, play some part in relieving symptoms,” Spector suggested.

What does it all mean?

At this stage, research into the possibility that magic mushrooms might help treat dementia is in its infancy. There is no definitive research, and the possible mechanisms, while encouraging, are not backed by evidence.

In general, psilocybin treatment, when conducted by experts, appears to be safe and carries few significant adverse events, so there is reason to be hopeful.

However, only time will tell. In the meantime, Hines has a strong message for anyone considering trying this at home:

“Do not try this at home on yourself or a loved one with dementia. This case involved a very high mushroom dose in a medically fragile older adult, with suspected hyperthermia, sweating, autonomic activation, and prolonged altered consciousness.”

“Older adults with dementia,” he continued, “are at higher risk for falls, aspiration, delirium, panic, cardiovascular complications, medication interactions, and inability to consent.”

• In a trial of adults living with HIV, participants receiving semaglutide showed slower progression of several epigenetic markers associated with biological aging compared with those receiving placebo.
• Researchers found a 9% reduction in biological aging speed using the DunedinPACE epigenetic clock, alongside improvements in markers linked to mortality risk and age-related disease.
• The improvements were observed in aging-related measures associated with the blood, brain, heart, liver, kidneys, and metabolic health, suggesting potentially broad systemic effects.
• While semaglutide is not proven to extend lifespan or reverse aging, the study provides early clinical evidence that GLP-1 receptor agonists may influence biological pathways involved in aging and age-related diseases.

People living with HIV may experience accelerated biological aging compared with people without HIV. Even when HIV is well controlled with antiretroviral therapy, ongoing inflammation and immune system activation can contribute to earlier development of age-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and frailty.

Those living with HIV may also experience lipohypertrophy, which is the accumulation of fat in certain areas of the body. It is thought to result from a combination of HIV infection, chronic inflammation, and some antiretroviral treatments.

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy. This medication can lead to significant weight loss, particularly by reducing body fat.

Originally investigating whether semaglutide could reduce excess fat in those with HIV-associated lipohypertrophy, a post hoc analysis suggests that the GLP-1 drug may not only reduce fat accumulation but may also slow biological aging.

The new study, published in Nature Communications, found that adults living with HIV who received semaglutide showed slower progression of several molecular markers linked to biological aging compared with those who received a placebo.

However, researchers caution that the findings do not mean the drug reverses aging, but could influence pathways involved in age-related disease.

What did the study find?

A collaborative research team analyzed data from a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 84 adults with HIV-associated lipohypertrophy. Participants received either weekly semaglutide injections or placebo injections for 32 weeks.

As people living with HIV often experience accelerated biological aging, the researchers suggest this population is particularly useful for studying interventions that target age-related mechanisms and may provide insights that extend beyond this specific group.

To assess biological aging, researchers used several epigenetic clocks. These are tools that estimate biological age by measuring DNA methylation patterns, which are chemical modifications that affect gene activity without altering the genetic code itself.

Compared with participants who received a placebo, those treated with semaglutide showed slower biological aging in inflammation, brain, and heart measures.

Additionally, those taking semaglutide also showed a 9% reduction in the pace of biological aging, as measured by the DunedinPACE clock, and significant improvements in markers linked to all-cause mortality risk and age-related disease, as measured by the PCGrimAge clock.

First study author Michael Corley, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology & Palliative Care at UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Stein Institute for Research on Aging, spoke to Medical News Today about the study findings.

“The message I’d emphasize is one of cautious optimism: we are not saying semaglutide reverses aging or makes anyone younger. What we are seeing is a signal that it may slow some of the biology underlying age-related disease, and that signal now deserves to be tested directly in larger trials,” Corley told us.

“The key point is that this is the first randomized, placebo-controlled clinical evidence that a GLP-1 receptor agonist may slow the biological processes associated with aging in humans.”

– Michael Corley, PhD

“Using multiple epigenetic clocks, we saw a broad pattern of slower biological aging in participants treated with semaglutide compared with placebo, including a 9% slowing in the pace of aging measured by DunedinPACE and a significant effect on PCGrimAge, which tracks processes linked to all-cause mortality and age-related disease,” the researcher detailed.

Why might semaglutide affect aging?

GLP-1 drugs, such as semaglutide, are often prescribed for managing obesity and type 2 diabetes, and are known to lower blood sugar, reduce body weight, and decrease cardiovascular risk.

The researchers suggest that several mechanisms could potentially explain the apparent anti-aging effects of GLP-1 drugs.

“What stood out to me was less the size of any single effect than the consistency of the pattern across clocks tied to different organ systems including inflammation, blood, brain, heart, kidney, liver and metabolic health,” Corley told MNT.

“Because people with HIV often experience accelerated aging even when the virus is well controlled, this was a population where we might expect a metabolic intervention to register a measurable signal, so the direction was plausible. The breadth of the response across so many independent measures was the more striking part,” he noted.

One possibility lies in the anti-inflammatory properties of semaglutide, which can reduce chronic inflammation and metabolic stress. Both of these factors are considered major drivers of biological aging.

GLP-1 drugs also reduce visceral fat, the metabolically active fat that accumulates around internal organs and contributes to inflammation.

Emerging evidence also suggests GLP-1 drugs may influence cellular function in multiple organs, potentially producing widespread effects on aging-related biological pathways.

“[reductions in inflammation or visceral fat] are very likely two of the potential central drivers,” Corley explained to MNT. “By reducing inflammation and metabolic stress, GLP-1 drugs lower chronic immune activation, which is a primary contributor to accelerated aging in people with HIV.”

“They also reduce the visceral and ectopic fat that accumulates around the abdomen and organs, which may quiet the inflammatory and metabolic signals that promote aging,” he added.

“Emerging data also suggest these drugs may reprogram certain cells across different organs, and that could help explain why we see effects across multiple aging clocks rather than in just one system,” Corley told us.

Additional evidence from a second study

The findings build on a separate pilot study published in npj Aging, which examined semaglutide treatment in people living with HIV who also had metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease(MASLD), previously known as fatty liver disease.

In that study, researchers found that semaglutide reduced the pace of biological aging in 42% of participants, slowed aging-related mortality risk markers in 34% of participants, and increased telomere-length markers in nearly half of participants, alongside improvements in physical function.

Although the pilot study was smaller, its results point in a similar direction, suggesting that GLP-1 therapies may affect biological aging pathways.

However, while the results of both studies are promising, the researchers stress that the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

As the studies focused specifically on adults living with HIV, the results may not automatically apply to broader populations. In addition, researchers measured biological aging using molecular biomarkers rather than direct clinical outcomes such as lifespan or rates of age-related disease.

Thus, larger and longer-term clinical trials will be necessary to determine whether the observed changes translate into meaningful health benefits and whether similar effects occur in people without HIV.

While more research is needed before considering semaglutide as an anti-aging therapy, these findings raise the possibility that GLP-1 medications could one day play a role in strategies designed to extend healthspan.

• Drinking two alcoholic beverages per day may carry greater health risks than many people realize.
• The Alcohol Intake and Health Study, which was initially supposed to help shape the 2025-2030 United States Dietary Guidelines, examined how drinking alcohol affects long-term health.
• The analysis found that consuming an average of two alcoholic drinks per day, or 14 per week, was associated with an increased risk of alcohol-related health problems and death.
• They discovered that this level of consumption increased alcohol-related mortality risk to 1 in 25. 

For decades, research on alcohol focused primarily on the dangers associated with heavy drinking. More recently, however, scientists have begun evaluating whether even low or moderate levels of alcohol consumption may affect long-term health.

A new study suggests that alcohol-related health risks increase steadily as consumption rises and that alcohol does not appear to provide an overall health benefit at any level of drinking.

The study is published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

A shifting perspective on alcohol consumption

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration survey, alcohol is the most commonly consumed substance in the U.S., and in 2024, 134.3 million people ages 12 and older reported drinking over the past month.

The previous dietary guidelines for Americans recommended that adults who consume alcohol should do so in moderation, which was up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. 

The current dietary guidelines state that drinking less is better for health, but they do not provide any specifics for what amount of alcohol is considered low-risk. 

Recent research suggests that no amount of alcohol is completely risk-free. The new study aimed to better understand how those risks change as alcohol intake increases.

The researchers conducted an extensive review of scientific literature, and out of more than 7,000 pieces, they selected 16 studies to use in their analysis. 

The team examined diseases related to alcohol consumption, including multiple types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and liver disease. 

They next combined data on alcohol-related health risks with national health statistics to come up with the mortality risk associated with different levels of drinking.

A sharp increase in mortality risk with more drinks a week

After examining the data, the researchers identified a pattern between weekly alcoholic drink consumption and mortality risk.

The analysis showed that the risk of alcohol-attributable death increased as weekly alcohol consumption rose.

They found that consuming around seven drinks per week was associated with a lifetime risk of alcohol-attributable death of at least 1 in 1,000. The risk sharply increased once alcohol consumption exceeded seven drinks per week.

That mortality risk rose to approximately 1 in 100 when weekly consumption exceeded about 8.5 drinks. 

At 14 drinks per week, the estimated risk of an alcohol-attributable death reached 1 in 25. 

The analysis also found elevated risks across multiple health conditions. Even around one drink per day was linked to a higher risk of death due to cirrhosis, esophageal cancer, and oral cancer.

Women also experienced higher rates of breast cancer as weekly drinks increased. 

The study authors also touched on prior research into alcohol use and ischemic heart disease and stroke. They noted that prior studies suggested that moderate alcohol use may provide protection against them. 

However, their current analysis found that any potential cardiovascular benefits were offset by increases in alcohol-related diseases and injuries.

The researchers emphasized that their findings apply to the general population and do not represent someone’s personal health outcome. They hope the findings help people to make better-informed decisions about alcohol consumption, but noted that genetics and other personal risk factors could affect risk. 

Any amount of alcohol may cause harm to health

Ketan Thanki, MD, a board-certified colorectal surgeon who specializes in benign and malignant disease of the colon, rectum, and anus with the MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute, told Medical News Today that he did not find the study findings surprising. 

“Alcohol’s harmful effects on the body are well established,” Thanki said.

He said alcohol can contribute to disease through multiple biological pathways. When the body breaks down alcohol, it produces compounds such as acetaldehyde and free radicals, which can damage DNA and increase the likelihood of mutations linked to cancer.

Thanki explained that alcohol has been linked to multiple cancers, including liver and breast cancer. Additionally, it can disrupt liver function, alter hormone levels, and impair the immune system, all of which may contribute to disease development.

“Keeping consumption low and infrequent, when possible, is a practical way to support long-term health,” Thanki advised.

Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at Saddleback Medical Center, said the study aligns with growing evidence that alcohol may not provide the cardiovascular benefits once thought.

“For a long time, we thought that a moderate amount of wine drinking might be beneficial. Many studies, including this most recent one, have since shown that any amount of alcohol, including red wine, can cause harm.”
— Cheng-Han Chen, MD

Chen noted that alcohol use has been associated with multiple cardiovascular issues and increases the risk of several cancers and liver disease. 

“I will still be advising my patients to drink as little as possible, and preferably not at all,” Chen shared.

• Both high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease are common complications of diabetes.
• If blood pressure is well controlled, this can help slow the progression of diabetic kidney disease.
• Several medications are used to control blood pressure, among them dihydropyridine calcium-channel-blockers (DCCBs).
• However, a new study suggests that this blood pressure treatment could speed up the progression of diabetic kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes.

People with type 2 diabetes often also have hypertension (high blood pressure), which increases their risk of developing chronic kidney disease and kidney failure.

However, controlling blood pressure is effective in slowing the progression of kidney disease, as well as reducing the risk of cardiovascular events.

Dihydropyridine calcium-channel-blockers (DCCBs) are widely used as an extra therapy to treat hypertension in people with type 2 diabetes, alongside renin–angiotensin system inhibitors(RASi) and sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i).

Now, a study presented at the 63rd European Renal Association Congress in Glasgow, United Kingdom, suggests that DCCBs could be associated with poorer kidney outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes.

The research found that DCCB use was associated with a 33% higher risk of major adverse kidney events, when compared with other hypertension treatments used with people with type 2 diabetes.

These findings are yet to appear in a peer-reviewed journal.

The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) told Medical News Today: 

“Treatment of hypertension is crucial in the management of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Whilst treatment of hypertension with drugs that block the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is of proven benefit in reducing progression of DKD, many patients require additional antihypertensive agents to achieve blood pressure targets. Dihydropyridine Calcium Channel Blockers (DCCB) are often used second or third line in many patients with DKD.” 

“This data suggests that DCCBs may be associated [with] a more rapid progression of kidney disease in such patients. This is, of course, important and concerning. There may, however, be many confounders, and the findings need to be replicated in larger cohorts, ideally prospectively, before guidelines should be significantly changed,” they added.

High blood pressure and diabetic kidney disease

Diabetic kidney disease develops when persistently high blood glucose, which results from poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, damages small blood vessels in the kidneys, meaning that they cannot filter waste products from the blood effectively.

If people also have high blood pressure, this accelerates the condition, damaging the kidneys further.

People with type 2 diabetes are commonly treated with 2 medications to control blood pressure and help the functioning of the kidneys.

RASi are the first-line treatment for hypertension, and SGLT2i lower blood glucose and protect both the cardiovascular system and kidneys.

However, these two treatments are often not enough to control blood pressure, so clinicians prescribe additional blood pressure treatments, such as the widely used DCCBs. 

Although DCCBs are highly effective in controlling blood pressure, this new study suggests that they may actually increase risk of diabetic kidney disease progression.

Benaya Rozen-Zvi, MD, principal investigator of this research and Director of the Nephrology Department at Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, and Clinical Associate Professor, Tel Aviv University, Israel, told us that:

“These results are of significant clinical importance, given that more than 80% of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) also suffer from hypertension. Selecting the appropriate antihypertensive treatment is critical, as it can directly influence the rate of kidney disease progression.”

Possible increase in kidney disease risk

In this study, researchers analysed data from 31,041 adults with type 2 diabetes between 2016 and 2021. All patients were being treated with RASi and SGLT2i to control their blood pressure and blood glucose levels, plus another medication for blood pressure control.

Of the group, 11,841 (38.1%) were also receiving DCCB, and 19,200 (61.9%) a non-DCCB anti-hypertensive therapy. During a median follow up of 3.5 years, 482 patients experienced a major adverse kidney event, and 2,066 patients died.

Rozen-Zvi explained that most of these deaths were not due to kidney disease: “Because mortality in this population is primarily driven by cardiovascular disease or infections, the number of deaths directly attributed to kidney disease itself is low. However, it is important to note that the risk of cardiovascular mortality is increased several-fold in diabetic patients who have concurrent kidney disease.”

A 2022 study comparing almost 10,000 patients with type 2 diabetes who took DCCBs to almost 10,000 non-DCCB users suggested that DCCBs could decrease the risk of advanced chronic kidney disease, or end stage renal disease.

However, this latest study found that those on DCCBs had a higher risk of their kidney disease progressing to a major adverse kidney event than those taking other blood pressure medications.

Timna Agur, lead author of the study, Nephrology Department at Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, and Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University noted in a press release that the “findings raise important questions about whether these medications are always the best option for patients already receiving modern kidney-protective therapies.”

Further research needed to verify findings

ABCD cautioned that several unknowns still remain, and the findings of the study require rigorous replication and verification. Speaking to MNT, they said that “residual confounding cannot be controlled for, and indication bias may [still] be present.”

Rozen-Zvi also told us that, as this was an observational study, the authors could not make definitive clinical recommendations about whether DCCBs should be used for patients with type 2 diabetes.

He advised that “patients on these combined therapies should consult their treating physicians to determine the most optimal blood pressure management strategy for their specific case.”

The team is currently planning further studies to evaluate this research question within a non-diabetic population.

How can people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood pressure?

Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, which is twice as common in those with type 2 diabetes as in people without the condition, are risk factors for coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, renal failure and congestive heart failure, so both need to be treated effectively to reduce the risks of these complications.

The first step in lowering blood pressure is lifestyle changes — weight loss, a high potassium and low sodium diet, such as the DASH diet, moderating alcohol intake and increasing physical activity. 

However, if lifestyle changes are insufficient to attain healthy blood pressure, clinicians have a range of treatments at their disposal.

Rozen-Zvi said that thiazide diuretics were an alternative to DCCB that could be used alongside RASi and SGLT2i, telling MNT they are “safe and effective options that can be used in combination with these therapies. However, they sometimes require careful monitoring of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and serum electrolytes following the initiation of treatment.”

As with all medications, he stressed that patients should only change their treatment following advice from their physician.

• Research suggests that phytic acid, a natural compound present in plant-based foods such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier.
• The preclinical mouse study suggests that phytic acid activates a protein that helps regulate genes involved in protecting the gut lining and prevents ‘leaky gut.’
• When this protein activity is impaired, the intestinal barrier becomes more susceptible to damage and inflammation, suggesting this pathway is essential for gut health.
• The findings identify a potential therapeutic target for conditions affecting the intestinal barrier, such as inflammatory bowel disease. However, further research is still necessary.

The intestinal lining acts as a barrier between the gut contents and the rest of the body. Typically, this barrier selectively allows nutrients to pass into the bloodstream while preventing potentially harmful substances, such as bacteria and toxins, from escaping the intestine.

When this barrier becomes compromised, harmful molecules can enter the bloodstream, potentially triggering immune responses and inflammation.

This process, often described informally as leaky gut syndrome, is associated with various digestive disorders, such as Celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Although the importance of maintaining intestinal barrier integrity has long been recognized, the exact mechanisms involved have remained incompletely understood.

Now, research suggests that a naturally occurring compound found in many plant-based foods could play an important role in maintaining the gut’s protective barrier.

The research, published in Nature Communications, reports that phytic acid, commonly found in whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds, appears to help preserve intestinal barrier function through a key cellular pathway. The findings could eventually lead to new approaches for treating conditions associated with intestinal permeability.

Phytic acid activates a key protective pathway

In the study, investigators examined the role of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3). This protein helps regulate genes involved in maintaining the structure and function of the intestinal lining.

The researchers found that phytic acid, also known as InsP6 or phytate, directly activates HDAC3.

“HDAC3 has long been linked to health and disease, but this work is among the first to show in detail how it preserves intestinal barrier function,” study author Prasun Guha, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), told Medical News Today.

According to the study authors, phytic acid appears to be necessary for optimal HDAC3 function, helping preserve the gut’s protective defenses. When HDAC3 functions correctly, it helps suppress genes that can contribute to intestinal barrier breakdown and inflammation.

“In our study, we found that InsP6 (phytic acid), a very small molecule of about 10 angstroms in size, binds to the large HDAC3 and corepressor complex and is essential for turning on its deacetylase activity,” Guha explained. “This activity allows HDAC3 to repress genes that would otherwise be continuously expressed and disrupt cell-cell junctions, leading to leaky gut.”

“By acting as a metabolic cofactor InsP6 directly links cell metabolism to epigenetic control of gut barrier genes. Because InsP6 is water-soluble and orally deliverable, our animal data suggest a realistic path toward restoring lost HDAC3-mediated protection without genetic manipulation, and given HDAC3’s roles in other tissues, this InsP6-dependent regulation may have broader relevance that future studies will need to explore,” he detailed.

