Laugh your way to good health

By Ch Saibaba: Every morning this laughing club risks amused glances and jibes when they look up at the sky, take a deep breath of clear, fresh air, and erupt into wild spontaneous laughter. Members of ABC Laughing Club practising hasya yoga The meetings of ABC Laughing Club are perhaps the most serious health activities happening in the city. The group meets at Picket Cantonment Garden at Secunderabad everyday between 6.45 am and 7.45.am. This is a group of more than 50 people so dedicated to preserving their sense of humour, and thereby their sanity, that they happily give up an hour of their sleep to practice hasya yoga, a workout for your funny bone.By simulating laughter and mirth, one can actually fool those endorphins into doing some overtime, says Madan Kataria, the founder of this unique form of exercise. “Feel-good chemicals are released in the brain when you laugh, but if you waited around for something funny to happen, you could go a whole day without cracking a smile. Now, isn't that a waste of a day?” he asks. Joining the group of merry people and taking a place in the laughing circle seems like a positive step towards health and happiness. Each session, with different kinds of laugh, lasts almost an hour, and consists of warm-up and breathing exercises as well. Then one undergoes the entire spectrum of delight: from grunts to giggles, from guffaws to crackles, from smirks to grins. The club consists mostly of people in the age group of 50 and above, and they say that they have derived real benefits from their morning ha-ha. Blood pressure has stabilised, stress-levels have been reduced and the heart is kept happy with this fantastic form of what they say amounts to "internal jogging". Sreenivasa Rao, an active member of the ABC Laughing Club says, “We have been doing this laughing exercise since1998. Since then, our membership has gone up to 70 and our aim is “Always be cheerful” and we are enjoying and experiencing the same.Source: The Hans India, Image: flickr.com

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Largest ever Parkinson’s study shows how symptoms differ between men and women

Lyndsey Collins-Praino, Adelaide University

Parkinson’s disease is the fastest growing neurological disorder, with over 10 million cases worldwide. Up to 150,000 Australians currently live with the disease and 50 new cases are diagnosed each day.

The number of people living with Parkison’s is projected to more than triple between 2020 and 2050.

Yet despite the immense impact on those living with Parkinson’s and their loved ones, and the staggering cost to our economy – at least A$10 billion a year – there is still a lot we don’t know about how this disease presents and progresses.

A recent large-scale study of nearly 11,000 Australians living with Parkinson’s disease provides some critical insights into symptoms, risk factors and how these affect men and women differently. Let’s take a look.

First, what is Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s is a progressive disease in which cells that produce the chemical messenger dopamine in a part of the brain called the “substantia nigra” begin to die. This is accompanied by multiple other brain changes.

It is usually considered a movement disorder. Common motor symptoms include a resting tremor, slowed movement (bradykinesia), muscle stiffness and balance issues.

But Parkinson’s also involves a variety of lesser known non-motor symptoms. These may include:

• mood changes
• difficulties with memory and cognition (including slower thinking, challenges with planning or multitasking and difficulty paying attention or concentrating)
• sleep disturbances
• autonomic dysfunction (such as constipation, low blood pressure and urinary problems).

While these are sometimes referred to as the “invisible” symptoms of Parkinson’s, they often have a greater negative impact on quality of life than motor symptoms.

So, what does the new research tell us?

The study used data collected as part of the Australian Parkinson’s Genetics Study led by the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. After a pilot study in 2020, it was launched as an ongoing, nationwide research project in 2022.

Some 10,929 Australians with Parkinson’s were surveyed and provided saliva samples for genetic analysis. This is the largest Parkinson’s cohort studied in Australia and the largest active cohort worldwide.

There were several key initial findings.

1. Non-motor symptoms are common

The study reinforced how common non-motor symptoms are, with loss of smell (52%), changes in memory (65%), pain (66%) and dizziness (66%) all commonly reported.

Notably, 96% of participants experienced sleep disturbances, such as insomnia and daytime sleepiness.

2. A better picture of risk factors

The study also provided insights into what can influence Parkinson’s risk.

This is important because we don’t completely understand what causes the dopamine producing cells in the substantia nigra to die in the first place.