Potential implications for inflammatory bowel disease

Impaired intestinal barrier function, or “leaky gut,” likely relates to a variety of gastrointestinal, metabolic, and autoimmune conditions. Thus, these study findings may have important clinical implications.

The researchers in UNLV’s Guha Lab suggest the result may not only identify a mechanism that contributes to gut barrier breakdown, but also indicates that the process may be reversible.

If confirmed in future human studies, therapies aiming to enhance HDAC3 activity, or deliver phytic acid-derived treatments could offer a new strategy for restoring intestinal health.

“Our animal study suggests that targeting this pathway could help conditions like IBD by not only reducing intestinal permeability but also limiting colitis-associated inflammation,” Guha told MNT.

“That said, these findings are still preclinical, so the next step is to determine the minimum effective dose in animal models and then assess safety and efficacy in clinical trials before considering patient use,” he added.

Diet alone may not be enough

The research highlights a potentially broader connection between nutrition and disease prevention. However, while phytic acid is already present in many commonly consumed foods, the researchers caution that simply increasing dietary intake may not necessarily produce therapeutic effects.

For example, various factors such as absorption, metabolism, disease severity, and individual differences could influence how effectively phytic acid works in the body. As a result, future treatments may require targeted supplements or specially formulated medications rather than dietary changes alone.

“Phytic acid has long been called an anti-nutrient because it can bind minerals like iron, zinc, and calcium and may reduce their absorption. But that is only part of the story,” Guha emphasized.

“Our findings show that InsP6 can also act as a helpful signaling molecule. In our study, very small amounts of InsP6 were sufficient to restore HDAC3 activity, suppress harmful gene expression, and protect the gut barrier,” he noted.

“At the same time, concerns about mineral binding should not be ignored. Larger oral amounts of InsP6 may behave differently, and much of it may be broken down in the gut, including by bacteria, before reaching tissues. So what matters is dose, context, and physiology. More in vivo work is needed to understand how oral InsP6 affects mineral availability at the tissue and cell levels,” Guha said.

“Overall, our work suggests that phytic acid should not be viewed only as harmful. It is better understood as a context-dependent molecule with important biological benefits. In our animal studies, purified research grade oral InsP6 protected against intestinal permeability, but we did not test dietary forms, so these findings should not be taken as dietary or clinical advice,” he told us.

While promising, the study was conducted in preclinical animal models. Therefore, further research is needed to determine whether phytic acid-based therapies can safely improve intestinal barrier function in individuals with conditions associated with increased gut permeability before the findings can be translated into clinical treatments.

“Our findings support a more balanced view of phytic acid–rich foods, such as legumes, whole grains, seeds, and nuts. These foods may provide compounds that support gut barrier biology,” said the researcher.

“However, our study does not yet prove that ordinary dietary intake alone is sufficient to treat or prevent disease in humans. That will require carefully controlled clinical studies. At this stage, the safest conclusion is that phytic acid should not be viewed only negatively; it may be one contributor to the gut-health benefits associated with plant-rich diets,” Guha concluded.

• A review of 22 studies found no clear evidence that naturally occurring trans fats in dairy products increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular death, or type 2 diabetes.
• Unlike industrially produced trans fats, naturally occurring trans fats found in foods such as milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt may affect the body differently and did not significantly worsen cholesterol or other cardiovascular risk markers.
• The findings suggest that current concerns around trans fats may not apply equally to naturally occurring dairy trans fats, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between industrial and natural sources.

Trans fats are a type of unsaturated fat that can occur naturally in foods from ruminant animals such as cows, sheep, and goats, or can be created artificially during food manufacturing and are often present in some processed and fried foods

Artificial trans fats, often produced through partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils, have long been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Due to these risks, many countries, including the United States, have introduced restrictions or bans on artificial trans fats in processed foods.

Naturally occurring trans fats, however, are found in smaller amounts in dairy products and some meats, and researchers have debated whether they have the same harmful effects as industrial trans fats or may even have neutral or beneficial metabolic effects.

Now, a new analysis adds to growing evidence suggesting that naturally occurring trans fats may not carry the same cardiovascular risks

The findings, published in Nutrition Research, found no clear link between dairy-derived trans fats and an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular death, or type 2 diabetes.

How do natural trans fats affect cholesterol, blood lipids, heart health?

The research team reviewed evidence from 22 studies involving participants from Europe, Canada, and the United States.

First, they reviewed 10 controlled dietary trials in which participants consumed dairy products with naturally elevated trans fat levels, then measured the effect on blood lipid biomarkers, which can help determine heart disease risk.

Across the trials, participants consumed between 1.3 and 13.2 grams (g) of dairy trans fats daily. The analysis found no meaningful differences in cholesterol or other blood lipid markers when compared with regular dairy consumption.

The team also reviewed 12 long-term observational studies that followed thousands of participants for years, in some cases more than 20 years. These studies measured levels of dairy-derived trans fats in the bloodstream and tracked health outcomes over time.

Again, the studies found no association between higher levels of dairy trans fats and increased risk of heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular death, or type 2 diabetes.

Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, a cardiology dietitian and owner of Entirely Nourished, who was not involved in the study, was not surprised by the study findings.

“I was not surprised by these findings because previous research has shown that handmade trans fat behaves differently in the body than trans fats that naturally occur in dairy foods. We also have previous research suggesting that dairy foods have a pretty neutral effect on cardiovascular health,” Routhenstein told us.

“What is important to differentiate in this study is that it looked specifically at blood markers of dairy trans fats and still found no meaningful association with cardiovascular disease risk.”

– Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN

Why the findings matter

Although awareness around trans fats has increased significantly over the past two decades, particularly following global campaigns from the World Health Organization (WHO), confusion remains over the difference between industrial and naturally occurring forms.

Ian Givens, PhD, DFdSci(h.c.), one of the study’s lead authors and Professor of Nutrition at the University of Reading, told Medical News Today that many people still have misconceptions about dairy-derived trans fats, not knowing that, broadly speaking, there are two types.

Givens hopes the findings help clarify the differences between natural and artificial trans fats, which differ slightly in structure.

“I think that not all trans fatty acids are the same health-wise. Broadly, there are those industrially produced and those naturally produced by the microbes in an animal’s digestive system,” he explained.

“Trans fatty acids are defined as unsaturated fatty acids that contain a double bond in the so-called trans conformation. If the hydrogen atoms bonded to each of the carbons in this double bond are on the same side, this is called cis (generally natural),” the researcher detailed.

“If the two hydrogens are on opposite sides, this is called trans (industrial and natural), but natural trans differ from industrial mainly by the position of the double bond in the fatty acid chain,” continued Givens.

The researchers also add that the findings could also influence future food labeling policies, which often do not distinguish between industrial and naturally occurring trans fats.

“Put simply, the limits imposed on dietary trans-fat intake should be only based on the amounts of industrial trans not the total trans. There are now quick ways of identifying which are which,” Givens emphasized.

Experts caution against overinterpreting results

Although the findings may ease concerns around trans fats present in dairy products, it is still advisable to focus on overall dietary patterns rather than single nutrients.

Dietary guidance continues to encourage limiting industrial trans fats while consuming dairy in moderation as part of a balanced diet. The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans advises 3 servings of dairy per day as part of a 2,000-calorie dietary pattern, adjusting as necessary depending on individual caloric requirements.

Additionally, the researchers note that dairy products contain a complex mix of nutrients, including calcium, protein, and saturated fats, meaning their health effects cannot be explained by trans fat content alone.

While this review highlights the differences between natural and artificial trans fats, further research is still necessary to fully understand how naturally occurring trans fats interact with metabolism and cardiovascular health.

• Glycemic load considers how amounts of particular foods affect blood sugar. 
• Diets with lower glycemic loads may offer certain health benefits like lower cancer risk and diabetes prevention. 
• A recent secondary analysis suggests that consuming an avocado daily may help lower dietary glycemic load. 

Avocados are packed with nutrients and have many potential health benefits, including for heart, bone, and digestive health.

A recent study published in Current Developments in Nutrition evaluated how eating a daily avocado affected glycemic load.

Glycemic load has to do with how specific amounts of specific foods influence blood sugar. As noted in the current study, diets with lower glycemic load may help with diabetes prevention, as well as decrease risk for certain cancers and all-cause mortality.

The study confirmed that eating a daily avocado helped to lower dietary glycemic load, pointing to another potential health benefit of avocados. 

Benefits of a daily avocado: Lower glycemic load

This particular study was a secondary analysis of another trial called the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial. This trial divided participants into two groups, with one group consuming a large avocado each day and the other group following their normal diet.

However, the control group was also instructed to have two or fewer avocados each month. This intervention lasted 6 months.

Participants all had an elevated waist circumference and were 25 years old or older. Aside from the avocado intervention, with avocados provided, researchers instructed participants to continue their normal lifestyle and diet.

The avocado group did have a higher level of certain nutrients in their diets, like fiber and total fat, but also consumed lower amounts of animal protein. Carbohydrates also made up less of their energy intake. 

Throughout the intervention, researchers conducted dietary recalls. Based on data from three 24-hour dietary recalls, researchers averaged participants’ daily glycemic index and glycemic load.

Glycemic index considers how blood sugar increases after eating a food in comparison to a reference food like sugar.

The final analysis included a total of 961 participants, which excluded participants with missing data. Researchers adjusted for various factors in their analysis, including body mass index, education level, and ethnicity. 

The findings showed a distinct benefit for the avocado intervention group. This group had lower dietary glycemic load compared to the control group, even though glycemic index measurements were about the same.

When looking at how certain food groups contributed to glycemic load, the major difference between the two groups was the avocados. 

Emily Lantz, PhD, a nutritionist at UTMB, who was not involved in this research, noted that: “In this study, consuming a single avocado once a day lowered the overall glycemic load. It highlights that making simple choices to regularly include healthy foods may make a difference on health.”

The study authors note that avocados contain a high amount of fiber, and the boost in fiber consumption could be part of the reason that participants experienced a lower dietary glycemic load. Another reason for the lower glycemic load could also be the fat present in avocados.

Why might avocados help with blood sugar?

The funding for this study came from the Hass Avocado Board, although this group was not involved in collecting the data or writing the study. 

Since this is a secondary analysis, any limitations from the original trial are worth considering. For example, the principal investigator of the original trial could exclude participants based on their judgment, which could introduce possible bias.

Furthermore, researchers evaluated diet based on participant recall, which could be inaccurate, and certain covariate data was also based on participant reporting. 

Another consideration is the sample group. For example, 73% of the group was female, over half were white, and the group also included only overweight or obese individuals. More research in other groups may be helpful and there should be caution in generalizing the results. 

Researchers note that glycemic index and glycemic load also have limitations, including certain variations that can happen. 

It is possible that researchers did not account for additional factors that could have contributed to the results. It’s also worth considering that the benefits don’t necessarily come from consuming avocados, but rather thanks to a conjunction of factors, which the authors do discuss.

The study authors do note that, while it didn’t reach a level of statistical significance, the avocado group saw a decrease in the amount that dairy, sweets, and desserts contributed to glycemic load. 

This suggests a change in the source of participants’ carbohydrate consumption. The authors suggest that the lower dietary glycemic load could partly be explained by a lower intake of carbohydrates in the intervention group and how avocados may limit the total number of carbohydrates available in participants’ diets.  

Registered dietitian, Karen Z. Berg, MS, CDN, who was not involved in the research, also noted the following to Medical News Today: 

“Avocados are a nutrient-dense food and have many health benefits. They are high in calories, monounsaturated fats, and fiber. Avocados are very filling, so when people eat more avocados, they are likely eating less of other foods that are possibly less healthy. This could be why this study had such positive outcomes.”

Should you add more avocados to your diet?

Overall, the research suggests another potential benefit that avocados may have to offer. The study authors suggest that eating avocados could help with people’s dietary patterns.

Researchers also note that the intervention was simple, making it something that could be realistically maintained.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be major changes to dietary recommendations. Lantz noted that: 

“The researchers calculated glycemic load (GL) and glycemic index (GI), which are estimates of how blood sugar goes up after a meal based on the amount and quality of carbohydrate in a meal. Lower glycemic load and glycemic index have been associated with better weight loss outcomes and blood sugar control in diabetics. However, the overall evidence is not strong enough for low GI/GL foods to be part of national recommendations for lifestyle modifications.” 

Overall, people who want to incorporate avocados more into their daily diets can work with professionals like nutrition experts to get appropriate guidance.

They can discuss possible benefits and how avocados can be part of a healthy diet that incorporates other essential components as well. 

• Being physically active has been linked to a longer, healthier life.
• However, questions remain about what types of exercise are best and how many minutes a week to spend on it for the best results. 
• A new study found that a combination of both high aerobic activity and between 60 and 119 minutes per week of strength training may be best for lowering a person’s mortality risk from any cause.
• Scientists also found that between 90 and 120 minutes a week of resistance training may also possibly lower a person’s risk of dying from cardiovascular or neurological diseases. 

Being physically active has been linked to a longer, healthier life, but what type of exercise is best? Should you focus on aerobic exercises, like walking or running? Or strength training with weights or bodyweight exercises like pilates? And how many minutes of each should you get during the week?

A new study recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine helps to provide some guidance and answers to these questions.

Researchers found that a combination of both high aerobic activity and between 60 to 119 minutes a week of strength training may be best for lowering a person’s mortality risk from any cause. 

Scientists also found that between 90 to 120 minutes a week of resistance training may also possibly lower a person’s risk of dying from cardiovascular or neurological diseases. 

Why study both aerobic and strength training exercises? 

For this study, researchers analyzed about 30 years of data from more than 147,000 participants with an average age of 54 of three large previously-conducted studies — Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 1992–2022; the Nurses’ Health Study, 2002–2021; and the Nurses’ Health Study II, 2003–2021. 

Study participants were asked questions about their weekly aerobic exercise and strength training regimen every two years, for up to 30 years total. 

“The benefits of aerobic activity for longevity are already well established,” Edward Giovannucci, MD, ScD, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and corresponding author of this study, told Medical News Today. “What has been less clear is how resistance training relates to long-term mortality risk, especially at different volumes and in combination with aerobic activity.”

“Physical activity is not one single behavior,” added Yiwen Zhang, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the first author of this study. “Aerobic activity and resistance training may benefit health through different pathways, so it is important to study them separately and together.” 

Strength training 90-120 min/week lowers mortality risk by 13%

At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that participating in 90 to 120 minutes a week of strength training was correlated with a 13% lower risk of dying from any cause. And, scientists note, no further benefit was observed above 120 minutes a week. 

Additionally, that amount of weekly strength training was also associated with a 19% lower risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease, and a 27% lower risk of dying from a neurological disease.

“For cardiovascular disease mortality, this finding is generally consistent with previous studies showing that resistance training is associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk, particularly for myocardial infarction,” Giovannucci explained. “For neurological disease mortality, there has been growing evidence suggesting that strength training may help preserve cognitive function.”

“However, this finding should be interpreted cautiously,” he added. “Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s can begin many years before diagnosis, and early symptoms may reduce a person’s ability or motivation to exercise. Also, neurological causes of death, especially dementia, can be difficult to classify accurately. More research is needed before drawing firm conclusions.”

Lowest death risk with aerobic activity, strength training combo

Researchers also found that the lowest mortality risks were found among study participants who combined both high aerobic activity and between 60 to 119 minutes a week of resistance training every week. 

“Aerobic exercise is generally linked to improved hemodynamics, lipid profiles, and cardio-respiratory fitness, whereas resistance training may improve glucose metabolism, body composition, and muscular strength,” Zhang explained to MNT.

“Some randomized trials in patients with coronary artery disease also found that, compared with aerobic activity alone, combining aerobic and resistance training yields greater improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition,” she said.

Giovannucci said for the next steps in this research, they will be looking for opportunities to examine resistance training in a more diverse population and in relation to outcomes beyond mortality, such as physical function, independence, and quality of life. 

“It will also be important to study resistance training more precisely, including exercise type, intensity, load, and using more objective measures if possible,” he added. 

Cardio, resistance training, or both?

MNT spoke with Swapnil Patel, MD, MHCM, FACP, vice chair of the Department of Medicine at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, and assistant professor at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in New Jersey, who was not involved in this study, about these research findings. 

Patel commented that these findings reinforce something we have been emphasizing in preventive medicine for years: exercise should not be viewed as an “either-or” choice between cardio and strength training.

“Many patients focus heavily on walking, running, cycling, or other aerobic activities because they are often associated with heart health and weight loss. This study provides compelling long-term evidence that resistance training offers independent benefits and appears to further reduce mortality risk when combined with aerobic exercise.”
— Swapnil Patel, MD, MHCM, FACP

“Different forms of exercise affect the body through different biological pathways,” Patel continued. “Aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular fitness, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and metabolic health, while resistance training helps preserve muscle mass, improve functional strength, enhance glucose metabolism, and reduce frailty,” he explained.

“Understanding how these exercise modalities influence specific disease outcomes allows clinicians to provide more targeted recommendations to patients,” he said.

“This study is especially important because it highlights a potential association between resistance training and reduced neurological disease mortality, an area that has received far less attention than cardiovascular disease,” Patel added.

“As our population ages and conditions such as dementia and neurodegenerative diseases become increasingly prevalent, identifying lifestyle interventions that may help preserve neurological health is a major public health priority. The findings suggest that strength training may play a meaningful role in healthy aging beyond simply maintaining muscle mass and mobility.”
— Swapnil Patel, MD, MHCM, FACP

Seek out professional guidance when starting strength training

MNT also spoke with David Cutler, MD, a board certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was also not involved in this study, who said that for patients who only focus on aerobic exercise, it’s an eye opening study for them. 

“This is something that’s been known for a long time of the benefits of strength training, but this certainly brought it home how profound that benefit can be,” Cutler continued.

“A lot of people just focus on one form of exercise, whether it be strength training exercise as in this study, or on aerobic exercise. A lot of people focus on core exercise because they’re bothered by back pain — they know that core exercises can be helpful for that. And a lot of people focus a lot on stretching exercise, which can also be very helpful in terms of maintaining mobility. And this program, nor others, have focused on how important a comprehensive exercise program is, which incorporates strength training, aerobics, core, and stretching.”
— David Cutler, MD

For readers who may want to start strength training but aren’t sure where to start, Cutler advised getting guidance from a physical fitness trainer. 

“There are some dangers in strength training exercise regarding injury, and I think getting some guidance from a trainer is actually a very good idea and money that’s very well spent to avoid injury and avoid incurring extra costs,” he said. 

• As of 2021, about 17.9 million people around the world were living with rheumatoid arthritis. 
• Past studies show that rheumatoid arthritis can negatively impact a person’s health by increasing their risk for several health complications, including depression. 
• Recent evidence suggests that some of these health issues may not only be complications of this condition, but may also help maintain the disease especially in people with difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis. 
• Researchers have developed a new model based on their findings to help improve the treatment of difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis cases. 

As of 2021, about 17.9 million people globally were living with rheumatoid arthritis — an autoimmune type of arthritis that causes inflammation in the joints. 

Past studies show that rheumatoid arthritis can negatively impact a person’s health by increasing their risk for irreversible joint damage, osteoporosis, heart disease, eye issues, sleeping problems, obesity, and mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. 