Age is the primary risk factor for Parkinson’s. The new study found the average age for symptom onset was 64, and for diagnosis, 68.

3. Genes and environment both play a role

In the recent study, one in four people (25%) had a family history of Parkinson’s. But only 10–15% of Parkinson’s cases are caused by – or strongly linked to – mutations in specific genes.

It’s important to remember that families don’t only share genes but often their environment.

Multiple environmental factors, such as pesticide exposure and traumatic brain injury, also increase risk of Parkinson’s.

The majority (85–90%) of cases of Parkinson’s are likely due to complex interaction between genetic and environmental risk factors, and advancing age.

The study showed environmental exposures linked to Parkinson’s risk were common:

• 36% of people reported pesticide exposure
• 16% had a prior history of traumatic brain injury
• 33% had worked in high-risk occupations (such as agriculture, or petrochemicals or metal processing).

These exposures were significantly higher in men than in women.

4. Differences between the sexes

The disease is 1.5 times more common in men. In the new study, 63% of those surveyed were male.

Parkinson’s also presents and progresses differently in males and females.

The study found women were younger than men at time of symptom onset (63.7 versus 64.4 years) and diagnosis (67.6 versus 68.1 years), and more likely than men to experience pain (70% versus 63%) and falls (45% versus 41%).

Men experienced more memory changes than women (67% versus 61%) and impulsive behaviours, particularly sexual behaviour (56% versus 19%) – although most participants exhibited no or only mild impulsivity.

What we still don’t know

The large-scale study and its comprehensive survey shed valuable light on people living with Parkinson’s in Australia.

But it’s still only a sliver of the population. More than 186,000 people with Parkinson’s were invited to participate and just under 11,000 took part – a less than 6% response rate.

Of these participants, 93% had European ancestry. So this sample may not be fully representative of Parkinson’s disease.

The information we have about symptoms also relied on self-reports by the study’s participants, which are subjective and can be biased or less reliable than objective measurements of function. To address this, the researchers are planning to use smartphones and wearable devices to collect more comprehensive data.

Finally, while this provides a snapshot of the current cohort, it’s not clear how participants compare to people of a similar age without Parkinson’s, or how their symptoms may change over time.

These are important areas of future research for this ongoing study.

What all this means

Studies like this provide crucial insights into risk factors linked to Parkinson’s. They also help us better understand the symptoms people experience.

This is important because the way Parkinson’s presents varies from person to person. Not everyone will experience the same symptoms to the same extent.

Similarly, the way the disease progresses over time differs between people.

A better understanding of the factors that influence this can lead to earlier identification of who’s at risk and more personalised ways of managing this disease.

Lyndsey Collins-Praino, Associate Professor, School of Biomedicine, Adelaide University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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How to live a long and healthy life, according to the ancients

 

Tyler Bell/Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 

Konstantine Panegyres, The University of Western Australia

Just like in the modern world, people in ancient times wanted to know how to live a long and healthy life.

Greeks and Romans heard fantastic tales of far-away peoples living to well beyond 100.

Greek essayist Lucian (about 120–180 CE) writes:

Indeed, there are even whole nations that are very long-lived, like the Seres [Chinese], who are said to live 300 years: some attribute their old age to the climate, others to the soil and still others to their diet, for they say that this entire nation drinks nothing but water. The people of Athos are also said to live 130 years, and it is reported that the Chaldeans live more than 100, using barley bread to preserve the sharpness of their eyesight.

Greek essayist Lucian had lots to say about how to live a long and healthy life, as did ancient doctors. Library of Congress, Washington DC/Wikimedia

Whatever the truth of these tales, many ancient Greeks and Romans wanted a long and healthy life.

This is how they thought this could happen.

An ancient doctor’s perspective

Ancient doctors were interested in what people who lived long lives were doing every day and how this might have helped.

The Greek physician Galen (129–216 CE), for example, discusses two people he knew personally in Rome who lived to old age.

First, there is a grammarian (someone who studies and teaches grammar) called Telephus, who lived to almost 100.

According to Galen, Telephus ate just three times a day. His diet was simple:

gruel boiled in water mixed with raw honey of the best quality, and this alone was enough for him at the first meal. He also dined at the seventh hour or a little sooner, taking vegetables first and next tasting fish or birds. In the evening, he used to eat only bread, moistened in wine that had been mixed.

Galen also tells us Telephus had some bathing habits that might seem unusual to us today. Telephus preferred to be massaged with olive oil every day and only have a bath a few times a month:

He was in the habit of bathing twice a month in winter and four times a month in summer. In the seasons between these, he bathed three times a month. On the days he didn’t bathe, he was anointed around the third hour with a brief massage.

Second, there was an old doctor named Antiochus, who lived into his 80s.

According to Galen, Antiochus also had a simple diet.

In the morning, Antiochus usually ate toasted bread with honey. Then, at lunch, he would eat fish, but usually only fish “from around the rocks and those from the deep sea”. For dinner, he would eat “either gruel with oxymel [a mix of vinegar and honey] or a bird with a simple sauce”.

Alongside this simple diet, Antiochus went for a walk every morning. He also liked to be driven in a chariot, or had his slaves carry him in a chair around the city.

Galen also said Antiochus “performed the exercises suitable for an old man”:

There is one thing you should do for old people in the early morning as an exercise: after massage with oil, next get them to walk about and carry out passive exercises without becoming fatigued, taking into account the capacity of the old person.

Galen concludes that Antiochus’ routine probably contributed to his good health well into advanced age:

Looking after himself in old age in this way, Antiochus continued on until the very end, unimpaired in his senses and sound in all his limbs.

Galen stresses that Telephus and Antiochus had some obvious things in common. They ate just a few times a day; their diet was of wild meats, whole grains, bread and honey; and they kept active every day.

An eye exam is under way. But there was more to staying healthy in ancient times. Rabax63/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

What can you do?

Not all of us can live to 100 or more, as the Greeks and Romans were well aware.

However, Lucian offers us some consolation in his essay On Octogenarians:

On every soil and in every climate people who observe the proper exercise and the diet most suitable for health have been long-lived.

Lucian advised that we should imitate the lifestyles of people who have lived long and healthy lives if we want to do the same.

So, if you lived in Rome in the 2nd century CE, people like Telephus and Antiochus, who had a simple diet and kept active all their lives, would be good role models.

Konstantine Panegyres, Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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7.1 million cancer cases worldwide preventable, tobacco biggest culprit: WHO

(Source: Xinhua/IANS)

New Delhi, (IANS) Up to four in 10 or 7.1 million cancer cases worldwide could be prevented, according to a new global analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) on Wednesday.

The study, released on World Cancer Day on February 4, identified tobacco as the leading preventable cause of cancer globally, responsible for 15 per cent of all new cancer cases.

It also found, for the first time, that nine cancer-causing infections are responsible for about 10 per cent of cancer cases.

Other reasons include alcohol, high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution, and ultraviolet radiation.

The analysis, based on data from 185 countries and 36 cancer types, estimated that 37 per cent of all new cancer cases in 2022, around 7.1 million cases, were linked to preventable causes.

Three cancer types - lung, stomach and cervical cancer- accounted for nearly half of all preventable cancer cases in both men and women, globally.

Lung cancer was primarily linked to smoking and air pollution, stomach cancer was largely attributable to Helicobacter pylori infection, and cervical cancer was overwhelmingly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).

"This is the first global analysis to show how much cancer risk comes from causes we can prevent," said Dr Ilbawi, WHO Team Lead for Cancer Control, and author of the study.

"By examining patterns across countries and population groups, we can provide governments and individuals with more specific information to help prevent many cancer cases before they start," he added.

The burden of preventable cancer was substantially higher in men than in women, with 45 per cent of new cancer cases in men compared with 30 per cent in women.

In men, smoking accounted for an estimated 23 per cent of all new cancer cases, followed by infections at 9 per cent and alcohol at 4 per cent.

Among women globally, infections accounted for 11 per cent of all new cancer cases, followed by smoking at 6 per cent and high body mass index at 3 per cent, the report said.