Now, two new papers — a perspective paper published in the journal Nature Reviews Rheumatology, and a commentary in The Lancet Rheumatology — have concluded that some of these health issues, such as depression, may not only be complications of rheumatoid arthritis, but may also help maintain the disease especially in people with difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis. 

How lifestyle factors impact rheumatoid arthritis

In these two papers, the authors reflect on how certain health problems, such depression, smoking, obesity, and sleep disorders, may impact rheumatoid arthritis and its symptoms. 

“Historically, treating [rheumatoid arthritis] meant focusing almost exclusively on physical joint inflammation,” György Nagy, MD, PhD, head/director of the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology at Semmelweis University in Hungary, senior and corresponding author for the Nature Reviews Rheumatology perspective peace, and co-lead author of The Lancet Rheumatology commentary, told Medical News Today.

“Yet, in daily clinical practice, we frequently see patients whose blood work looks completely normal, but who are still experiencing pain, fatigue, and whose everyday functioning is limited,” Nagy added.

“Lifestyle factors like smoking and obesity, and coexisting health conditions like depression and fibromyalgia disproportionately skew the patient-reported metrics used to calculate [rheumatoid arthritis] severity scores. If a patient’s pain is amplified by depression or a sleep disorder rather than active joint swelling, traditional arthritis drugs simply won’t touch it. A recent meta-analysis by Xie et al. [on which the paper in The Lancet provides commentary] systematically identifies different lifestyle factors as major drivers of treatment failure.”

– György Nagy, MD, PhD

Health issues may trap those with rheumatoid arthritis in ‘vicious circle’

Nagy said that the most crucial finding is that these health issues do not just casually exist alongside rheumatoid arthritis; they feed into it bidirectionally, trapping the patient in a grueling “vicious circle.”

“For example, a patient with severe [rheumatoid arthritis] pain may become physically inactive, leading to obesity,” he detailed.

“Obesity generates low-grade systemic inflammation, which further worsens the [rheumatoid arthritis] trajectory. Similarly, failing multiple medications lowers mood and motivation, triggering depression; that depression then amplifies pain perception in the brain and lowers the patient’s ability to rigidly adhere to their treatment plan,” Nagy explained.

“Recognizing that these factors actively maintain the disease state is revolutionary because it means we can break the cycle by targeting the modifiable lifestyle factors directly, sometimes without even needing a new drug,” the researcher added. 

New treatment model incorporates ‘smart triage’ component

Nagy and his team developed a model that could potentially improve the treatment options for people with difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis. 

“Currently, [rheumatoid arthritis] care is treated as a linear, ‘one-size-fits-all’ escalator,” he explained. “If a drug fails, the clinician automatically steps up to the next, stronger drug. Our model introduces a smart triage layer.“

“Instead of universally escalating medication when standard care under-performs, the clinician halts to perform a ‘structured multi-domain reassessment.’ We treat the patient’s unique condition like a puzzle, evaluating four specific zones: disease biology, clinical conditions (comorbidities), behavioral habits (adherence), and contextual realities (such as sleep or social support),” Nagy told us.

“Instead of just changing the prescription, our model might pivot a patient toward a multidisciplinary roadmap: engaging pain specialists, psychologists for mental well-being, or personalized nutrition and lifestyle coaching to address weight or smoking,” he continued. “It shifts medicine from rigidly treating a generic disease to flexibly treating an individual human being.”

Nagy said that finding new avenues for “difficult-to-treat” rheumatoid arthritis patients is vital because blindly escalating powerful immunomodulatory medications doesn’t work for everyone. 

“Unnecessary drug escalation can expose patients to unwanted side effects and rising healthcare costs without actually relieving their symptoms,” he added. “We must understand the deeper, non-inflammatory drivers to alleviate this impactful clinical and socioeconomic burden.”

Further evidence of the mind-body connection

MNT spoke with Erica Frenkel, NBC-HWC, FMCHC, functional medicine-certified and a nationally board-certified health and wellness coach, and owner of Erica Frenkel Health Coaching, about these findings. 

“We’ve long known about the mind-body connection,” Frenkel, who was not an author on either of the papers, commented. “Generally it is discussed as a one way relationship — illness, pain, or other physical ailments can lead to depression and other mental health issues. What’s less frequently discussed is that the mind-body connection is actually a two-way relationship.”

“So I’m glad to see research that illustrates the reality that our physical health and wellbeing can be impacted when we are not mentally well,” she added. “My hope is that it leads to more integrative care where we don’t silo mental health and physical health but rather care for the whole person.”

MNT also spoke with Neha Patil Kumar, a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and owner of Prose & Psyche Counseling, about the findings regarding depression and difficult-to-treat rheumatoid arthritis.

“I’m not at all surprised that depression can sustain persistent rheumatic symptoms,” Patil Kumar, who was likewise not involved in authoring the recent papers, told us.

“We know that depression can negatively impact an individual’s ability to perceive and process pain, which can result in poor treatment adherence and worse outcomes overall. The links between mental health conditions and chronic conditions need to be studied to ensure that clinicians are aware of every possible factor contributing to a patient’s pain in order to provide the most effective, comprehensive treatment possible,” she noted.

Patil Kumar further said that it would be encouraging to see future research evaluate multidisciplinary treatment models that incorporate mental health care into the management of rheumatoid arthritis. 

“If depression contributes to persistent symptoms, addressing psychological well-being alongside medical treatment may improve patients’ quality of life and overall health outcomes,” she added. 

• Chronic fatigue is thought to affect more than 3 million people in the United States alone.
• Experts are unsure what causes it, but it may occur after a viral infection or major physical stressor.
• Now, a study has found that deficiencies in vitamin B12 and folate (vitamin B9) are linked to physical and mental fatigue, so may be a factor in chronic fatigue.
• The researchers suggest that, while their study cannot prove causation, maintaining adequate levels of these B vitamins could help to reduce fatigue-related outcomes.

Fatigue is something that everyone experiences from time to time, but for some people, it is not a transient symptom, but a chronic condition that affects their daily functioning.

Chronic fatigue, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, may affect around 3.3 million Americans, interfering with work, school and social life, as well as day-to-day tasks. 

Experts believe that chronic fatigue may sometimes follow a viral infection, or could occur after extreme physical stress, such as major surgery. It is 2–4 times more likely to occur in women than men.

A new study from Japan suggests that diet may influence energy levels and motivation. The research, published in Nutrients, found that people who had raised levels of a biomarker, homocysteine, indicating deficiency in vitamins B9 (folate) and B12, were more likely to experience fatigue or lack of motivation than those who had adequate levels.

Although the cross-sectional analysis cannot prove causation, researchers suggest that further studies into links between diet and fatigue should be carried out to verify their findings.

Eamon Laird, PhD, Lecturer in Nutrition ATU Sligo and Adjunct Professor TCD Dublin, Ireland, who was not involved in this research, told Medical News Today that the study raised an interesting hypothesis, and that there seemed to be an association between these B-vitamins and measures of fatigue, but emphasized that the findings should be interpreted with caution. 

And Thomas M. Holland, MD, MS, Physician-Scientist and Assistant Professor, Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Chicago, likewise not involved in the study, commented that:

“One of the most important takeaways from this paper is that homocysteine may serve as a broader biomarker reflecting metabolic stress, vascular health, inflammation, or micronutrient status rather than simply indicating isolated B12 or folate deficiency alone.”

“The findings fit within a larger body of research linking elevated homocysteine with cardiovascular and cognitive outcomes, suggesting that these metabolic pathways may influence multiple aspects of health simultaneously,” Holland added.

Homocysteine levels indicate B-vitamin deficiency

The researchers carried out functional measurements, blood sampling and questionnaires on 2,618 adults who visited the Center for Health Science Innovation at Osaka University between April 2018 and March 2020. 

Of these, 602 were included in the final analysis, after those with missing data or samples (particularly of homocysteine), or who used supplements, were excluded.

Laird expressed some concern about the number of exclusions, telling MNT it “raises questions regarding selection bias and representativeness”.

Homocysteine is an amino acid formed during the breakdown of methionine, an amino acid found in foods such as nuts, beef, lamb, cheese, turkey, pork, fish, shellfish, soy, eggs, dairy, and beans.

Folate and B12 are essential for the breakdown of homocysteine, so the researchers used blood concentration of homocysteine to indicate levels of the vitamins.

“The authors are very explicit that these findings should be interpreted cautiously and viewed primarily as hypothesis-generating rather than definitive evidence of causality. Because the study is cross-sectional, it can identify associations, but it cannot determine whether elevated homocysteine causes fatigue or reduced motivation, or whether other physiological or lifestyle factors contribute to both simultaneously.”

– Thomas M. Holland, MD, MS

The researchers found that in both men and women, higher homocysteine levels were associated with lower serum folate and B12 levels. 

Lower vitamin levels linked to fatigue and lack of motivation

The researchers assessed fatigue and motivation using the 14-point Chalder Fatigue Scale, which is commonly used to assess chronic fatigue, and a visual analog scale.

In men, high homocysteine was associated with higher physical fatigue scores and, in women, with lower motivation scores.

Holland explained possible reasons for the connections: 

“Vitamin B12 and folate are heavily involved in cellular energy production, DNA synthesis, red blood cell formation, and neurological function. When levels are inadequate, homocysteine levels can rise because the body cannot efficiently convert it into other important compounds involved in normal metabolism. Elevated homocysteine has been linked with oxidative stress, impaired blood vessel function, inflammation, and altered neurotransmitter pathways, all of which may influence both physical energy and mental motivation.”

“In simpler terms, if cells are not efficiently producing energy or the brain is not optimally regulating signaling chemicals involved in mood and drive, people may experience symptoms such as exhaustion, mental fog, reduced stamina, or decreased motivation,” he continued.

“However,” he added, “it is important to emphasize that this study did not show that low folate or B12 directly caused fatigue; rather, homocysteine appeared to serve as a broader marker connected to these metabolic processes.”

Both Holland and Laird cautioned that the sex differences, while interesting, should be interpreted with caution, with Laird telling us that “the formal sex-by-homocysteine interaction analyses were not statistically significant, suggesting there is no clear evidence that the associations truly differ between men and women.“

“If genuine, the findings may be [due to] biological differences in homocysteine metabolism, hormonal influences (particularly oestrogen), or sex-specific effects on fatigue and motivation pathways,” Laird hypothesized.

How can you boost your B12 and folate levels?

Holland advised that “maintaining a dietary pattern rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, lean proteins, omega-3-rich fish, olive oil, and minimally processed foods likely supports healthier homocysteine metabolism and overall physiological resilience.”

Laird added that sufficient of both B12 and folate can be obtained through either diet or supplements:

“Vitamin B12 is mainly found in animal-based foods such as meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products, while folate is abundant in green leafy vegetables, legumes and fortified cereals. For individuals with low dietary intake or increased requirements, supplements containing vitamin B12, folic acid, or both may help improve status and support normal metabolic function.”

“Fortified food products are ideal,” he emphasized, “as they often contain both vitamins and in smaller amounts which can be eaten little and often as vitamin B12 absorption is inversely related to dose with the higher the dose consumed at one time, the lower the percentage being absorbed.”

• The latest breast cancer screening guidance document released by the American College of Physicians has drawn mixed reactions.
• The updated guidelines include changed advice on routine supplemental MRIs or ultrasounds, AI-based mammograms, and screening age.
• The 2026 iteration contradicts previous U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines, which has left many people confused about when to start screening.
• Medical News Today spoke to 2 experts to learn more about when to start breast cancer screening and what methods may be best.

The American College of Physicians (ACP) released a new guidance statement in the Annals of Internal Medicine in April 2026, reigniting debate over breast cancer screening age and frequency.

A comprehensive review by researchers from Trinity College Dublin and St James’s Hospital, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, also found that current statistical tools used to estimate breast cancer risk may fall short in pinpointing individual risk in women with a family history of the disease.

Currently, there is no international consensus on routine screening mammography, and many major medical and health organizations offer different guidance.

The main point of contention between such practices boils down to a debate of pros versus cons. On one hand, the life-saving benefits of early cancer detection are apparent; however, there is also some concern around overdiagnosis, false positives, patient anxiety, and unnecessary biopsies.

It is important to note that most of the current advice is geared toward women at average risk of breast cancer, namely those without a personal history of breast cancer, high familial risk, or those carrying high-risk genetic mutations.

Medical News Today spoke to the following two experts to get clarity on the best screening age and methods for breast cancer prevention and detection:

• Syed Ahmad Raza, MBBS, FCPS, MRCP (UK), SCE Medical oncology (UK), consultant internal medicine and a medical oncologist.
• And Loren Rourke, MD, MHCM, FACS, board certified breast surgical oncologist.

What the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends

The USPSTF updated its formal guidance in 2024, underscoring the importance of earlier screening:

• When to start screening: Age 40 years, marking a shift from earlier recommendations to wait until age 50.
• How often to get screened: Every other year (biannually).
• When to stop screening: Through age 74, citing lack of evidence of benefits versus harms in women ages 75 and older.

What the American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends

The ACS guidelines highlight individual decision making power as a key factor in screening:

• When to start screening:
  – At ages 40 to 44, women should have the option to start yearly screening if they wish to do so.
• How often to get screened:
  – At ages 45 to 54, women should get annual mammograms.
  – At ages 55 and older, women can switch to getting mammograms every 2 years but should have the option to do so every year if they choose.
• When to stop screening: Women should continue screening as long as they are in good health and have a life expectancy of 10 years or more.

What the ACR and ASBrS recommend

The American College of Radiology (ACR) & American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) combine the advice of the USPSTF and ACS, and advocate for a more aggressive preventive screening schedule:

• When to start screening: Age 40 years.
• How often to get screened: Every year (annually).
• When to stop screening: Until life expectancy drops below 10 years.

• Some current research has been focusing on how to identify the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease. 
• One tool that doctors are beginning to use to help predict a person’s Alzheimer’s disease risk in its earliest stages is through biomarker blood tests.
• A new study has found that these biomarker blood tests may also help doctors find very early signs of cognitive decline in midlife adults without a dementia diagnosis.  
• Researchers believe that using biomarker blood tests in this way may lend greater credence to initiating healthy lifestyle modifications known to help lower dementia risk. 

As scientists continue to learn more about the potential causes behind Alzheimer’s disease, some recent research has been focusing on looking for the earliest possible warning signs for this type of dementia. 

One tool that doctors are beginning to use to help predict a person’s Alzheimer’s disease risk in its earliest stages is through blood tests that search for specific biomarkers in the blood. 

Now, a new study published in The Lancet, primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has found that these biomarker blood tests may also help doctors detect very early signs of cognitive decline in midlife adults without a dementia diagnosis. 

Researchers believe using Alzheimer’s disease biomarker blood tests in this way may give more credence to initiating healthy lifestyle modifications known to help potentially lower dementia risk. 

Positive biomarker test linked to worse cognition later in life

For the study, researchers analyzed data from participants of the U.S. Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Researchers selected about 1,300 of these study participants with an average age of 61. 

Of this pool, 6% showed a high level of the proteins beta-amyloid and tau in their blood, which are considered hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Scientists found that the participants in this 6% had lower processing speeds and executive function. And when tested five years later, those with high beta-amyloid and tau biomarkers had about 2.5 to 4 times the risk of rapid decline in verbal memory, and around 3 to 4 times the risk of rapid decline in processing speed. 

“What we found is that having these (biomarker blood) tests be positive were not common, but if they were, they were associated with worse cognition and greater decline compared to those not positive,” Kristine Yaffe, MD, distinguished professor and vice chair of the Departments of of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemiology at the University of California – San Francisco (UCSF) and senior author of this study, told Medical News Today.

“More and more people will ask for these tests, and companies are doing direct-to-consumer advertising. So we don’t want to alarm people, but if positive, provide them with guidance (on) how to improve/lower risk for cognitive decline, and maybe in the future consider new medications for Alzheimer’s disease.”
— Kristine Yaffe, MD

More precise early Alzheimer’s diagnosis tools needed

MNT spoke with Megan Glenn, PsyD, clinical neuropsychologist in the Center for Memory and Healthy Aging at the Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey — who was not involved in this study — about this research.

Glenn said she felt highly encouraged by the study’s findings, as it feels as though multiple lines of research are finally converging. 

“We have known for a long time that subtle cognitive changes and biological markers, particularly amyloid accumulation, begin developing decades before a patient meets the criteria for a formal dementia diagnosis,” she explained. “We have been searching for accessible ways to detect these earliest signs during this ‘preclinical’ phase so we can intervene sooner, and this study represents a major step toward making early detection scalable and accessible to the general public.” 

When it comes to diagnosing a person’s Alzheimer’s disease risk as soon as possible, Glenn said we need more precision because having Alzheimer’s biomarkers doesn’t guarantee someone will develop clinical symptoms. 

“Amyloid accumulation in the brain is like the kindling, but not the fire — it sets the stage, but doesn’t guarantee progression unless other factors, like tau tangles, are also present,” she detailed. “We need to figure out exactly who among those with early biomarker changes will actually go on to develop dementia.”

“Developing early detection is critical because by the time memory loss and other symptoms are obvious, the brain has already suffered significant, likely irreversible damage,” Glenn continued.

Prevention is better than cure

“Historically, many Alzheimer’s treatments — even recently approved medications that successfully clear amyloid — have shown modest clinical effects, potentially because they are given too late in the disease process. If we can accurately identify risk during the preclinical stage, we can potentially intervene with lifestyle changes and/or disease-modifying therapies before permanent damage occurs. It is always better to prevent the damage in the first place than to try to mitigate it after the fact.”
— Megan Glenn, PsyD

Blood test could help make risk conversation more concrete

Additionally, researchers believe that by detecting early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, people can better target modifiable risk factors. 

“The proteins that cause Alzheimer’s disease take decades to accumulate in the brain,” Yaffe explained. “ The blood tests can detect these proteins — tau and amyloid-beta. So it might be good to detect early so people can lower their risk by lifestyle interventions and possibly drugs. They can also be monitored closely by their clinician.” 

MNT spoke with Dung Trinh, MD, an internist for the MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of the Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, CA — who was not involved in this study — and he commented that a blood test like this could make the risk conversation more concrete.

“Many patients hear ‘exercise more,’ ‘control blood pressure,’ ‘sleep better,’ or ‘manage diabetes,’ but those recommendations can feel general or abstract,” Trinh explained. “If a patient has evidence of Alzheimer’s-related biomarker changes, that can create a more personalized and urgent conversation about brain health.”

Why a positive test doesn’t necessarily mean dementia

“I would explain it carefully: a positive biomarker result does not mean someone has dementia, and it does not predict the future with certainty. But it may suggest that Alzheimer’s-related biology is present, which makes it even more important to aggressively address the factors we can modify.”
— Dung Trinh, MD

In practical terms, Trinh said, that means focusing on blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, physical activity, smoking, sleep apnea, depression, hearing loss, social isolation, nutrition, and medication review. 

“The (press release) also highlights Dr. Kristine Yaffe’s point that modifiable risk factors — including physical and cognitive inactivity, depression, smoking, and heart health — play an important role in dementia risk,” he added. “The goal is not to scare patients. The goal is to give them agency. A biomarker result should open the door to prevention-oriented care, not fatalism.” 

• There are several healthy lifestyle choices people can make to help protect their brain health as they age, such as eating a brain-healthy diet. 
• Past studies show that certain foods, such as diets with high-fat and high-sodium foods, may also impact future brain health. 
• A new study found that while switching to a healthier diet may benefit your brain function, it may not fully reverse cognitive issues caused by eating a high-sugar diet, via analysis of data from animal models.  

As we age, it is common for brain health to slightly decline. For instance, it may be harder to remember things and multitasking may become more difficult. 

Previous research shows there are several healthy choices people can make throughout their lives to potentially slow brain aging.

These include being physically active, prioritizing sleep, managing stress, not smoking, staying mentally stimulated, and following a brain-healthy diet, such as the MIND diet.

When it comes to diet, past studies further show that certain foods may also impact future brain health. For example, studies have reported that consuming a high-fat diet may negatively impact memory formation, and consuming too much salt may lead to cognitive impairment.

“Brain health is at the core of wellbeing,” Michael D. Kendig, PhD, senior lecturer in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, told Medical News Today. “We now know that diet has a major influence on brain health over the lifespan, with the ability to protect against, or increase the risk of cognitive decline.”

Kendig is the senior author of a new study review in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience, which found that, while switching to a healthier diet may benefit brain function, it may not fully reverse cognitive issues caused by eating a high-sugar diet, via analysis of data from animal models.  

What can animal studies reveal about human brain health?

For this review, researchers analyzed findings from 27 previous studies using rodent models. The animals were all fed high-fat, high-sugar diets for at least 2 weeks. Some rodents were then placed back on their normal healthy food or continued on the high-fat, high sugar diet. 

Researchers waited at least 24 hours before scientists assessed the animals’ cognition status. 

“Much of the world now eats a dietary pattern characterized by higher than ideal intake of sugar, sodium, and saturated fat,” Kendig said.

“We know that these diets can impair cognitive function — even after a few days or weeks — but not as much is known about what happens to cognition when a bad diet stops, even though this is happening all the time in day-to-day life when people decide to improve eating habits,” he added. 

“This led us to review all the studies on this question in preclinical models [in rats and mice],” Kendig explained.

“Animal models are especially valuable here because in people, multiple aspects of lifestyle are likely to change when someone’s diet improves — perhaps [they] may start exercising more, cut alcohol, and/or generally feel more confident about their ability to look after themselves (self-efficacy). All of these might contribute to improvements in cognition, making it more difficult to isolate the effects of nutrition specifically. The controlled conditions of animal experiments allow us to do this very precisely.” 

– Michael D. Kendig, PhD

High-sugar diets may later impair memory

At this study’s conclusion, researchers did find that rodents that were switched back to a healthy diet performed better on memory tasks than those that continued on the unhealthy diet. 

However, scientists determined that memory recovery depended on the composition of the unhealthy diet. Memory recovery was seen in rodents who were fed a high-fat diet, but not in those fed a diet only high in sugar or a combined high-fat, high-sugar diet. 

“This was an unexpected result that requires more research,” Kendig explained. “We interpreted this to suggest that recovery of memory was prevented when the unhealthy diets contained sugar — either sugar alone, or combined high fat/sugar.“

“A tentative conclusion is that high-sugar diets may promote forms of cognitive impairment that are more persistent after diet quality improves,” he told us.

“I think this result points to the fact that high-fat diets impact the brain in different ways than high-sugar or combined high-fat, high-sugar diets,” the scientist added.

“For example, several studies have shown that high-sugar diets may produce a stronger neuroinflammatory response in the brain than high-fat diets. This could explain why unhealthy diets containing sugar promote more lasting cognitive impairments,” he hypothesized. 

Might these findings in rodents also apply to humans?

As these findings all come from animal studies, MNT asked Zack Ramilevich, MD, a neurologist with the Marcus Neuroscience Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida, whether or not these findings may extend to humans. 

“Absolutely, and I believe there is a strong translational basis for it,” Ramilevich, who was not involved in the review, commented.

“We already have robust clinical evidence linking high-sugar high-fat diets to structural changes in the human brain. Specifically, an accelerated volume loss in the hippocampus, our primary memory-forming center. Because the fundamental neuroanatomy and metabolic pathways governing memory are conserved between rodents and humans, it stands to reason that our brains share a similar capacity for recovery. There is no clear biological reason to believe human brains are uniquely excluded from the benefits of removing a metabolic insult.”

– Zack Ramilevich, MD

Ramilevich said thatthe ideal next step in this research would be transitioning from animal models to trials in humans. 

“Furthermore, the next phase of this research needs greater stratification into different types of fats and sugars, rather than just lumping them together as ‘unhealthy food’,“ he continued.

“Since the current data hints that high-fat diets might actually offer better memory recovery than high-sugar diets, future studies must isolate the specific cognitive impacts of fructose versus glucose, and explicitly separate inflammatory saturated fats from possibly beneficial omega-3 fatty acids to see exactly how they interact with our memory centers,” said Ramilevich.

Encouraging, yet cautionary findings

MNT also spoke with Dung Trinh, MD, internist for the MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of the Healthy Brain Clinic in Irvine, CA, who said while the findings of this study are encouraging, they’re also cautionary. 

“It is encouraging because switching to a healthier diet appeared to improve memory performance in animal models,” Trinh, who was likewise not involved in the review, detailed.

“But it is cautionary because the improvement was incomplete, especially after diets high in sugar or combined high-fat/high-sugar diets,“ he emphasized.

According to Trinh: “The key message is not that brain health is fixed or that damage is irreversible, but that prevention may be more powerful than rescue. Diet quality matters, and prolonged exposure to unhealthy diets may have lasting effects on memory-related brain systems.” 

He said it’s important for researchers to continue to find new ways in which people may be able to retain their brain health as they age through their diet because brain aging and dementia risk are among the greatest public health challenges we face, and diet is one of the few risk factors that can be modified across the lifespan. 

“We do not yet have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease or most causes of cognitive decline, so prevention and risk reduction are essential,” added Trinh.

“If certain dietary patterns can protect memory systems, reduce inflammation, improve metabolic health, and support vascular function, that gives patients and physicians practical tools long before symptoms begin. The most valuable research is not just about adding years to life, but preserving independence, memory, mobility, and quality of life,” he concluded.

A new review now argues that sleep is not just a time for the brain and body to rest and recover, but that during sleep the brain’s housekeeping services kick into action to clear waste products that, over time, can lead to cognitive decline and dementia.

In a review published in Science, neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, from the University of Rochester Medical Center, NY, suggests that, sleep-related mechanisms play a complex role in the maintenance of brain health.

 Steven Allder, MD, consultant neurologist at Re:Cognition Health, not involved in the review, told Medical News Today that:

“What makes this review compelling is the link between sleep and this clearance process. During deep, slow-wave sleep, glymphatic activity increases significantly, allowing more efficient removal of waste. This provides a biological mechanism that helps explain why chronic sleep disruption is associated with increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. It is important to emphasize that this is not a simple cause-and-effect relationship, but rather a key pathway in a broader network of brain health factors, including vascular function, inflammation and aging.”

How sleep can impact brain health

During the daytime, neuromodulators such as norepinephrine, acetylcholine, serotonin, and dopamine work independently to support behavior and cognition.

However, during sleep, they act in a coordinated rhythm to support glymphatic clearance of metabolic waste.

Nedergaard told MNT that:

“There is now converging evidence from multiple lines of research suggesting that impaired glymphatic clearance during sleep plays a central role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Emerging evidence further indicates that these slow brain-body rhythms are major drivers of glymphatic clearance. Together, these observations suggest that understanding how sleep rhythms regulate brain clearance may be fundamentally important for understanding aging and dementia.”

Studies have shown that during non-REM sleep — the phases described by fitness/sleep trackers as core and deep sleep — neuromodulators are synchronised and their oscillations correspond to microarousals.

These short bursts of EEG activity that do not wake the person happen approximately every 50 seconds during non-REM sleep and last from a few hundred milliseconds to a several seconds.

The neuromodulators drive the glymphatic system by making tiny blood vessels contract and expand, moving cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that clears away neurotoxic proteins, such as beta-amyloid and tau, which are closely associated with development of Alzheimer’s disease.

If sleep is disturbed, the rhythms are interrupted, which leads to less effective clearance of waste products, so may increase risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

“The relationship between sleep and dementia risk is increasingly understood as bidirectional and system-wide, with the glymphatic system at the centre of this model,” Allder told us.

“On one hand, impaired sleep, particularly reduced slow-wave sleep, can limit glymphatic clearance of neurotoxic waste such as amyloid-beta and tau, allowing accumulation over time. This may contribute to neuroinflammation, synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration,” he explained.

“On the other hand,” he added, “early neurodegenerative changes can themselves disrupt sleep architecture, meaning sleep disturbance may also be one of the earliest clinical markers of disease. This creates a feedback loop where impaired sleep and impaired clearance reinforce each other.”

Heart-rate variability and brain cleaning: What’s the link?

In her review, Nedergaard highlighted that heart-rate variability be a biomarker of sleep-related brain health. These subtle changes in timing between heartbeats during sleep appear to be closely tied to the neuromodulator rhythms occurring in the brain. 

“Heart-rate variability appears to be regulated by the same slow physiological rhythms that coordinate glymphatic clearance during sleep. We therefore speculate that high heart-rate variability during sleep may reflect effective glymphatic function and restorative sleep,” she told MNT.

“If heart-rate variability is validated experimentally and proves to be a reliable biomarker of glymphatic clearance, it could become a simple and inexpensive tool for identifying individuals at increased risk of dementia and for monitoring treatment responses in clinical trials targeting sleep and brain clearance mechanisms,” she advised.

Allder agreed that using heart-rate variability as a biomarker was “an interesting and potentially very practical idea.”

“Heart rate variability and nocturnal cardiovascular rhythms are already recognised indicators of autonomic nervous system activity, which is closely linked to sleep architecture and deep sleep quality,” he told us.

“Because glymphatic activity is strongly coupled with slow-wave sleep, it is biologically plausible that cardiovascular patterns during sleep could indirectly reflect how effectively this clearance system is functioning,” he noted.

“However,” he cautioned, “this remains an indirect proxy. Heart rate fluctuations are influenced by many confounders, including stress, medication, fitness level and underlying cardiovascular disease. While this could eventually contribute to a non-invasive screening tool, it would need to be validated alongside more direct imaging or biomarker-based measures of glymphatic activity before being used clinically to identify dementia risk.”

How to improve your brain rhythms during sleep

To improve the brain rhythms during sleep, and therefore help ensure that brain clearance is as efficient as possible, Nedergaard advised that people follow the advice for maintaining healthy sleep overall.

“Regular sleep schedules, sufficient sleep duration, physical activity, minimizing stress, and avoiding stimulants or bright light exposure late in the evening,“ she recommended.

“Improving sleep quality is likely beneficial because glymphatic clearance is most active during deep sleep,” said the scientist.

• Researchers found that Aedes aegypti, or yellow fever mosquitoes, can learn to associate the smell of DEET with a food reward through repeated exposure during feeding.
• In laboratory experiments, more than 60% of trained mosquitoes attempted to feed when exposed only to the smell of DEET, suggesting the insects had formed a positive association with the repellent.
• Trained mosquitoes were attracted to DEET-treated human skin, while untrained mosquitoes avoided it, indicating that mosquito behavior toward repellents may be shaped by experience.
• The findings suggest DEET remains highly effective, but maintaining consistent repellent levels through regular reapplication may be important to prevent mosquitoes from adapting to fading concentrations.

Mosquitoes are common across the United States, with more than 200 types of mosquitoes living in the continental United States and U.S. territories.

Most mosquitoes in the U.S. are nuisance mosquitoes that do not spread disease, but some bites can transmit mosquito-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus, Dengue fever, Chikungunya, and Zika virus.

Although present in America, the burden of these diseases is highest in tropical and subtropical areas.

Prevention is often the most effective defense against mosquitoes, with public health officials recommending insect repellents containing DEET.

Typically available as liquids, lotions, or sprays, the chemical likely deters mosquitoes by interfering with their sensory receptors, making humans harder to detect and unappealing. Health experts emphasize the DEET-based repellents are safe and effective when used as directed.

Now, a new study suggests mosquitoes may be more adaptable than previously thought, and the yellow fever mosquito can learn to associate the smell of DEET with a food reward, potentially changing how the insects respond to the chemical over time.

The findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, raise new questions about mosquito behavior and how to effectively use repellents in real-world settings.

Mosquitoes may learn from experience

DEET has long been considered the global gold standard in insect repellents. Previously, it was thought that DEET worked because mosquitoes disliked its taste and smell, and because it made humans harder to detect.

However, these findings suggest that the mosquito brain may play a larger role than previously understood.

In the study, researchers used a form of Pavlovian conditioning, the same learning process made famous by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, to train mosquitoes to connect the smell of DEET with feeding opportunities.

The study focused on Aedes aegypti, a mosquito species known for spreading serious viral illnesses including Yellow fever, Dengue fever, Zika, and Chikungunya.

Mosquitoes were placed behind mesh fabric while a warm blood source was positioned nearby. Once the insects began feeding, researchers introduced the smell of DEET.

After repeating the process four times, more than 60% of the mosquitoes later attempted to feed when exposed only to the odor of DEET.

The researchers then tested whether the learned behavior affected mosquito preferences. Mosquitoes were offered a choice between two human hands, one untreated and one coated with DEET at standard concentrations.

Untrained mosquitoes avoided the DEET-treated hand, while the trained mosquitoes were attracted to it.

The team also found mosquitoes could form the same learned association when sugar rather than blood was used as the reward.

Could reapplication be more important?

Importantly, the findings do not suggest that people should stop using DEET. The study authors emphasize that DEET remains one of the most effective repellents available, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions where mosquito-borne diseases are common.

Instead, the results indicate that how and when repellents are applied could influence their effectiveness.

If DEET concentrations weaken over time and mosquitoes can still feed, insects may begin associating the scent with a successful meal. This could be especially relevant for products such as treated clothing, where DEET levels may gradually decline after prolonged use.

Maintaining a consistent level of repellent protection may help reduce the likelihood that mosquitoes form these learned associations.

Rather than applying a large amount of DEET once, more frequent reapplication could potentially provide better protection by keeping the repellent active.

“Our results highlight the importance of taking the time to read the manufacturer’s recommendations on dosage and application frequency to ensure the product is effective,” lead author Clément Vinauger, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, told Medical News Today.

“Our work represents a very particular experimental scenario designed to test whether the DEET molecule itself is aversive — because of its toxicity to the mosquito or how it is detected by the mosquito — or whether mosquitoes interpret the molecule, and this interpretation can be changed by prior experiences.” 

“DEET is still considered the gold standard of repellents, and it is highly repellent to mosquitoes. A possible real-world situation our work mimics is a mosquito biting someone who applied DEET long ago.”

“If the amount of DEET remaining on that person’s skin is too low, it is possible for a mosquito to bite and learn the association between the presence of DEET and the possibility of obtaining a blood meal. But we think this situation is likely rare, and people should keep using DEET and reapply it according to the manufacturer’s recommendations to prevent this from happening.” 

– Clément Vinauger, PhD

Understanding how mosquitoes adapt

The study builds on years of research into mosquito learning and sensory behavior. Vinauger’s laboratory at Virginia Tech investigates how mosquitoes use smell, vision, and memory to locate hosts and adapt to changing environments.

Previous work from the group has suggested mosquitoes can remember and avoid hosts that swat at them, combine visual and odor cues to track humans, and respond differently to certain body soaps.

“We were not that surprised by the speed at which they could learn to associate DEET and a reward because our prior work had shown that the same species can learn to associate other body odors — lactic acid, octenol, for example — with a blood reward in only three trials, and that was enough for them to form long-term memories of that association,” Vinauger said to MNT.

“What is remarkable in the present study is the extent to which mosquitoes learned to ‘like’ DEET and even preferred the arm of a volunteer sprayed with DEET over the untreated arm of the same volunteer, meaning that the presence of DEET increased the attractiveness of this human host,” he added. 

“Again, our experimental design is closest to a scenario in which someone has trace amounts of DEET on their skin, a mosquito bites, and learns that DEET isn’t so bad after all. But we didn’t simulate this exactly: In our assays, mosquitoes were exposed to high concentrations of DEET only after they began feeding.” 

– – Clément Vinauger, PhD

As mosquito populations expand and potential resistance to insecticides grows, it is becoming increasingly important to understand these behaviors and develop effective strategies to protect against them,

“This work highlights the importance of a better understanding of the sensory biology, behavior, and cognitive abilities of mosquitoes for designing novel repellents, rather than the more costly and time-consuming approach consisting of testing hundreds of substances for their potential effectiveness,” Vinauger told us.

“Diversifying our arsenal against mosquitoes would help lower the risk of seeing mosquitoes becoming resistant, indifferent, or outsmarting our control strategies,” he concluded.

• A new study involving more than 100,000 participants concludes that certain food preservatives could harm cardiovascular health.
• The researchers identify eight preservatives that are linked to hypertension (high blood pressure).
• They also concluded that one additive was specifically associated with cardiovascular disease.
• While worrying, the study design means that the results cannot conclusively prove causation.

The results of a recent study published in the European Heart Journal suggest that certain common preservatives in food may increase hypertension and cardiovascular risk.  

Because this observational study cannot prove causation — other factors may explain the link — the authors call for further research. 

They also call for a re-evaluation of the risks by the relevant bodies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The rise of preservatives in food

With ultra-processed foods (UPFs) making headlines on a weekly basis, the scientific community and public at large are more focused on the potential health effects of food additives than ever before.

Preservatives, as the name suggests, prevent food from spoiling and pathogen invasion. They both improve food safety while increasing profits by extending shelf life. In 2019, roughly one-third of products purchased in the United States contained at least one preservative.

To be used in a product in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Europe, and many other regions, these additives are tested for safety. However, some believe that this testing is not thorough enough.

Interestingly, certain preservatives naturally occur in foods, such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E). Consumption of these compounds within whole foods is associated with better cardiovascular health.

However, some early research suggests that their impact may be harmful when consumed outside of whole foods, at least for some populations.

According to the authors of the new study, little research has been conducted on the cardiovascular effects of preservatives, so this study provides fresh insights.

Some preservatives linked to type 2 diabetes, cancer

The current study uses data from the largest nutrition study of its kind, called NutriNet-Santé. 

The project began in France in 2009 and now involves more than 100,000 participants who regularly submit dietary data. The researchers also have access to blood samples and stool samples to assess participants’ gut microbiome.

In recent years, the group has focused on the impact of ultra-processed foods and additives on health. Earlier this year, for instance, they published research looking at the links between preservatives, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.

They concluded that preservative intake was associated with an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Now, they are focusing on the association between these additives, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.

Quick note: In this study, the statistical term “incidence” measures the number of new cases of hypertension or cardiovascular disease that occurred during the study’s follow-up.

Which preservatives are most common in food?

In total, the analysis included data from 112,395 people, more than two-thirds of whom were female, with an average age of 42.8. These individuals were followed for an average of 7.9 years.

The scientists identified 58 different preservatives that were consumed by participants. Of these, 17 were consumed by at least 10% of participants, so the researchers focused on these compounds and their associations with cardiovascular disease and hypertension.