The findings underscore the need for context-specific prevention strategies that include strong tobacco control measures, alcohol regulation, vaccination against cancer-causing infections such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B, improved air quality, safer workplaces, and healthier food and physical activity environments.Addressing preventable risk factors not only reduces cancer incidence but also lowers long-term health care costs and improves population health and well-being, the study said. 7.1 million cancer cases worldwide preventable, tobacco biggest culprit: WHO | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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Human heart regrows muscle cells after heart attack: Study

(Photo: AI generated image/IANS)

New Delhi, (IANS) In a world-first discovery, scientists in Australia have found that the human heart can regrow muscle cells after a heart attack, raising hopes for future regenerative treatments for heart failure.

The study, published in Circulation Research, revealed that while parts of the heart remain scarred after a heart attack, new muscle cells are also produced, a phenomenon previously seen only in mice and now demonstrated in humans for the first time, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Until now we've thought that, because heart cells die after a heart attack, those areas of the heart were irreparably damaged, leaving the heart less able to pump blood to the body's organs," said Robert Hume, research fellow at the University of Sydney and first author of the study.

"In time, we hope to develop therapies that can amplify the heart's natural ability to produce new cells and regenerate the heart after an attack," said Hume, also lead of translational research at Australia's Baird Institute for Applied Heart and Lung Research.

Though increased mitosis (a process in which cells divide and reproduce) after a heart attack has been observed in the heart muscles of mice, this is the first time the phenomenon has been demonstrated in humans.

The team made the breakthrough using living heart tissue samples collected from patients undergoing bypass surgery at Australia's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

"Ultimately, the goal is to use this discovery to make new heart cells that can reverse heart failure," said Professor Sean Lal, the study's senior author and heart failure cardiologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.Cardiovascular disease remains the world's leading cause of death, and heart attacks can eliminate a third of the cells in the human heart, researchers said, adding that the discovery offers promising groundwork for novel regenerative medicine. Human heart regrows muscle cells after heart attack: Study | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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'It Feels Like Me Again': World’s First Arm Exoskeleton Gives Stroke Patients Independence

Johanne Hemnes using the Vilpower arm – credit Vilje Bionics

An exoskeleton for the entire arm has been invented and designed in Norway to help stroke victims recover the use of their arms.

It detects and then amplifies tiny movements through the arm and shoulder, and the developers hope to launch it as a fully commercial product this year.

Today, more and more people are surviving strokes, and living longer and longer with disabilities resulting from them. This creates the need for better therapies, accommodations, and regenerative treatments.

Vilje Bionics, the company behind the shoulder-mounted exoskeleton, says that most below-the-elbow prosthetics are for amputees, an few if any exist for victims of partial paralysis—like Johanne Marie Hemnes.

In 2017 Hemnes suffered a brain hemorrhage and collapsed in her living room. The resulting stroke paralyzed her down her left side—usually the result of a stroke in the right half of the brain.

All her rehab and focus was on the left leg to ensure she could walk again, and while that was successful, her arm was entirely neglected.

“I call my arm Jenny, because it feels like it’s not a part of me, because it doesn’t do what I want it to do,” she told Euro News, adding that she even considered cutting it off because it just got in the way. “But when I actually have this on, it feels like me again. It doesn’t just feel like another human being’s arm.”

Vilje Bionics’ robotic arm assists movements for the shoulder, elbow and hand, which makes it the world’s first exoskeleton for the entire arm. Many of the components were 3D-printed, and Vilje’s founder Saeid Hosseini, says it works by the user “thinking how they’d use their arm.”

“Because if you think, you make a small movement and then it amplifies that movement,” Hosseini said. “It detects very small movements of a residual movement of a paretic arm and amplifies those movements.”

40 people have trailed the Vilpower exoskeleton so far, and the company hopes it will be ready in the first 4 to 6 months of 2026 starting in Norway.

The robotic arm may be used for rehabilitation purposes in the future, but the company is currently focusing on helping “patients with lasting and significant disabilities to be more independent.”

According to the World Stroke Organization, one in four people will suffer a stroke at some point in their life.Hemnes has been able to get used to cutting vegetables and opening bottles again, exactly the kind of independence Hosseini wants his product’s users to be able to reclaim. 'It Feels Like Me Again': World’s First Arm Exoskeleton Gives Stroke Patients Independence

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Eating right: Just a New Year's resolution or a conscious habit?