The most common 10 preservatives were:

1. Citric acid: Consumed by 91.3% consumers (largely from processed fruit and vegetables). 
2. Lecithins: 86.4%.
3. Total sulphites: 83.5% (mostly from alcoholic drinks).
4. Ascorbic acid: 83.0% (largely from processed fruit and vegetables).
5. Sodium nitrite: 73.3% (largely from processed meat products).
6. Potassium sorbate: 65.3%.
7. Sodium erythorbate: 52.5% (largely from processed meat products).
8. Sodium ascorbate: 49.7%.
9. Potassium metabisulfite: 44.2%.
10. Potassium nitrate: 32.3% (largely from processed meat products).

Unearthing new links between preservatives and heart health

As part of their analysis, the scientists accounted for a range of variables, including age, sex, height, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, smoking status, educational level, and family history of cardiometabolic disorder and hypertension. 

Their analysis also controlled for macronutrient consumption, how much fruit and vegetables they ate, and their intake of alcohol, salt, meat products, and dairy.

Even after adjusting for these factors, they found that higher intakes of total non-antioxidant preservatives were associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease.

Similarly, higher intakes of these preservative types were associated with a higher incidence of hypertension:

• total preservatives: 24% higher 
• total non-antioxidant preservatives: 29% higher
• total antioxidant preservatives: 22% higher

Antioxidant preservatives prevent chemical spoiling, whereas non-antioxidant preservatives work by killing microbes. 

When the scientists drilled down into specific compounds, greater intakes of these preservatives were associated with a higher incidence of hypertension:

• total sorbates: 39% higher
• potassium sorbate: 39% higher
• citric acid: 25% higher
• potassium metabisulfite: 16% higher
• total nitrites: 16% higher
• sodium nitrite: 16% higher
• ascorbic acid: 14% higher
• sodium erythorbate: 14% higher
• total ascorbates: 13% higher
• total erythorbates: 13% higher
• sodium ascorbate: 12% higher
• total sulphites: 11% higher
• extracts of rosemary: 10% higher

When assessing which individual preservatives were associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, only one remained significant:

• ascorbic acid: 15% higher 

Importantly, the researchers found no statistical interaction between diet quality or intake of UPFs. This means the effect is not solely because people who consumed more preservatives had an overall poorer diet. 

Limitations and the future

The current study has limitations. Because it is an observational study, it cannot prove causation. It is still possible that some other factor is responsible for the relationship between preservatives and heart health.

However, the authors end their paper with a call to arms: “This study provides new insights for revisiting the evaluation of the safety of these food additives, which should consider the benefit/risk balance between food preservation with these additives and their potential impact on cardiovascular health.”

• New research suggests that adults who completed 560 to 610 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week had a more than 30% lower risk of cardiovascular disease than inactive individuals.
• Current guidelines of 150 minutes of weekly exercise were linked to a more modest 8 to 9% reduction in cardiovascular risk.
• The findings suggest that those with lower cardiorespiratory fitness appeared to need more weekly exercise than fitter individuals to achieve the same heart health benefits.
• Researchers suggest future exercise recommendations may need to become more personalized, with separate targets for minimum health benefits versus optimal cardiovascular protection.

Regular exercise plays a vital role in improving heart health by strengthening the heart muscle, helping it work more efficiently, and reducing the risk of heart conditions.

Cardiorespiratory fitness describes the ability of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels to supply oxygen to the muscles during exercise. It can serve as a powerful, independent biomarker for heart health. It is improved through aerobic activities, such as walking, running, cycling, and swimming, which can help improve blood circulation and lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Current guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that adults complete at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. Strength exercises are also recommended at least twice a week.

However, this one-size-fits-all approach to exercise may not provide sufficient activity levels for all people, with a new study suggesting that some may need roughly four times higher weekly exercise than the current guidelines to achieve significant protection against heart attacks and stroke.

The findings, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, also propose personalized targets, suggesting that a person’s fitness level may influence how much exercise they need to gain cardiovascular benefits.

Current exercise guidelines may only offer a ‘minimum’

The researchers analyzed health and activity data from more than 17,000 adults participating in the UK Biobank study. The average age of participants was 57 years, 56% were female, and 96% were white.

Individuals wore wrist-based activity trackers continuously for 7 days and completed exercise testing designed to estimate their VO2 max. This is a measure of cardiorespiratory fitness that reflects the maximum volume of oxygen the body can use during intense exercise.

The analysis also included data on smoking status, alcohol intake, self-rated health and diet, body mass index, resting heart rate, and blood pressure.

During nearly 8 years of follow-up, the researchers recorded more than 1,200 cardiovascular events, including atrial fibrillation, heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes.

Adults who met the current 150-minute recommendation saw an 8 to 9% reduction in cardiovascular risk, regardless of fitness level. However, researchers reported that substantially larger benefits appeared only at much higher exercise volumes.

Notably, adults who completed between 560 and 610 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each week achieved substantial protection in cardiovascular risk, classed as a greater than 30% risk reduction.

However, the researchers add that only 12% of people in the study achieved this level of exercise.

Study author Ziheng Ning, PhD, Professor of Faculty of Health Sciences and Sports at Macao Polytechnic University emphasized to Medical News Today that these findings should not deter people from exercising.

“I think it is important that people interpret this finding carefully and not conclude that 150 minutes is ‘insufficient’ or ‘meaningless.’ The current WHO guideline remains extremely important because it is achievable, evidence-based, and clearly beneficial.”
— Ziheng Ning, PhD, study author

“What our study suggests is that 150 minutes per week may function more as a minimum effective threshold rather than the amount associated with maximal cardiovascular protection,” he said.

“To some extent, we were surprised that the estimated risk reduction at 150 minutes was relatively modest compared with the larger reductions observed at higher activity levels. However, modern lifestyles are also extremely sedentary. Many individuals spend most of the day sitting, so relatively short periods of exercise may not fully counterbalance prolonged inactivity physiology,” Ning explained.

“At the same time, cardiovascular adaptations are likely cumulative and nonlinear. Improvements in vascular function, autonomic regulation, metabolic health, and cardiorespiratory efficiency may continue developing with larger accumulated activity exposure over time,” he added.

Fitness levels appear to matter for heart health

The study also found that people with lower cardiorespiratory fitness may require roughly 30 to 50 additional minutes of weekly exercise to achieve the same level of protection as fitter individuals.

For example, participants with lower fitness required approximately 370 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week to lower cardiovascular risk by 20%, compared with around 340 minutes among those with higher fitness levels.

The researchers note that this may reflect a steeper challenge that people who are less physically conditioned may experience. This aligns with previous knowledge, as cardiorespiratory fitness is already known to be strongly linked with heart health, and lower fitness levels have consistently been associated with a higher risk of heart problems.

Researchers call for more personalized exercise advice

Based on their findings, the researchers suggest that exercise guidance may need to shift away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, future recommendations could distinguish between the minimum amount of exercise necessary for basic cardiovascular protection and the higher levels required for optimal risk reduction.

However, the team highlights that the study was observational, meaning it cannot prove cause and effect. Additionally, the participant group was predominantly white and may have been healthier than the broader population, potentially limiting the generalizability of the findings.

Also, the study did not fully account for certain factors, such as sedentary behavior or lower-intensity physical activity.

“I believe that [personalized exercise recommendations based on fitness levels] may gradually become an important future direction,” Ning told MNT. “Traditional public health guidelines are designed to be simple, achievable, and broadly applicable across populations. That remains extremely valuable.”

“However, our findings suggest that individuals with different cardiorespiratory fitness levels may require different amounts of physical activity to achieve comparable cardiovascular protection. This raises the possibility that future exercise medicine could become more individualized, incorporating fitness status, baseline cardiovascular risk, age, metabolic health, and lifestyle factors,” he continued.

“One important message from our study is that exercise should probably not be viewed as a simple pass/fail threshold. Cardiovascular protection appears to exist along a continuum. Some movement is better than none, more movement may provide additional benefit, and fitness itself plays an important independent role.”
— Ziheng Ning, PhD, study author

“Our findings ultimately support a broader shift toward more personalized and precision-based approaches to exercise and preventive medicine. In other words, we may gradually move from one-size-fits-all recommendations toward fitness-informed personalized exercise prescriptions,” Ning added.

What this means for everyday health

While the suggestion of requiring 4 times the amount of recommended exercise may sound daunting, it should not discourage people who do not regularly meet current exercise goals.

Even modest increases in physical activity remain beneficial for heart health, and current guidelines are still considered an important baseline for reducing disease risk.

Instead, the study findings suggest that people seeking greater cardiovascular protection may benefit from gradually increasing activity levels over time. In particular, people can incorporate enjoyable activities that improve overall fitness, such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling.

The findings also support future preventive heart care strategies implementing personalized exercise targets based on an individuals fitness levels rather than universal guidelines.

• In 2024, about 1.4 billion adults globally were living with high blood pressure. 
• Hypertension is currently treated through a combination of medications and healthy lifestyle factors.
• A new study has found that taking peppermint oil each day may also help with lowering high blood pressure. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 1.4 billion adults around the world were living with high blood pressure in 2024. 

Medically known as hypertension, this condition occurs when the heart has to use more force than normal to move blood through the arteries. Left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to several health issues, such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, vision loss, and dementia. 

High blood pressure is currently treated through a combination of medications and healthy lifestyle factors, such as eating a low sodium diet, being physically active, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Now, a study recently published in PLOS One Journal has found that taking peppermint oil each day may also help with lowering high blood pressure. 

Why peppermint oil?

For this study, researchers recruited 40 adults who had either elevated blood pressure, also sometimes referred to as “pre-hypertension,” and stage 1 hypertension.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), elevated blood pressure occurs when a person’s systolic blood pressure is between 120–129 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure under 80 mmHg, while stage 1 is defined by a systolic blood pressure between 130-139 mmHg and diastolic pressure between 80-89 mmHg.

Study participants were randomly selected to receive either 100 microliters (μL) per day of either peppermint oil or a peppermint-flavored placebo.

“We were interested in peppermint oil because peppermint contains biologically active compounds, particularly menthol and flavonoids, that have plausible relevance to blood pressure regulation,” Jonathan Sinclair, DSc, PhD, course leader MSc sport and exercise sciences at the University of Lancashire in the United Kingdom, and lead author of this study, told Medical News Today.

“Previous research has suggested that peppermint may have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, smooth muscle relaxant, and vasodilatory properties, all of which are potentially relevant to hypertension,” Sinclair added.

“Our group had also previously conducted a placebo-controlled trial in healthy individuals, where peppermint oil supplementation was associated with reductions in systolic blood pressure,” he continued.

“That provided a strong rationale to examine whether similar effects could be observed in a population where blood pressure reduction is more clinically relevant: individuals with pre-[hypertension, also commonly referred to as ‘elevated blood pressure’] and stage 1 hypertension,” Sinclair detailed.

Peppermint oil lowers systolic blood pressure, resting heart rate

After 20 days, researchers found the study participants taking peppermint oil lowered their systolic blood pressure by an average of 8.5 mmHg. 

“The reduction in systolic blood pressure was important because systolic blood pressure is a major predictor of cardiovascular risk, and even relatively modest reductions can be meaningful at a population level,” Sinclair explained.

“In our trial, after adjusting for baseline values, systolic blood pressure at 20 days was approximately 8.5 mmHg lower in the peppermint group compared with placebo, which is a sizable short-term effect. This finding suggests that peppermint oil supplementation may have the potential to support blood pressure reduction in people with pre- and stage one hypertension.”

– Jonathan Sinclair, DSc, PhD

Additionally, scientists discovered that study participants taking peppermint oil also experienced significantly lower resting heart rates after 20 days. 

“Resting heart rate is an important cardiovascular marker because a higher resting heart rate has been associated in epidemiological research with increased cardiovascular and all-cause mortality risk,” Sinclair said.

“In our study, resting heart rate was significantly lower in the peppermint group compared with placebo after the 20-day intervention, which suggests that peppermint oil may have influenced not only vascular tone but also cardiovascular regulation more broadly,” he noted.

How might peppermint oil lower blood pressure? 

If peppermint oil is able to help lower a person’s blood pressure, how does it work? 

Sinclair said the most plausible explanation relates to menthol, one of the main bioactive constituents of peppermint oil. 

“Menthol can activate TRPM8 channels, which are found in vascular and sensory tissues, and this activation may contribute to vasodilation through calcium-dependent endothelial signalling, nitric oxide-related pathways, and relaxation of vascular smooth muscle,” he explained. “In simple terms, peppermint oil may help blood vessels relax, which could reduce the pressure against which the heart has to pump.”

“However, our trial was not designed to directly measure these mechanisms, so while the biological rationale is strong, future studies should include measures such as endothelial function, nitric oxide metabolites, vascular stiffness, and autonomic markers to establish how peppermint oil may be exerting these effects,” Sinclair added.  

Best initial treatments for high blood pressure should be not be drugs

MNT had the opportunity to speak with Craig Basman, MD, FACC, FSCAI, associate director of the Structural and Congenital Heart Program at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, about this study, who commented his initial reaction was one of cautious optimism. 

“The findings that a simple, inexpensive, and widely available substance like peppermint oil could potentially lower blood pressure are certainly intriguing,” Basman, who was not involved in this research, said.

According to him: “It’s promising to see a study that is a randomized controlled trial, which is the gold standard for clinical research. However, it is a small study of only 40 patients, so while the results are encouraging, they are not definitive.” 

“The best initial treatment for high blood pressure should be non-pharmacological approaches. Medications are mostly safe and effective, but they come with cost, compliance issues, and side effects. Oftentimes we can avoid medications with lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise, which are the cornerstones of blood pressure management. These nonmedicinal options can empower patients to take a more active role in their own health and can be more accessible and affordable for many people.” 

– Craig Basman, MD, FACC, FSCAI

For future research, Basman said the most important next step is to see this research replicated in a larger, more diverse population. 

“A study with more participants would provide more robust data and help to confirm these initial findings,” he detailed. “It would also be beneficial to see longer-term studies to understand if the effects of peppermint oil on blood pressure are sustained over time and to identify any potential long-term side effects.”

“Additionally, research into the mechanism of action — how exactly peppermint oil is working to lower blood pressure — would be valuable,” Basman added. “This could lead to a better understanding of its effects and potentially to the development of more targeted therapies in the future.”

• In a clinical trial, adults who switched from high-dose injectable obesity drugs to oral GLP-1 pill Foundayo were able to maintain most of their previous weight loss over 1 year, with relatively limited weight regain.
• In another trial, patients who reduced their Zepbound dose to a lower 5 mg maintenance dose also preserved much of their earlier weight reduction compared with those who stopped treatment entirely.
• Both trials suggest maintenance strategies, such as lower-dose injections or oral therapies, could offer patients more flexible, potentially more convenient options for sustaining weight loss after intensive treatment.

Incretins are gut hormones that help regulate appetite, blood sugar, and digestion. Medications that mimic these hormones include GLP-1–based treatments, such as Zepbound, Wegovy, and Foundayo, which can lead to significant weight loss.

However, weight regain after stopping these medications is common, with research showing that many people regain at least some weight after stopping therapy, especially without ongoing lifestyle support.

Long-term weight maintenance represents one of the biggest challenges in obesity treatment. Many people may require ongoing treatment to maintain results. Instead of stopping medication suddenly, some people may transition gradually to lower doses. Alternatively, others may consider switching to oral formulations to improve adherence and maintain weight loss.

Now, two new late-phase clinical trials, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, suggest that transitioning from high dose injectable weight loss medications to either a daily pill or a lower maintenance dose can help people living with obesity to keep off most of the weight they have already lost

The results of the ATTAIN-MAINTAIN and SURMOUNT-MAINTAIN trials were presented at the European Congress on Obesity and published in Nature Medicine and The Lancet, respectively, and highlighted in a Lilly press announcement.

ATTAIN-MAINTAIN trial with GLP-1 pill Foundayo

Previous research suggests that 1 year after stopping weight loss medication, people may regain, on average, 60% of their lost weight. This raises questions as to whether obesity medications may need to be used long term.

The trials explored possible maintenance strategies of either switching from injections to an oral pill or reducing the dosage of injectable medication to help preserve earlier weight reduction.

One placebo-controlled trial, called ATTAIN-MAINTAIN, followed adults who had previously completed the SURMOUNT-5 obesity trial, a randomized controlled study evaluating whether tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound, led to greater body weight reduction versus semaglutide in adults with obesity.

The trial involved participants who had previously reached a body weight plateau. Individuals either switched from high dose Wegovy or high dose Zepbound to daily oral Foundayo or a placebo.

Participants who had been taking high dose Wegovy and switched to daily oral Foundayo regained an average of 0.9 kilograms (kg), or about 2 pounds (lbs) over 1 year. Those who transitioned from high dose Zepbound to Foundayo regained about 5 kg (11 lbs) on average over the same period.

The researchers note that people previously treated with tirzepatide generally lost more total weight initially, which may partly explain the larger rebound.

“These findings are not surprising,” Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, told Medical News Today.

“We’ve already seen similar patterns with other GLP-1 medications, including oral semaglutide. One consistent theme across studies is that when patients stop these medications, weight regain is common. So it follows that continuing treatment helps preserve weight loss over time.” 
— Mir Ali, MD

SURMOUNT-MAINTAIN trial with lower dose Zepbound

In the other placebo-controlled trial, SURMOUNT-MAINTAIN, the researchers investigated the efficacy and safety of maximum tolerated dose (MTD) tirzepatide and a lower 5 milligram (mg) dose for maintaining body weight reduction in adults with obesity.

After an initial 60 weeks on Zepbound at the MTD, participants either continued on the MTD, reduced the dose to 5 mg, or received a placebo.

Participants continuing treatment with Zepbound MTD preserved all of their prior weight loss over the 1-year period, while those on the dose reduction maintained all but 5.6 kg on average.

“These results align closely with what many clinicians are already seeing in practice,” Ali said. “Patients can often maintain their weight loss with a lower dose after initial success, which can help balance effectiveness with tolerability.” 

According to Lilly, both trials met their primary and all key secondary endpoints. The pharmaceutical company highlights that both primary endpoints were to demonstrate that oral Foundayo or Zepbound continuation at either the reduced dose or MTD was superior to placebo in maintaining body weight reduction.

How this may affect long-term obesity management

The findings add to growing evidence that obesity behaves like a chronic disease rather than a short-term condition that can be permanently reversed after temporary treatment.

Adherence to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) is important for their effectiveness. However, roughly half of the people using these drugs discontinue them within 1 year. Research indicates that stopping or interrupting obesity treatments, particularly weight-loss medications like GLP-1 drugs, frequently results in a rapid regain of lost weight.

The trial findings suggest that individuals may have greater flexibility in how they continue treatment after achieving substantial weight loss. Switching to an oral pill may appeal to those who dislike injections or want a simpler dosing routine, while a lower injectable dose may offer a cheaper option that may also result in less adverse events.

“This supports the idea that obesity should be treated as a chronic condition,” Ali explained to MNT. “Just like high blood pressure or diabetes, it often requires ongoing management. For many patients, transitioning to a maintenance dose after achieving weight loss may be a practical and sustainable long-term strategy.” 

Weight loss surgery vs. GLP-1 drugs

“Bariatric surgery remains the most effective option for long-term weight loss in appropriately selected patients. However, for those who choose medication-based treatment, it’s important to understand that these therapies are not short-term fixes—they typically require ongoing use to sustain results.”
— Mir Ali, MD

How long will weight loss results last?

Although the results appear promising, the studies primarily evaluated people who had already responded well to treatment and tolerated the medications.

For example, participants in the trials reported side effects that were generally consistent with previous studies, such as gastrointestinal symptoms, which are one of the main reasons that can lead to discontinuation of the drugs.

Additionally, longer-term data will also be necessary to determine how durable maintenance effects remain over multiple years. It will also be important to establish whether lower doses continue to protect against weight regain, and which patients benefit most from switching to oral therapies.

“Data like this could play an important role in shifting how obesity treatment is viewed—both clinically and by insurers,” Ali noted to MNT. “If long-term therapy is shown to be necessary to maintain health benefits, it may strengthen the case for broader insurance coverage and more consistent access to these medications.” 

“Overall, these studies reinforce the growing recognition of obesity as a long-term medical condition. Continued research showing the benefits of maintenance therapy may help reduce barriers to care, particularly when it comes to insurance coverage and long-term treatment planning.”
— Mir Ali, MD

• Research is ongoing regarding how migraine affects the risk for other health conditions. 
• One area of interest is how migraine affects the risk for ischemic stroke in middle-aged and older adults.
• One study found that in middle-aged and older adults, experiencing migraine with aura was linked to a higher risk for ischemic stroke. 

Experiencing migraine headaches can be challenging and painful. A subgroup of people who have migraine attacks experience migraine with aura, which involves experiencing distinct symptoms before or while the headache is occurring. 

One recent study published in Neurology Open Access, an official American Academy of Neurology journal, evaluated how migraine was linked to risk for ischemic stroke in older and middle-aged adults. Ischemic strokes happen when there’s an obstruction of blood supply to the brain, and most strokes are of this kind.

The researchers found that experiencing migraine aura was linked to a higher risk of ischemic stroke.

When considering age and sex, researchers found there was also a higher risk for ischemic stroke for men under 72 who experienced migraine episodes with or without aura.   

Migraine with aura and ischemic stroke risk

Previous research has suggested that migraine with aura may increase risk for ischemic stroke, but there has been less focus on middle-aged and older adults. 

This research included 11,381 participants who were part of the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study, a group that included adults who were at least 45 years old. Participants provided answers via a phone interview regarding migraine headaches and experiencing migraine with aura. 

The average age of participants was just over 72 years old, and just under 10% of participants experienced migraine attacks. The average follow-up time with participants was 6.4 years. 

Among participants with migraine, 3.9% experienced an ischemic stroke. This included 4.7% of migraine participants who experienced migraine with aura, and 3.3% of migraine participants who did not experience an aura. Among participants without migraine, 3.4% experienced an ischemic stroke. 

Overall, researchers did not find that migraine in general was significantly associated with risk for ischemic stroke. Breaking this down by subtype, migraine without aura was not associated with a higher risk for ischemic stroke. However, migraine with aura was associated with a higher risk of ischemic stroke. 

Exploratory analyses further found that men younger than 72 who had migraine episodes had the greatest risk for ischemic stroke. In contrast, women and older men did not appear to be at an increased risk for ischemic stroke. 

Finally, while it didn’t reach statistical significance, participants with migraine were more likely to experience an ischemic stroke that was because of small vessel disease. 

Overall, researchers suggest their findings indicate that middle-aged and older adults who experience migraine with aura have a 1.5 to 1.9 times higher risk for ischemic stroke. 

The study provides key insight into how migraine relates to stroke risk in older and middle-aged adults.

Walavan Sivakumar, MD, board-certified neurosurgeon, director of neurosurgery, and chief of staff at Providence Little Company of Mary in Torrance, CA, who was not involved in this research, offered Medical News Today his perspective on the study findings.

Sivakumar noted that:

“The REGARDS cohort is a robust, biracial national sample with rigorous stroke adjudication, lending credibility to the findings. The headline result — that migraine with aura confers a 73% increased hazard of ischemic stroke even after adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors — is clinically meaningful. What I found most striking, however, was the unexpected subgroup finding: Men under 72 with migraine, regardless of aura status, had more than a 3.5-fold increased stroke risk, which was counterintuitive given prior literature emphasizing risk in younger women. That finding alone warrants serious follow-up.” 

Should everyone with migraine worry about stroke risk?

While these study results are insightful, they also have limitations. For example, there may be a risk for bias related to the exclusion of younger women with migraine who had already experienced a stroke.

Researchers encourage caution when it comes to the stroke subtype information in this study since they had limited data on this front. 

Some data, like migraine status, sex, and race, were based on participant reporting. Additionally, clinical care access may not have been equal for participants, and it’s possible that there was some migraine misclassification that occurred. Misclassification could have led to lower associations regarding migraine and ischemic stroke. 

Migraine with aura was also self-reported, based on participants reporting vision changes prior to migraine headaches.

Since blurry vision can also occur with migraine headaches, it’s possible that there was overclassification when it came to migraine with aura status. Based on how aura was evaluated, non-visual auras were also not evaluated. 

Researchers didn’t have data on when participants were diagnosed with migraine, which also could have impacted findings. Residual confounding is also possible because of unaccounted-for factors. 

Since the study population only included white and Black individuals, it’s unclear if the results would be similar in other groups. The research may also be limited by other components of the REGARDS study.

For example, researchers note that this study “oversampled Black adults and individuals living in the southeastern Stroke Belt area of the United States.” Finally, funding of the study and the related guidance could have influenced results. 

Reza Bavarsad Shahripour, MD, RPNI, FASN, FAHA, Assistant Professor in the UCSD Stroke Center, and Director of the Neurovascular Lab in Department of Neuroscience at UCSD, who was likewise not involved in this research, highlighted the following limitations of the data: 

“Migraine diagnosis and aura status were based on self-report rather than formal International Headache Society diagnostic criteria, and the study lacked detailed information regarding migraine onset, attack frequency, severity, and treatment history. Additionally, although the relative risk increase was significant, the absolute event rates remained relatively modest, with ischemic stroke occurring in 4.7% of participants with migraine with aura compared with 3.4% of those without migraine.”

‘Findings may encourage clinicians to incorporate migraine history’ in stroke prevention

This research suggests that it may be important to consider migraine with aura when it comes to risk factors for ischemic stroke, although there’s likely a need for more research. 

Shahripour noted that, “from a clinical standpoint, these findings may encourage clinicians to incorporate migraine history, especially aura symptoms, into broader vascular risk assessment and stroke prevention counseling.“

“Migraine with aura may represent more than simply a headache disorder and could potentially serve as an independent cerebrovascular risk marker,” he added.

Sivakumar also noted similar clinical implications, saying that: “This study reinforces that migraine with aura should not be treated as merely a headache disorder — it is a cerebrovascular risk marker that deserves a place in our clinical risk stratification conversations.“

“Neurologists and primary care physicians should be asking about aura status in patients who report migraines and documenting it,“ he added.

“If the male-under-72 subgroup finding is replicated, it could have real implications for how we counsel this demographic about stroke prevention, including aggressive management of modifiable risk factors like hypertension, dyslipidemia, and smoking. It may also prompt consideration of whether migraine history should be formally incorporated into cardiovascular risk scoring tools,” Sivakumar suggested.

• A new study suggests that quitting smoking may be associated with a lower risk of dementia and slower cognitive decline over time.
• The researchers found that the participants who quit smoking had a 16% lower risk of dementia compared with people who continued smoking.
• The cognitive benefits of quitting smoking were strongest among people who gained little or no weight after quitting.

Quitting smoking cigarettes can reduce the risk of many health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, and stroke. A new study suggests that smoking cessation may also support long-term brain health. 

The study followed more than 32,000 adults in the United States for up to 25 years to examine the connection between smoking habits, post-cessation weight changes, and cognitive health. 

The researchers found an association between smoking cessation and a lower risk of developing dementia. They also found that these people experienced slower rates of cognitive decline compared with people who continued smoking.

The study is published in Neurology.

Smoking and cognitive health: Data from a large study

Smoking rates in the U.S. have steadily declined over the past several decades as more research on the health issues it can contribute to, such as heart disease and lung cancer, has come out. According to the American Lung Association, smoking rates dropped below 10% in 2024.

Researchers are interested in how smoking can affect brain health. For example, a recent study suggests that smoking may contribute to cognitive decline through oxidative stress. 

A new long-term study adds to this by looking at the potential cognitive impacts of smoking cessation.

The researchers analyzed data from the Health and Retirement Study, a large-scale study of U.S. adults aged 50 and above. The analysis included 32,802 adults who did not have dementia at the beginning of the study.

The study followed the participants between 1995 and 2020, with a median follow-up period of nearly 10 years. During that time, they completed interviews every 2 years about their smoking habits, body weight, lifestyle behaviors, and medical history.

The researchers grouped participants into three categories: 

1. current smokers
2. former smokers
3. never-smokers. 

They considered participants who reported smoking during one interview but not the next to have quit smoking during the study period.

The scientists also tracked weight changes after quitting smoking, ranging from no weight gain to a gain exceeding about 22 pounds.

To measure cognitive health, the researchers used assessments that evaluated skills such as word recall, counting backward, and serial subtraction. 

Smoking cessation: Excessive weight gain negates benefits

By the end of the study, nearly 6,000 participants had developed dementia.

Compared with people who kept smoking, participants who quit smoking during the study had a 16% lower risk of dementia. 

People who quit smoking before the study began also had lower dementia risk, as did people who had never smoked.

The researchers found that the benefits of quitting appeared to increase over time. Dementia risk gradually declined the longer people remained smoke-free, approaching the level seen in never-smokers after about 7 years of smoking cessation.

“In our study, the benefits appeared stronger with longer time since quitting,” lead study author Hui Chen, PhD, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, told Medical News Today. “The practical message is: quit smoking, stay physically active, eat well, and manage cardiovascular and metabolic health.”

The study also examined how weight gain after quitting smoking affected these outcomes.

Participants who gained little or no weight after quitting appeared to experience the greatest cognitive benefits. 

People who gained up to about 11 pounds still showed a significantly lower dementia risk and slower cognitive decline compared with people who continued smoking.

The participants who gained more than 22 pounds after quitting smoking, however, did not appear to have any cognitive benefits. 

“Our study suggests that people who quit, overall, had lower dementia risk and slower cognitive decline than those who continued smoking, so quitting smoking should remain the priority,” Chen said. 

“Some weight gain after quitting is common and should not discourage cessation,” he continued. “However, preventing excessive weight gain may help preserve the long-term brain-health benefits of quitting.”

Chen noted that smoking likely affects the brain through multiple pathways, including vascular damage, inflammation, and oxidative stress. 

Smoking cessation must come with healthy habits

Dung Trinh, MD, an internist at MemorialCare Medical Group and chief medical officer of the Healthy Brain Clinic, told MNT that the findings reinforce the importance of smoking cessation for long-term brain health.

“What stands out most is that smoking cessation was associated with a reduction in dementia risk, but the benefit was not uniform,” Trinh, who was not involved in the current study, said. 

He noted that people who quit smoking and gained little or no weight appeared to preserve the cognitive benefit, while those with substantial weight gain did not show the same reduction in dementia risk.

“The practical takeaway is clear: quit smoking, stay quit, and pair cessation with healthy weight and metabolic management,” Trinh suggested.

Anoop Singh, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist from Mindpath Health, said the study offers a hopeful message about the potential brain-health benefits of quitting smoking.

“What stands out most is the hopeful message that quitting smoking may benefit not only the heart and lungs, but also long-term brain health,” Singh, who was likewise not involved in this research, told us. 

He noted that the study found lower dementia risk among people who quit smoking, especially with only modest weight gain after quitting.

Singh emphasized that concerns about weight gain should not discourage people from quitting smoking.

“Some weight gain can happen and should not be seen as failure,” he said. “The goal is to combine smoking cessation with steady habits: regular movement, good sleep, stress management, balanced meals, and appropriate medical or behavioral support.”

– Anoop Singh, MD

• Vitamin D is an important nutrient in the body, supporting bone, muscle, and immune system health. 
• Past studies also show that vitamin D may help protect the body from certain diseases, like cognitive impairment and dementia. 
• A new study has found that taking a high dose of vitamin D3 during pregnancy may help set up offspring for better cognitive health by age 10. 

Vitamin D is an important nutrient in the body as it plays a large role in bone and muscle health, as well as immune system support. 

Past studies also show that vitamin D may help alleviate symptoms of depression, and could help lower the risk of certain chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, and dementia. 

Now, a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open has found that taking a high dose of vitamin D3 during pregnancy may help set the offspring up for better cognitive health by age 10. 

High vitamin D supplementation improves visual, verbal memory

There are two types of vitamin D — vitamin D3 and vitamin D2. For this study, researchers focused on vitamin D3, which is either synthesized in the human body through sunlight exposure, or absorbed from certain foods like fatty fish, cod liver oil, egg yolks, and foods fortified with vitamin D. 

Researchers conducted a second analysis of findings from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 randomized clinical trial, which took place 2009-2010, and included 700 mother-child pairs from Denmark.

During pregnancy, mother participants had taken either a high-dose of 2,800 International Units per day (IU/d) or standard-dose (400 IU/d) vitamin D3 supplement from week 24 to their first week postpartum. 

Scientists assessed the cognitive function of almost 500 children from the original study when they reached age 10 using part of the Copenhagen Prospective Study on Neuro-Psychiatric Development (COPSYCH), which tests 11 different cognitive functions, such as spatial working memory, motor speed, sustained attention, and reaction time.

At the study’s conclusion, researchers found a positive association between high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation during pregnancy to a child’s visual memory, verbal memory, and flexibility by age 10.

More evidence of the ‘superpowers’ of vitamin D

Medical News Today had the opportunity to speak with Sheryl Ross, MD, a board-certified ob-gyn and Women’s Health Expert at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, about this study.

Ross, who was not involved in the research, commented that seeing this new study makes her even more excited about the superpowers of vitamin D, which has always behaved more than just a typical vitamin.  

“Vitamin D has always gone above and beyond bone, muscle, and immune support as a vitamin,” Ross detailed. “Its collateral health benefits of potentially preventing chronic diseases, cognitive decline, dementia, and depression for people is exciting, especially if some of the cognitive benefits are being passed onto the baby.“

“More research on how vitamin D can help the cognitive health of the baby is needed,“ she cautioned, “but this initial study is an exciting beginning.” 

Ross explained that:

“Vitamin D receptors are all over the body including the memory center, called the hippocampus, in the brain. It also has a role in developing neurons, dopamine and serotonin production, anti-inflammatory protection, and defending against oxidative stress that can negatively affect brain function. Having adequate Vitamin D levels helps support memory, learning, and cognitive functioning. It makes sense that in the developing brain of a baby, having adequate vitamin D levels support overall cognitive functioning.” 

“This study was the perfect segway to make the connection between adequate maternal vitamin D levels and improved long-term cognitive functioning for developing babies,” she noted.

“More research could be done introducing a diversified patient cohort, longer-term follow-up beyond 10 years, monitoring vitamin D levels prior to pregnancy and using advanced brain imaging (MRI) on the developing baby to identify areas of the brain most responsive to vitamin D,” suggested the ob-gyn.

How best to increase vitamin D intake during: Expert advice

Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, offered some expert tips on how best to increase vitamin D3 intake during pregnancy.

“Vitamin D continues to be one of the most common nutrient insufficiencies I see as an RDN,” Richard said.

“Food-first recommendations remain an important priority, but it can be difficult to obtain adequate vitamin D from food alone depending on the dietary pattern, access and body’s ability to absorb, convert and use,” she noted.

She listed out some of the best food sources for vitamin D, which include: 

• fatty fish like salmon, trout, tuna, and sardines
• egg yolks
• UV-irradiated mushrooms
• fortified foods such as dairy products, plant milks, cereals, and some orange juices.

“Many of these foods are also rich in fatty acids, vitamin C, choline, potassium, magnesium, and B vitamins that further support maternal and child health by supporting brain function, cell reproduction and development, immune system support, and more,” Richard explained.

“From a practical nutrition standpoint, consistency matters most — along with individualized testing and recommendations from a healthcare professional,“ she added.

“If supplements are suggested, the brand, source, quality of the product, form and delivery method as well as dose, frequency, duration and timing — […] when these are taken, with what and when during the day — are equally important to address and be done in collaboration with the RDN and healthcare team,” Richard advised.

“A balanced approach includes sensible sun exposure when appropriate, vitamin D-rich foods, fortified foods, and supplements, if, and as needed — with reassessment and big picture evaluation being followed — particularly for higher-risk groups or those with documented insufficiency,” she emphasized.

Casting some final reflections on the study findings, Meridan Zerner, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD, CHWC, founder of Meridan Zerner Nutrition in Dallas, TX, who was not involved in this research, told MNT that while these results seem encouraging, the data is nuanced, and the current guidance would likely not change based on one secondary analysis.

“There are several unmeasured contributors and the demographic base is not reflective of a wide population,” Zerner continued.

“The dose of [vitamin] D is higher than the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommendations of 600 IUs for prenatal care, and 400 IUs are often found in a prenatal vitamin assuming, some [vitamin] D will come from the diet as well,” she pointed out.

“Other guidelines would need to be carefully assessed [on a] person by person [basis] before recommending a much higher dose,” Zerner concluded.

• A new study suggests that females are more likely than males to experience several modifiable dementia risk factors, including depression, physical inactivity, and sleep problems.
• Additionally, certain risk factors, particularly hypertension, higher BMI, diabetes, and hearing loss, were linked to stronger negative effects on cognitive performance in females compared to males.
• The study suggests that dementia prevention strategies may be more effective when tailored by sex, focusing not only on how common a risk factor is, but also on how strongly it impacts cognition.
• The findings support targeted interventions, with approaches such as improving cardiovascular health, increasing physical activity, and treating depression potentially offering greater benefits for females.

Dementia is more prevalent in females than in males. In the United States, women account for nearly two-thirds of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. Previously, researchers suggested this discrepancy may be due to women living longer, with increasing age being the strongest known risk factor for dementia.

However, growing evidence suggests that sex differences may influence both the development and progression of dementia. Notably, hormonal changes, genetics, healthcare disparities, and social determinants of health could all contribute to the unequal burden of dementia among women. Additionally, women may respond differently to certain risk factors across their life span.

Now, a new study from researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggests that women may experience stronger cognitive effects from several modifiable dementia risk factors than men, even when those risks are less common overall.

Published in Biology of Sex Differences, the findings support tailored dementia prevention strategies that target the specific modifiable risk factors most applicable to each individual.

Some dementia risk factors may affect women more severely

In the study, the researchers analyzed health and cognitive data from more than 17,000 middle-aged and older adults in the U.S.

They examined 13 established modifiable dementia risk factors using data from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study. These included depression, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, hearing loss, diabetes, hypertension, sleep problems, alcohol use, cholesterol levels, poor vision, social isolation, and education level.

The analysis found notable differences in both the prevalence and impact of these factors between sexes.