IANS Photo

New Delhi, (IANSlife) It's that time of year when many people try to make New Year's resolutions, from going to the gym every day to eating healthier. Some swear to go to the gym five times a week, while others want to shed a considerable amount of weight by experimenting with a new diet. While these objectives are wonderful and have no flaws, we all know that these resolutions rarely persist. We all start the year with lofty goals that are difficult to achieve.

As we all know, our habits dictate our behaviors, which makes it even more important to develop positive habits that will benefit us over time. How does one reach their objectives? Before embarking on a tight diet plan, it is critical to begin cautiously and with attention. Small modifications in your everyday life connected to healthy eating habits can help you achieve your goals significantly.

So, here are some new year tips from Shilpa Khanna Thakkar, CEO of Chicnutrix, to keep you motivated:

. Choose general healthy eating habits over specific diets. Taking this up as practice makes it easily attainable and better for your overall well-being.

. Plan your meals! Think again if you are at work and go out for lunch and then get a snack or some coffee later. Making a conscious effort to pack a lunch and snack makes it easier to control your eating habits and is even more inexpensive in the long run.

. Every weekend, go grocery shopping and purchase snacks and food items for the next five days. This could include yogurt, nuts, fruits, veggies, etc. While cooking dinner, make a few extra servings for the next few days. Try to save and repurpose leftovers for days when you are too busy to cook.
. Track your progress and milestones with non-food rewards such as reading a new book or watching a new movie. Celebrating your wins is essential, as that shows us what we are accomplishing and motivates us to accomplish more.

. Share your goal with others. This not only helps you get useful tips but also shows you that you are not alone in your journey towards good health and allows you to share your progress with others.

"In addition to healthy eating habits, another popular resolution during the new year is to exercise more. However, coming up with the goal of "going to the gym every day of the week" is quite unrealistic, especially for someone who does not exercise regularly. So, it is easier to devise a smaller goal, like taking daily walks, and then gradually build on this. The same needs to be applied to your resolution of eating better," said Shilpa Khanna Thakkar.Let's not forget the true essence of New Year's resolutions - making a positive change to your health and quality of life. They don't have to be extreme life changes, but rather just reasonable health goals to have a positive impact that becomes a part of your lifestyle. The cycle of unhealthy eating habits and unrealistic diets needs to be broken! When made, these conscious habits should not only enhance the quality of life you lead but also keep you healthy yet happy. Eating right: Just a New Year's resolution or a conscious habit? | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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Couple Who Started IVF Last Christmas Day Welcomed a Baby After 11 Year Battle

Helen Delgard and husband Stephane with baby Noah – family photo, via SWNS

A couple who started IVF last Christmas Day has given birth to a baby boy after 11 years of trying to conceive.

Helen Delgard was warned she may never be able to conceive naturally with her husband Stephane, but following a January surprise, they’re getting to celebrate Christmas with little Noah, who’s now 14 weeks old.

The couple started trying for a baby soon after they got together in 2014, but Delgard already had a complex medical history. She had undergone abdominal surgery to remove much of her bowel and been told she might never conceive naturally as a result

“I was very unwell when Stephane and I first met, so he was aware of my issues and we thought we’d just see where life took us,” Delgard told Britain’s Southwest News Service.

After a few years of trying, Delgard underwent a surgery to try and remove some of the scar tissue from previous surgeries which was believed to be potentially blocking her fallopian tubes. They were referred to Bristol fertility clinic for help after the surgery failed to make a difference.

After starting treatment on Christmas day, Delgard found out she was pregnant in January.

“However, despite all the care that had got us to that point, I became quite ill and experienced heavy bleeding at the end of the third week of pregnancy which led us and the medical team to anticipate that I might have lost the baby,” she told SWNS.

“My six-week scan was therefore carried out with the greatest delicacy, mindful of our potential loss, and the radiologist very sensitively positioned the screen so the image was not in our line of vision.”

“But then, with a huge smile, she turned it back and showed us Noah’s tiny heartbeat. We both broke down, and the team were crying too. After that it was a relatively uncomplicated pregnancy and our beautiful boy was born at 37 weeks, weighing 6lbs. 10oz.”“The support from the clinic throughout our journey was incredible… We thank the whole team and wish them a very merry Christmas.” Couple Who Started IVF Last Christmas Day Welcomed a Baby After 11 Year Battle

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Kerala's first skin bank becomes operational in Thiruvananthapuram

The facility is expected to greatly enhance treatment outcomes for patients suffering from severe burns and extensive skin loss, conditions that often pose life-threatening complications. (IANS Photo)

Thiruvananthapuram, December 23 (IANS): Kerala has taken a significant step forward in public healthcare with the commencement of skin processing at the state's first skin bank, established at the Government Medical College in state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

The facility is expected to greatly enhance treatment outcomes for patients suffering from severe burns and extensive skin loss, conditions that often pose life-threatening complications.

State Health Minister Veena George said the skin bank was set up to ensure world-class treatment for burn victims within the public health system.

The Minister added that steps are underway to establish a second skin bank at the Government Medical College in Kottayam, further strengthening the state's burn care network.

The skin bank preserves donated skin under strictly controlled temperature and safety protocols.

After undergoing a chemical processing phase of around three weeks, the skin is made suitable for clinical use.

It is then grafted onto patients through plastic surgery using advanced medical techniques.

Such skin grafts are vital in managing major burn injuries, where the loss of skin compromises the body's natural barrier and increases the risk of infection, fluid loss and severe pain.

According to medical experts, the transplanted skin functions as a biological dressing, providing immediate coverage to injured areas.

This helps in significantly reducing infection rates, easing pain, and preventing the loss of fluids and electrolytes, thereby stabilising patients during the critical stages of recovery.

The availability of banked skin is particularly crucial for patients with extensive burns, where sufficient healthy skin may not be available for auto grafting.

The first skin harvesting at the bank was made possible through the consent of the family of a brain-dead donor, highlighting the importance of awareness around skin donation.

Officials clarified that skin retrieval does not cause disfigurement to the body, as it is collected from non-visible areas such as the back of the thighs.

The procedure was carried out by a team led by Dr. Prem Lal from the Plastic Surgery Department.

Depending on clinical requirements, skin obtained from a single donor can benefit one or more patients.

The skin bank works in close coordination with burns units and specialised burns ICUs operating under the supervision of plastic surgery departments.These ICUs provide advanced care for patients with more than 10 per cent burn injuries, helping reduce infections, speed up healing, and improve survival rates, marking a major boost to Kerala's capacity for advanced burn management. Kerala's first skin bank becomes operational in Thiruvananthapuram | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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Egypt Becomes 26th Country to Eliminate Leading Cause of Infectious Blindness with Triumph Over Trachoma

Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population of Egypt, receiving a commendation from Dr. Hanan Balkhy, Regional Director for WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region – credit WHO

Egypt has become the 26th country to eliminate trachoma as a public health concern, building on a steady string of triumphs over tropical diseases.

Having eliminated lymphatic filariasis, malaria, and now trachoma in the last 30 years, Egypt has emerged as a continental leader in the control and eradication of neglected tropical diseases.

Trachoma, caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis, is the world’s leading cause of infectious blindness, and has been documented in Egypt for over 3,000 years.

Public health efforts to address its burden began in the early 20th century, when pioneering ophthalmologist Arthur Ferguson MacCallan established Egypt’s first mobile and permanent eye hospitals and laid the groundwork for organized trachoma control globally. Yet by the 1980s, it still blinded many adults and affected over half of all children in some Nile Delta communities.

Since 2002, the Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt, in partnership with the World Health Organization and other national and international stakeholders, has pursued trachoma elimination through the WHO-endorsed SAFE strategy, which represents Surgery for trichiasis, Antibiotics to clear the causative organism, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement.

Between 2015 and 2025, extensive mapping and surveillance across all 27 of Egypt’s governorates showed steady reductions in the proportion of children aged 1–9 years affected by active (inflammatory) trachoma, and no significant burden of the blinding complications of trachoma in adults.