Namely, females were more likely to report depression, physical inactivity, sleep problems, elevated cholesterol, smoking, poor vision, and lower educational attainment. Meanwhile, males were more likely to experience hearing loss, diabetes, and heavy alcohol use.

However, the most significant finding was that several risk factors appeared to be more strongly associated with poorer cognitive performance in females.

Conditions relating to cardiovascular and metabolic health, such as hypertension and higher body mass index (BMI), had stronger negative cognitive associations in women than in men. Additionally, although hearing loss and diabetes were more common in males, they were linked to worse cognitive outcomes in females.

These findings suggest that the higher dementia risk in females may reflect both greater exposure and stronger negative effects of these risk factors.

Which factors affect females more strongly?

Judy Pa, PhD, professor of neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine and corresponding author of the study, spoke to Medical News Today about the possible sex-based differences that may cause these factors to affect female cognition more strongly:

“There are a few areas of research that link women and heightened Alzheimer’s disease risk. In addition to the additional stressors from caregiving (and sandwich generation of young children plus aging parents), strong evidence shows that the major genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease is the APOE4 risk allele.”

“This is found in about 25% of the general population and elevates the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease dementia in women more than in men. This may be due to the role of the APOE gene in lipid metabolism (heart health),” she continued.

“Another factor to consider for women is the major life event of menopause, which is largely a neurological [transition]. There are major biological shifts that occur with menopause, like changes in blood pressure, glucose metabolism, and inflammation. But we don’t understand how these systemic changes influence brain health.”
— Judy Pa, PhD

Pa also mentions they are part of a national scientific leadership team that is studying how menopause influences brain health through the Longitudinal Menopause Project (LMP). She adds that this study will serve as one of the flagship scientific programs examining the perimenopause period in women 35 to 59 years of age.

What the findings could mean for dementia prevention

The researchers suggest the results support a more personalized approach to dementia prevention, often referred to as precision medicine.

Rather than applying the same prevention priorities to everyone, future strategies could move beyond identifying the most widespread risks and instead focus on the risk factors that appear most harmful within specific groups.

“We are pursuing different approaches to personalized dementia prevention, including a current large NIH clinical trial grant under review,” Pa told MNT.

“The key is personalized, precision prevention. What is the best treatment and for whom? This includes both sex/gender and genetic risk as there is emerging evidence that dementia prevention approaches could differ depending on APOE4 status,” she said.

“While this newly published study is not causal in nature as it comes from longitudinal observation data in the U.S., we are examining each of the factors individually based on one’s risk profile to better understand causality in a randomized clinical trial, and one factor of many is sex/gender.”
— Judy Pa, PhD

Based on these findings, for females this may include a greater emphasis on treating depression, increasing physical activity, managing blood pressure, improving cardiovascular health, and addressing obesity and metabolic conditions.

As these risk factors are modifiable, they offer practical opportunities to reduce dementia risk before cognitive symptoms appear.

However, the study authors add that additional long-term research is still necessary to better understand why these sex-based differences emerge and how they evolve over time.

Identifying 14 risk factors to help prevent dementia

“We are deeply committed to tailored, personalized, precision prevention approaches for dementia,” Pa emphasized to MNT.

“We believe a one size fits all approach will not work for everyone. And that we are likely to have greater benefit and impact if approaches are tailored to a specific risk factor profile, including sex/gender, APOE4, and current risks like untreated high blood pressure, inactive lifestyle, poor sleep, and early cognitive complaints, among others.”
— Judy Pa, PhD

“With successful NIH funding, we will launch a precision prevention approach in a large, randomized controlled trial of approximately 1,000 older adults in the U.S., to move the needle closer and closer to tailored prevention strategies for our communities,” Pa announced.

Although more research is required to develop more targeted interventions for disproportionately affected groups, such as females, previous research has highlighted various risk factors for the general public.

Namely, evidence suggests that nearly half of all dementia cases worldwide can be prevented or delayed by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors across a person’s lifespan. These include:

• less education
• hearing loss
• high LDL cholesterol levels
• depression
• traumatic brain injury
• physical inactivity
• diabetes
• smoking
• hypertension
• obesity
• excessive alcohol
• social isolation
• air pollution
• visual loss

As such, while the magnitude of certain risk factors will vary among individuals, it is generally advisable to address preexisting health issues, adopt a healthier dietary plan, increase physical activity, and maintain cognitive stimulation to help prevent dementia.

• Cardiovascular disease is a major risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia.
• Research has linked heart attacks with an increased risk of cognitive decline.
• Now, a study suggests that even undiagnosed heart attacks, or silent myocardial infarctions, can speed cognitive decline.
• The researchers recommend that routine electrocardiograms to detect silent MIs, together with self-reported history, might help identify individuals at higher risk of long-term cognitive impairment. 

Cardiovascular disease is a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels, thought to affect around 650 million people worldwide. A common result of cardiovascular disease is myocardial infarction, better known as a heart attack.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that about 805,000 people have a heart attack each year, of which one in five are “silent,” or undiagnosed at the time.

Now, a study has suggested that any type of heart attack, even a silent one, increases a person’s risk of cognitive decline over time.

Speaking to Medical News Today, Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, explained that:

“It is not entirely understood why a history of myocardial infarction is associated with faster cognitive decline. It may be that people who have heart attacks are also more likely to develop blockages in blood vessels in the brain, leading to brain ischemia and even brain infarcts that accelerate brain deficits.”

The research, which is published in Stroke, suggests that electrocardiograms (ECG), and self-reported history, could be a low-cost way to identify people at higher risk of cognitive decline.

Cardiovascular disease linked to cognitive decline

Research has suggested that there is a link between cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline, and that the link is two-way.

Coronary heart disease, heart failure, higher blood pressure variability, sudden blood pressure drops, and atrial fibrillation are all thought to increase the likelihood of cognitive impairment. But cognitive impairment also increases the risk of cardiovascular events, such as strokes and heart attacks.

This new research looked at data from more than 20,000 Black and white Americans aged 45 and over enrolled in the REGARDS (REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke) study, a longitudinal cohort study investigating elevated stroke mortality in the south eastern United States. 

This region, known as the Stroke Belt, has had a higher stroke mortality rate than the rest of the U.S. since the 1940s, for reasons which may include a larger proportion of Black people and residents with higher prevalence of traditional stroke risk factors, higher prevalence of inflammation and infection, and lower socioeconomic status.

For their analysis, researchers included participants who had baseline interview data about their medical history, had undergone height, weight, blood pressure, ECG, medication inventory, fasting blood sample, and urine collection at baseline and follow up and had interpretable ECG data.

At their interview, participants were asked whether they had ever had a heart attack diagnosed by a physician. They then underwent ECG screening, which detects signs of a previous heart attack.

The researchers recorded silent heart attacks for those people who had ECG evidence of a previous heart attack, but had never been diagnosed with one. Those who had no ECG evidence of heart attack, but had been diagnosed with one were recorded as “self-reported myocardial infarction.”

In total, 2,183 (10.4%) of participants had any heart attack, of which 1,098 were self-reported (5.2%), 281 clinical (1.3%), and 804 silent heart attacks (3.8%).

During the follow-up period of between 10 and 14 years, the researchers also carried out annual cognitive assessments with all participants, to assess whether they had any cognitive impairment over time.

Any heart attack linked to faster cognitive decline

The researchers found that any heart attack, whether silent, self-diagnosed, or with evidence from ECG and diagnosis, was linked to higher likelihood of cognitive impairment, with an even stronger link to severe cognitive impairment over time.

White, Black and male participants all showed similar declines in cognitive scores for all MI types. For females, only self-reported and silent heart attacks were associated with faster cognitive decline, but the researchers noted that silent MI was more common in females. They suggest that this may be due to under diagnosis of MI in females.

The researchers noted that individuals with silent heart attacks have more small vessel disease, and less large vessel atherosclerosis that those with recognised heart attacks, as well as greater risk of ischemic stroke.

They suggest that subclinical cerebral infarcts — small strokes that cause no symptoms and often precede symptomatic strokes — in these people could contribute to cognitive deterioration. 

Could routine ECG help detect those at most risk?

ECG, which Chen — who was not involved in the recent research — confirmed was “a useful screening tool for patients we think are at higher risk of heart disease”, detects undiagnosed heart attacks by recording irregular heart patterns.

In people who have had a heart attack, the Q-wave — the small wave before the main contraction of the ventricles that results in a large R-wave on the ECG readout — is deeper or wider than on an ECG from someone who has not had a previous heart attack.

The researchers conclude that: “evidence of a prior [myocardial infarction] was associated with an accelerated rate of cognitive decline in a large national, biracial population,” and  “[u]sing ECG and self-reported history may provide a pragmatic, low-cost strategy to identify individuals at elevated risk for cognitive decline.”

Keep heart and blood vessels healthy to reduce cognitive decline risk

Studies show that common cardiovascular diseases interact with cognition, particularly in the elderly, and that they may increase the risk of dementia. Keeping your heart and blood vessels healthy could, therefore, help reduce your likelihood of cognitive decline.

Chen advised:

“To keep the blood vessels in the heart and brain healthy, we recommend that people get regular physical activity, eat a diet low in saturated fat and sodium, avoid tobacco and alcohol, keep their blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol numbers under control, maintain a healthy weight, and get enough quality sleep.”

• A new study highlights that people with a biological age older than their chronological age have a higher risk of developing dementia and may develop the disease earlier in life.
• The findings suggest that individuals with both accelerated biological aging and genetic risk factors could be up to 10 times more likely to develop dementia.
• Using a blood-based ‘metabolomic aging clock’ could help identify those at risk before symptoms appear, and support earlier prevention strategies and improved recruitment for dementia clinical trials.

Biological age is a measure of how fast a person’s cells are aging, independent of their actual calendar, or chronological age. It estimates a person’s age by measuring biomarkers and can represent an individual’s overall health state.

While chronological age can only move forward, biological age can be younger or older than calendar age, depending on health and lifestyle factors.

Growing research suggests that a higher biological age, known as biological age acceleration, could serve as a reliable predictor of disease onset.

Now, new research led by scientists at King’s College London, in the United Kingdom, suggests a blood-based measure of biological age could help identify people at greater risk of developing dementia before clinical symptoms emerge.

The study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Notably, the findings suggest that people whose biological age exceeded their chronological age were significantly more likely to develop dementia, particularly vascular dementia, and tended to develop the condition at a younger age.

Biological aging clock and dementia risk

Biological aging clocks describe tools that analyze molecular data to estimate a person’s biological age. In this study, researchers used a metabolomic aging clock to analyze metabolites, or small molecules produced during metabolism, which are detectable in blood plasma.

Changes in these metabolites have previously been linked to age-related illnesses and premature mortality.

Using blood samples from more than 220,000 participants in the UK Biobank database, the research team calculated each individual’s biological age and compared it with their chronological age.

The resulting difference, called “MileAge delta,” indicated whether a person was aging faster or slower than expected.

Over the course of the study, nearly 4,000 participants developed dementia. The analysis suggests that those with a biological age exceeding their chronological age by more than one standard deviation, which accounted for roughly 16% of participants, had a 20% greater risk of developing dementia over time compared with people whose biological age was younger.

Notably, the risk was even more pronounced for vascular dementia, where accelerated biological aging was associated with a 60% higher likelihood of developing the disease.

Lead author Julian Mutz, PhD, King’s Prize Research Fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, told Medical News Today he was not surprised by the strong link to vascular dementia.

“This partly reflects the type of data used to develop the metabolomic MileAge clock. The metabolites measured by the Nightingale Health metabolomics platform are predominantly lipids and lipoproteins, which are molecules closely linked to cardiovascular and metabolic health,” said Mutz.

“It is therefore not surprising that the clock is especially sensitive to vascular risk and by extension to vascular dementia,” he added.

Biological aging and genetic risk

While aging is the strongest known risk factor for dementia, certain genetic variants can also increase risk. Namely, research highlights that individuals carrying two copies of the APOE4 variant are at the highest genetic risk for developing dementia.

The researchers discovered that combining biological aging data with genetic risk factors substantially improved dementia risk predictions.

Namely, individuals with advanced biological aging, who also carry two APOE4 gene variants, were up to 10 times more likely to develop dementia than the average participant in the study.

“The tenfold figure is striking but it is worth unpacking what is driving it,” Mutz explained to MNT. “APOE4 substantially raises risk and indeed is the strongest genetic risk factor for dementia. What our metabolomic clock adds is an additional non-genetic risk factor.”

“So while a tenfold increase is a very large, it reflects the combination of a powerful genetic risk factor with an indicator of biological aging. The important point is that these two sources of risk are complementary. And unlike genetic risk, metabolomic aging is potentially modifiable through lifestyle or clinical intervention.”

– Julian Mutz, PhD

The team also note that these two factors appear to act independently, suggesting distinct genetic and biological aging pathways linked to dementia.

Dementia risk may not be inevitable

While advancing age and genetic variants are known risk factor for dementia, the researchers emphasize that it is not an unavoidable condition.

Previous estimates suggest that approximately 45% of global dementia cases could be delayed or prevented through addressing modifiable risk factors, such as cardiovascular health, smoking, diet, exercise, and social isolation.

The researchers note that their findings could contribute to earlier diagnosis and intervention. Combining genetic and biological aging information could enable preventative strategies to help delay or even stop dementia in its tracks.

Potential future role in screening

Based on their findings, the research team believe that blood plasma-based aging clocks could eventually become a practical tool for identifying higher-risk individuals in midlife, due to being minimally invasive and relatively scalable.

Additionally, the technology could also help to improve recruitment for clinical trials focused on dementia prevention or disease-modifying therapies.

“There are two ways this could help,” Mutz told MNT. “First, biological aging markers like MileAge could serve as outcome measures in trials.”

“Dementia takes many years to develop, which makes it difficult and expensive to use dementia incidence as a trial endpoint. A blood-based aging marker that can be measured at any time point could offer a practical way to assess whether an intervention likely impacts aging and, by extension, disease risk,” he added.

“Second,” Mutz detailed, “these markers could help identify and recruit individuals with older than expected biological age into trials, enriching the study population with people more likely to benefit from intervention.”

However, while the results are promising, the researchers caution that more research is still necessary before metabolomic aging clocks are introduced into routine clinical care. While the study highlighted an association between biological aging and dementia risk, it does not prove that accelerated biological aging directly causes dementia.

• A meta-analysis of 32 phase 3 clinical trials, involving more than 43,000 adults with overweight or obesity, found that newer anti-obesity medications were associated with significant reductions in blood pressure.
• Participants taking the medications lost an average of 10.9% of their body weight and experienced an average 5.2 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure compared with placebo.
• Results suggest that every 1% reduction in body weight was linked to a 0.34 mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure, with weight loss explaining roughly 77% of the blood pressure-lowering effect.
• The findings suggest that modern obesity drugs, such as GLP-1 drugs, may provide cardiovascular benefits beyond weight loss alone, although further studies are necessary.

Obesity is a chronic condition that affects more than two in five adults in the United States. The main treatment for obesity is sustained weight loss, which typically involves lifestyle modifications, and may also include certain medications.

Anti-obesity medications are drugs that can aid in weight loss, primarily by curbing appetite, increasing feelings of fullness, or altering fat absorption.

There is a growing demand for weight-loss drugs, and guidelines highlight the role of certain medications, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, in treating obesity.

Modern obesity medications may offer an additional cardiovascular benefits beyond weight loss, such as helping to manage high blood pressure, or hypertension.

Obesity and hypertension frequently occur together and significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease, and premature death. Current medical guidelines already recommend weight management as a key strategy for controlling hypertension.

Now, a study presented at the European Congress on Obesity 2026 by researchers from Leiden University Medical Center and University Health Network, in The Netherlands, suggests modern obesity medications may have a larger role in cardiovascular risk reduction than previously appreciated.

Findings from the large meta-analysis — which are yet to appear in a peer-reviewed journal — indicate that greater weight loss achieved with newer anti-obesity medications was closely associated with reductions in systolic blood pressure.

How much did blood pressure change?

Researchers analyzed data from 32 phase 3 clinical trials involving 43,618 adults with overweight or obesity. Participants had an average age of 54 years, and average body mass index (BMI) of 35.5, with nearly 60% living with hypertension and almost 10% living with type 2 diabetes.

There was an even split of male and female participants, the median treatment duration was 66 weeks, and the baseline systolic blood pressure was 128 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

Systolic blood pressure refers to the top number in a blood pressure reading and measures the pressure against the artery walls when the heart is pumping blood around the body.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends a target systolic blood pressure below 120 mm Hg, with most guidelines defining hypertension as consistent systolic readings of 130 mm Hg or higher.

Across all studies, participants taking obesity medications lost an average of 10.9% of their body weight compared with placebo. This was accompanied by an average reduction of 5.2 mmHg in systolic blood pressure.

Notably, the analysis found that every 1% reduction in body weight was associated with a 0.34 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure.

Mir Ali, MD, bariatric surgeon, bariatric medicine specialist and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, who was not involved in the study, told Medical News Today he was not surprised by the association.

“These results are not surprising to me; as a bariatric surgeon, I have seen the improvement in hypertension (as well as diabetes and many other conditions) in our post-surgical weight loss patients,” said Ali. 

“Any improvement in blood pressure can help reduce morbidity associated with hypertension; furthermore, many patients can have their blood pressure medications reduced with even modest improvements in blood pressure,” he noted.

“These findings again reinforce how obesity contributes to many health conditions including hypertension. Reducing obesity can have a significant impact on improving hypertension as well as many other health conditions.”

– Mir Ali, MD

Blood pressure reductions and weight loss

This relationship between weight loss and blood pressure remained consistent after adjusting for study duration, baseline BMI, sex distribution, and diabetes status.

Additionally, the researchers suggest that around 77% of the variation in blood pressure lowering could be explained by the amount of weight lost.

“Our findings suggest that the blood pressure reductions observed with modern obesity pharmacotherapies are closely linked to the magnitude of weight loss achieved,” lead study author, Marcel Muskiet, MD, told MNT.

“Across more than 43,000 participants from phase 3 clinical trials, greater weight reduction was consistently associated with larger decreases in systolic blood pressure. Clinically, this reinforces the concept that treating obesity is not only about weight reduction itself, but also about improving cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension,” Muskiet noted.

“Importantly, in several of the included trials, background antihypertensive medications were reduced or discontinued more frequently in participants receiving active treatment,” he added.

“This likely attenuated the observed between-group differences in blood pressure, meaning that the true intrinsic blood pressure-lowering potential of these therapies may actually be underestimated in current clinical trial data,” the study author pointed out.

“The magnitude of blood pressure lowering observed with some of these therapies approached that seen with standard antihypertensive medications, highlighting the growing role of weight-centric therapies within cardiovascular risk management for people living with overweight or obesity.”

– Marcel Muskiet, MD

However, the analysis also found that some blood pressure benefits may occur independently of weight loss.

Some evidence suggests these drugs could also directly affect blood vessels, kidney function, and stress signaling pathways in the body, potentially contributing to lower blood pressure independently of weight reduction.

“Although most of the blood pressure reduction appeared attributable to weight loss, our analyses also suggest that additional weight-independent mechanisms may contribute,” Muskiet said.