Both indicators are now below WHO elimination prevalence thresholds nationwide. In 2024, Egypt integrated trachoma surveillance into its national electronic disease reporting system, which should facilitate rapid response to any future cases.

“Egypt’s elimination of trachoma as a public health problem underscores the nation’s sustained commitment to equitable healthcare delivery and the transformative impact of initiatives such as Haya Karima, which have expanded access to safe water, sanitation, and primary care services in rural communities,” said Professor Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population.

“This achievement is a collective triumph for Egypt’s health workers, communities, and partners who collaborated to eradicate this ancient disease.”

The country became the seventh in the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region to eliminate trachoma as a public health concern, defined as 1 in 1,000 adults with trichiasis. The region includes the Near and Middle East as far as Pakistan, the Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa, including Morocco and and Somalia.

“This milestone adds to Egypt’s strong track record in eliminating communicable diseases, including polio, measles, rubella, and most recently malaria. It demonstrates what can be achieved when political commitment, strong partnerships and years of sustained public health efforts, led by the Ministry of Health and Population, come together towards a shared vision,” said Dr. Nima Abid, WHO Representative to Egypt.

“Egypt’s achievement serves as an inspiring example for other countries in the Region and beyond.”

Following Egypt’s success, trachoma remains a public health problem in 30 countries and is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of about 1.9 million people. Blindness from trachoma is difficult to reverse. Based on April 2025 data, 103 million people live in trachoma endemic areas and are at risk of trachoma blindness.Yet even devastatingly poor countries—such as Togo, Papua New Guinea, and Mauritania, can, and in fact already have, achieved what Egypt has. Egypt Becomes 26th Country to Eliminate Leading Cause of Infectious Blindness with Triumph Over Trachoma

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Can you wear the same pair of socks more than once?

Primrose Freestone, University of Leicester

It’s pretty normal to wear the same pair of jeans, a jumper or even a t-shirt more than once. But what about your socks?

If you knew what really lived in your socks after even one day of wearing, you might just think twice about doing it.

Our feet are home to a microscopic rainforest of bacteria and fungi – typically containing up to 1,000 different bacterial and fungal species. The foot also has a more diverse range of fungi living on it than any other region of the human body.

The foot skin also contains one of the highest amount of sweat glands in the human body.

Most foot bacteria and fungi prefer to live in the warm, moist areas between your toes where they dine on the nutrients within your sweat and dead skin cells. The waste products produced by these microbes are the reason why feet, socks and shoes can become smelly.

For instance, the bacteria Staphylococcal hominis produces an alcohol from the sweat it consumes that makes a rotten onion smell. Staphylococcus epidermis, on the other hand, produces a compound that has a cheese smell. Corynebacterium, another member of the foot microbiome, creates an acid which is described as having a goat-like smell.

The more our feet sweat, the more nutrients available for the foot’s bacteria to eat and the stronger the odour will be. As socks can trap sweat in, this creates an even more optimal environment for odour-producing bacteria. And, these bacteria can survive on fabric for months. For instance, bacteria can survive on cotton for up to 90 days. So if you re-wear unwashed socks, you’re only allowing more bacteria to grow and thrive.

The types of microbes resident in your socks don’t just include those that normally call the foot microbiome home. They also include microbes that come from the surrounding environment – such as your floors at home or in the gym or even the ground outside.

In a study which looked at the microbial content of clothing which had only been worn once, socks had the highest microbial count compared to other types of clothing. Socks had between 8-9 million bacteria per sample, while t-shirts only had around 83,000 bacteria per sample.

Species profiling of socks shows they harbour both harmless skin bacteria, as well as potential pathogens such as Aspergillus, Candida and Cryptococcus which can cause respiratory and gut infections.

The microbes living in your socks can also transfer to any surface they come in contact with – including your shoes, bed, couch or floor. This means dirty socks could spread the fungus which causes Athlete’s foot, a contagious infection that affects the skin on and around the toes.

This is why it’s especially key that those with Athlete’s foot don’t share socks or shoes with other people, and avoid walking in just their socks or barefoot in gym locker rooms or bathrooms.

What’s living in your socks also colonises your shoes. This is why you might not want to wear the same pair of shoes for too many days in a row, so any sweat has time to fully dry between wears and to prevent further bacterial growth and odours.