“GLP-1 receptor agonists and related multi-hormone therapies may influence blood pressure through several biological pathways, including promoting natriuresis (sodium excretion by the kidney), improving endothelial and vascular function, reducing arterial stiffness, and modulating sympathetic nervous system activity,” he explained.

“In addition, some emerging multi-hormone receptor modulators may interact with hormonal systems involved in blood pressure regulation, including the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system,” Muskiet detailed.

“However,” he noted, “the precise contribution of these mechanisms remains uncertain and will require dedicated mechanistic and individual patient-level studies.”

Which drugs were studied?

The analysis focused on anti-obesity drugs, a growing class of medications designed to improve weight loss and metabolic health by influencing hormones involved in appetite regulation, blood sugar control, and energy balance.

This included glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), such as Ozempic and Wegovy, and newer multi-hormone receptor modulators (MHRMs). This describes drugs that target multiple metabolic pathways, including GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), such as Zepbound and Mounjaro.

“Overall, therapies associated with the greatest weight loss generally produced the largest blood pressure reductions,” Muskiet highlighted.

“In our analysis, tirzepatide showed among the largest reductions in systolic blood pressure, alongside substantial weight loss. Some of the newer multi-hormone receptor modulators also demonstrated pronounced effects, although data remain more limited for several emerging agents,” he added.

“That said, importantly, we would caution against overinterpreting differences between individual agents, as the included trials differed in populations, background therapies, and study design. The overarching pattern was that greater weight loss tended to translate into greater blood pressure reduction across pharmacological classes,” said the study author.

More studies underway

The study authors add that several ongoing trials are investigating whether anti-obesity medications may directly improve cardiovascular and kidney function beyond their effects on body weight.

These include large hypertension-focused clinical trials, as well as studies examining how the drugs affect blood vessels, heart function, and kidney physiology.

They also caution that their study had limitations. The analysis relied on trial-level data rather than individual patient records. This makes it difficult to determine cause and effect. Additionally, blood pressure was not the primary outcome in many of the included studies, so differences in study design may have influenced results.

Still, the consistency of the findings across multiple trials strengthens the overall conclusion that substantial weight loss achieved with newer obesity drugs is linked to clinically meaningful improvements in blood pressure.

• Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women globally.
• A woman’s heart disease risk increases after menopause.
• A new study found that, during perimenopause, women are twice as likely to have a low cardiovascular health score, especially when it comes to diet. 
• Researchers believe this offers women a ‘window of opportunity’ during perimenopause to make lifestyle changes that may help lower their heart disease risk in the future.

According to the World Heart Federation, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women around the globe, accounting for about 30% of all deaths. 

While a woman can develop heart disease at any age, past studies show that a woman’s risk for cardiovascular issues increases after menopause, which is generally around the age of 52. 

“Heart disease is still the leading killer of women, and yet for decades, the research, the clinical trials, the risk calculators were built almost entirely on men,” Garima Arora, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Disease at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told Medical News Today.

“We’ve definitely made progress, but we’re still playing catch-up. Women’s cardiovascular risk doesn’t follow the same trajectory as men’s. It’s tied up with reproductive hormones, with pregnancy history, with life stages that men simply don’t go through,” Arora added.

She is the senior author of a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, which found that during perimenopause — the time when a woman’s body starts the menopause transition — women are twice as likely to have a low cardiovascular health score based on the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Life’s Essential 8, especially when it comes to diet. 

Researchers believe this gives women a “window of opportunity” during perimenopause to make lifestyle changes that may help lower their heart disease risk in the future.

Focusing on menopause stages and heart disease risk

For this study, researchers analyzed health data from more than 9,200 women between the ages of 18 and 80 years, who had participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007 and 2020.

Based on question responses, study participants were categorized as either premenopausal with an average age of 34, perimenopausal with an average age of 50.5, or postmenopausal with an average age of 60.

Arora said that she and her team decided to examine how different menopause stages might impact a woman’s heart disease risk partly because she kept seeing the disconnect between what the literature keeps telling us and what women are actually experiencing. 

“Patients come in during perimenopause feeling like their bodies have shifted: being unable to lose weight, feeling like their energy is gone, not being able to sleep well, and cardiovascular risk isn’t really part of the conversation yet,” she explained.

“The consensus has always been to just revisit this in a few years,“ she told us. “But what if those few years are exactly when it matters most? That question drove a lot of this work.”

Perimenopausal women twice as likely to have low heart health scores

During the study, researchers examined how well study participants continued to adhere to the AHA’s Life’s Essential 8 — eight key measures to help improve and preserve cardiovascular health, such as eating a healthy diet, quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and being physically active.

Scientists discovered that perimenopausal women were twice as likely to have an overall low Life’s Essential 8 score when compared to premenopausal women, especially when it came to diet. 

“To me, the significance [of this finding] is really about timing,” Arora said. “If we’ve been directing our attention and our resources only toward postmenopausal women when it comes to cardiovascular prevention, and it turns out the highest relative risk is earlier, during perimenopause, then we’ve been showing up late.“

According to her, “having twice the odds of poor cardiovascular health compared to premenopausal women after accounting for age is a clinically meaningful signal that tells us we should be starting these conversations sooner.” 

“Perimenopause is not a waiting room for postmenopause: It’s a high-stakes window for cardiovascular health in its own right, and we need to start treating it that way. The time to pay attention to a woman’s heart health is during the transition, not after it.”

– Garima Arora, MD

Perimenopause is ‘critical window’ for heart risk modifications

MNT had the opportunity to speak with Jennifer Wong, MD, a board-certified cardiologist and medical director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, about this study and why perimenopausal women may be twice as likely to have a low cardiovascular health score compared to women with regular menstrual cycles.

“During perimenopause, women commonly experience adverse metabolic changes, including worsening lipid profiles, increased insulin resistance, and greater accumulation of visceral adiposity,” Wong, who was not involved in this research, detailed.

“These physiologic shifts contribute to an elevated cardiovascular risk profile and may partially explain the higher prevalence of low cardiovascular health scores in this population,” she told us..

“Estrogen plays a significant role in cardiovascular physiology,” Wong further explained. “During the early menopausal transition, estrogen is associated with more favorable lipid profiles, improved insulin sensitivity, and enhanced endothelial function, contributing to vascular flexibility. Declining estrogen levels during menopause may therefore contribute to increased cardiovascular risk.” 

Middle age, particularly during the perimenopausal transition, Wong said, represents a critical window for cardiovascular risk modification.

“Perimenopause should be recognized as a pivotal period for cardiovascular risk assessment and preventive care,” she noted. “Adoption of heart-healthy behaviors during this stage can significantly improve long-term cardiovascular outcomes and overall health.”

“Suboptimal cardiovascular health during midlife is associated with progressive atherosclerotic plaque development, which increases the risk of myocardial infarction [heart attacks], cerebrovascular events [like stroke], chronic kidney disease, and cognitive decline,” Wong added. “Early intervention is essential to mitigate these long-term adverse outcomes.”

How can perimenopausal women improve their diet for heart health?

As diet consistently received the lowest Life’s Essential 8 scores among perimenopausal women, and continued to decline through further menopause stages, Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Nutrition-In-Sight, shared her top tips on how to improve diet scores when transitioning to perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. 

“The fluctuations and decrease in estrogen, bone density, muscle composition, thyroid function, as well as changes in insulin sensitivity can affect multiple systems at once and so we want to support the whole-body and address specific needs identified,” Richard said.

“One of the most important things I tell women is that it is not the time to ‘eat less,’ but to eat more strategically. As with all stages of life, if we want to flourish, we must nourish,” she emphasized.

Richard encouraged women to think about building a plate that nourishes hormones, muscles, bones, brain, and the microbiome all at once, and made the following recommendations for prioritizing nutritional needs during perimenopause and menopause:

• adequate hydration and electrolytes
• calcium– and vitamin D-rich foods for bone health
• colorful fruits and vegetables rich in polyphenols and antioxidants
• fermented foods with probiotics such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi, or miso
• flaxseed for lignans and cardiovascular support
• omega-3-rich foods like salmon, walnuts, chia, and flax
• prebiotic fibers obtained from foods such as beans, oats, onions, garlic, asparagus
• protein at consistent intervals to support muscle mass and metabolic health
• soy foods for naturally occurring protecting isoflavones.

“We’re really working to lift the ‘taboo’ related to perimenopause and menopause, and redirect understanding and care,” Richard said.

“It is not simply an ‘estrogen issue,’ or ‘woman’s problem,’ to deal with alone. It’s a whole-body transition that benefits from a whole-person approach, in addition to empathy, humanity, and updated tools that offer support and care. The right nutritional plan will help be foundational to any additional complementary interventions necessary. Midlife is not the beginning of decline but a ‘rebirth’ and ‘refresh’ for a vibrant next several decades of health.”

– Monique Richard, MS, RDN, LDN

• When snacking, the quality and quantity of foods consumed may impact health.
• A recent study has discovered that the timing of snacking, particularly when late at night, can affect digestive health and the gut microbiome.
• The researchers specifically found that people who ate more than a quarter of their daily calories after 9 p.m. while stressed were as much as 2.5 times more likely to experience constipation or diarrhea.
• This research, presented at Digestive Disease Week in May, also uncovered the relationship between late-night eating and chronic stress.

Is it the late hour, or the lifestyle and stress that push us toward it that makes snacking at night so unhealthy? Turns out, it may be a combination of both, which can affect not only our weight but also our gut health, including our gut microbiome.

Research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2026 suggested that snacking takes a “double” toll on the digestive system, driven by the combination of chronic stress and late-night eating. This demonstrated how the body’s internal clock and stress levels work together to affect gut health.

Led by Harika Dadigiri, MD, resident physician at New York Medical College at Saint Mary’s and Saint Clare’s Hospital, New Jersey, the study suggests that when people eat may be just as important as what they eat.

The findings are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Eating after 9 pm may harm gut health

Using two major datasets, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the American Gut Project, the research team led by Dadigiri identified a “chrononutrition-stress axis” that measures how stress levels affect our eating patterns and timing.

In the NHANES cohort, people who had levels of high stress and were late-night eaters were 39.3% more likely to experience abnormal bowel habits such as constipation or diarrhea, compared to 23.2% in people with low stress levels and ate at typical eating times.

Individuals with high levels of stress who were late-night snackers, which the researchers defined as having consumed more than 25% of their daily calorie intake after 9 p.m., were also 1.7 to 2.5 times more likely to experience bowel issues.

Having high levels of physiological stress (called allostatic load) independently increased the risk of abnormal bowel habits. Coupled with late-night eating, this created an even larger negative effect.

These results indicate that meal timing can change how stress affects the communication between the brain and the gut.

Does having healthy snacks at night change the outcome?

The results of the study suggest that even when people aren’t necessarily consuming “junk” or processed food, eating late at night can disrupt digestive processes and the body’s natural internal clock, or its 24-hour circadian rhythm.

Past research has shown that a disrupted circadian rhythm is linked to chronic conditions such as dementia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

Furthermore, studies have found that time-restricted eating, or specifically eating between certain hours, can affect the gut microbiome, weight loss, and cellular aging. A 2024 study found that participants who ate within an 8-hour window from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. saw sustained weight loss, a “younger” gut microbiome, and fewer aged T cells.

The disruptive effects of stress on gut bacteria

According to the study, late-night snackers who had high levels of stress also showed disrupted gut microbial diversity, which was significantly reduced. Measuring microbial diversity using the Shannon Index, the researchers said this indicated that this group of people were in a state of gut dysbiosis.

This provides evidence that lifestyle habits can disrupt the gut-brain axis.

Michelle Routhenstein, MS, RD, CDCES, CDN, preventive cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com, said that while the results were not surprising, she found it intriguing “how the combination of high stress and late-night eating amplified the effects on gut health.”

“High stress alone raised the odds of abnormal bowel habits by about 32%, but when it was paired with late-night eating, the risk jumped to a 1.7 to 2.5 fold increase, reinforcing the importance of aligning to one’s circadian alignment and acknowledging the gut-brain axis,” she said.

Shift work and meal times in different cultures

It is important to note that, as the study is observational, it has only identified associations between stress, nighttime eating, and gut health. The findings do not prove that they cause it. Experiencing high stress or poor gut health may also prompt people to eat later at night.

“This is an observational study, so it discounts anything to change the guidelines, but it [strengthens] the ongoing research about the chrononutrition axis and time-restricted eating,” Dadigiri said.

The study also defines late eating as any time after 9 p.m., which does not account for shift workers or differences in cultures and their eating habits.

Routhenstein underscored that meal timing recommendations need to be personalized to the individual, taking into account their schedules, biology, and lifestyles.

“For shift workers, the meaningful measure is eating relative to their sleep-wake cycle, not clock time, for it to be tailored to their circadian rhythm. This can look like consolidating meals within a 12-hour window aligned with waking hours,” she said. 

“My approach is never a rigid ‘no eating after 9 pm’ rule. It’s about compressing the overall eating window and reducing physiological stress load, both of which are actionable regardless of cultural background,” she added.

Does this mean I shouldn’t snack at night, ever?

“I was surprised by the results as this was a curious question from my own late-night eating,” Dadigiri said. She said one big takeaway from this study is that “late night eating alone won’t cause change[s] in bowel habits.”

“An occasional [light] snack won’t hurt you, but be mindful about when you are eating when you are already stressed out,” she told MNT.

Routhenstein, meanwhile, drew attention to the importance of aligning with, not fighting against, our biology.

“Circadian rhythm alignment is foundational to your health, and this research reinforces that. We need to stop looking at these factors in isolation. It wasn’t late eating alone or stress alone that increased the risk; it was the combination that drove the risk the most.”

The researchers recommend maintaining a structured meal routine during high-stress periods and, preferably, consuming more calories earlier in the day to support optimal digestive function.

• Insufficient sleep can have adverse health effects, but a new study suggests that too much sleep could also do harm.
• The study, which analyzed the biological clocks of half a million people, suggests that both too little and too much sleep are associated with faster aging of almost every organ in the body.
• The researchers suggest that too few hours of sleep—and too many—may speed aging in the brain, heart, lungs, and immune system, and are associated with a wide range of diseases.

According to the National Institutes of Health, quality sleep is as essential for our survival as food and water. But how much sleep is optimum?

New research suggests that getting either too much sleep or too little sleep, particularly in mid- and later life, is associated with faster aging of almost all organ systems in the body.

The study, published in Nature, suggests that between 6.4 and 7.8 hours of sleep a night is associated with healthy aging, lower disease risk, and enhanced longevity. Any more or any less was associated with an increased risk of disease and mortality.

“The finding that around 6.4–7.8 hours of sleep appeared to be associated with healthier biological aging reinforces the idea that sleep is one of the most important modifiable lifestyle factors for long-term health. We often focus on supplements and advanced biohacking technologies, but sleep remains foundational for recovery, mitochondrial function and cellular repair.”

— Tunc Tiryaki, Founder of London Regenerative Institute Clinics, who was not involved in the study.

Using biological aging clocks

Using data from the UK Biobank on around half a million people, the researchers combined self-reported sleep duration with biological aging clocks—measures of physiological rather than chronological age—for 23 organ systems.

From these, they identified organ-specific biological age gaps (BAGs), which can show differences between the biological and chronological age of these organs. BAGs have shown great predictive value for disease morbidity, cognition, and risk of mortality.

Previous research has shown a U-shaped relationship among sleep, brain aging, and mortality, and the researchers wanted to test, using BAGs, whether a similar relationship exists across multiple organ systems.

They also assessed whether long and short sleep duration were associated with increased all-cause mortality and systemic disease (not just in the brain) and late-life depression. And they examined whether sleep disturbances were modifiable risk factors for disease (or genetic predisposition), a result of disease, or a bidirectional relationship.

“What makes this study particularly interesting for longevity medicine is its systems-based approach. Instead of relying solely on chronological age, the researchers assessed biological aging using imaging, proteomics and metabolomics, providing a more comprehensive picture of aging across multiple organ systems.”
— Tunc Tiryaki

Short and long sleep linked to health issues

The researchers found that both short and long sleep were associated with brain and body health issues.

They found a significant association between short sleep, depressive episodes, and anxiety, as well as with obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and heart arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat). 

Both short and long sleep were linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, gastritis, and gastroesophageal reflux.

The authors suggest that while short sleep appears to exert direct effects on multiple organ systems, long sleep appears to have greater neuropsychiatric effects and may reflect underlying latent disease. 

Emer MacSweeney, MD, MBBS, MRCP, FRCR, CEO and Medical Director at Re:Cognition Health, who was also not involved in the study, explained some of the processes involved: 

“Too little sleep increases stress hormones, inflammation, and oxidative stress, all of which can accelerate aging in the brain and body. Sleep is also when the brain clears waste products through the glymphatic system, including proteins associated with neurodegenerative disease.”
— Emer MacSweeney

“On the other hand, excessively long sleep may reflect underlying health problems such as depression, inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, or early neurodegeneration. The brain appears to function best within a relatively stable sleep range rather than at either extreme,” MacSweeney told Medical News Today.

“Sleep optimization is one of the most effective forms of preventive health support,” Tiryaki said.

Sleep patterns can change depending on environment

Although they found some genetic associations for short and long sleep duration, the researchers concluded that there were relatively few in their large sample, so they hypothesize that sleep duration is largely determined by environmental factors and is therefore modifiable.

So how can you help yourself get a good night’s sleep? 

“Optimum sleep involves proper management of medical conditions, psychiatric conditions, and environmental stressors,” Sarathi Bhattacharyya, MD, pulmonologist, sleep medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Sleep Disorders Center at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA, who was also not involved in the study, told MNT.

“Generally speaking, ensuring a consistent wake time to consistently align your circadian rhythm and practicing good ‘sleep hygiene’ in the evenings and a wind-down period before bed are key steps. Light exposure, late food or drink consumption, overly intensive exercise, and suboptimal treatment of medical/psychiatric conditions can all contribute to short sleep duration, either by delaying onset of sleep or by disrupting normal sleep progression,” he added.

However, he cautioned that it is important to avoid the urge to sleep in to compensate for a few nights of poor quality sleep “as these longer periods of sleep can actually disrupt your circadian rhythm and worsen the cycle of suboptimal sleep.”

“Sleep need is still individual. While this study identified an optimal range at a population level, genetics, age and health status all influence how much sleep a person needs. Sleep quality is also just as important as sleep duration.”
— Emer MacSweeney

Could sleep disturbance be a sign of undiagnosed illness?

The researchers used Mendelian randomization to minimize the possibility of reverse causality — that underlying illness was causing short and longer sleep duration, rather than sleep disturbance causing health problems.

However, Tiryaki cautioned:

“Although Mendelian randomization strengthens the argument against reverse causality, I suspect the relationship is at least partly bidirectional. Poor sleep may accelerate biological aging, while aging-related changes in metabolism, inflammation, and neurodegeneration can also impair sleep quality and duration. This is commonly observed in individuals with metabolic dysfunction or chronic inflammatory states.”

“Improving sleep quality and supporting circadian regularity may therefore contribute to greater resilience, recovery, and long-term healthspan,” he advised.

MacSweeney agreed: 

“The authors themselves acknowledge they cannot completely exclude reverse causality. In neuroscience, we increasingly view sleep disruption as both a driver and an early marker of aging-related disease processes.”