Foot hygiene

To cut down on smelly feet and reduce the number of bacteria growing on your feet and in your socks, it’s a good idea to avoid wearing socks or shoes that make the feet sweat.

Washing your feet twice daily may help reduce foot odour by inhibiting bacterial growth. Foot antiperspirants can also help, as these stop the sweat – thereby inhibiting bacterial growth.

It’s also possible to buy socks which are directly antimicrobial to the foot bacteria. Antimicrobial socks, which contain heavy metals such as silver or zinc, can kill the bacteria which cause foot odour. Bamboo socks allow more air flow, which means sweat more readily evaporates – making the environment less hospitable for odour-producing bacteria.

Antimicrobial socks might therefore be exempt from the single-use rule depending on their capacity to kill bacteria and fungi and prevent sweat accumulation.

But for those who wear socks that are made out of cotton, wool or synthetic fibres, it’s best to only wear them once to prevent smelly feet and avoid foot infections.

It’s also important to make sure you’re washing your socks properly between uses. If your feet aren’t unusually smelly, it’s fine to wash them in warm water that’s between 30-40°C with a mild detergent.

However, not all bacteria and fungi will be killed using this method. So to thoroughly sanitise socks, use an enzyme-containing detergent and wash at a temperature of 60°C. The enzymes help to detach microbes from the socks while the high temperature kills them.

If a low temperature wash is unavoidable then ironing the socks with a hot steam iron (which can reach temperatures of up to 180–220°C) is more than enough kill any residual bacteria and inactivate the spores of any fungi – including the one that causes Athlete’s foot.

Drying the socks outdoors is also a good idea as the UV radiation in sunlight is antimicrobial to most sock bacteria and fungi.

While socks might be a commonly re-worn clothing item, as a microbiologist I’d say it’s best you change your socks daily to keep feet fresh and clean.

Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of Leicester

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Global life expectancy rises sharply since 1960, with Armenia outpacing regional trends

Global life expectancy has climbed from about 51 years in 1960 to 73.3 years in 2023, driven by advances in health care, sanitation and living standards, according to new study by the YSMU Heratsi National Research Center. Despite a brief setback during the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide longevity has returned to its long-term upward path.

Japan remains a global leader, rising from roughly 68 years in 1960 to 84 years in 2023. Hong Kong and Monaco are the only places reporting higher figures. Italy, at 83.7 years, continues to benefit from strong health systems and diet-related habits common across much of Europe.

The United States increased from about 70 years in 1960 to 78.4 years in 2023, but its progress has been slower than that of other high-income nations due to issues including opioid misuse, obesity and health inequities. China, meanwhile, recorded one of the world’s most dramatic gains, jumping from about 33 years in 1960 to 78 years in 2023, supported by economic growth and improved medical access.

Armenia’s life expectancy reached 78.6 years in 2024, its highest in more than two decades. As in many countries, women live longer than men: women reached 81.7 years and men 75.1 years, up from 75.8 and 70.1 years respectively in 2000.

Regional differences remain stark. Africa’s average life expectancy stood at 63.8 years in 2023, ranging from 76.5 in Tunisia to 54.8 in Nigeria. Asia averaged 74.6 years, led by Hong Kong at 85.5 and Japan at 84.7, while Afghanistan recorded the lowest at 66. Europe averaged 79.1 years, with Monaco topping the list at 86.4 and Moldova lowest at 71.2. In South America, Chile led at 81.2 years, while Bolivia posted 68.6. Australia reported 83.9 years.Life expectancy is a key measure of society's well-being, reflecting the health, economic and social conditions, which is essential for shaping effective public policy. Source: https://www.panorama.am/

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Tongue-Zapping Device Does More in 6 Months Than 4 Years of Normal Stroke Rehabilitation

PoNS Portable Neuro-modulation Stimulator tongue sensor, plugged-in

A fall from a 10 foot ladder triggered a cascade of neurological problems that might have left an Ontario man paralyzed on his right side for life.

But working with a device that delivers an electrical shock through the tongue has allowed him to recover movement and speech, and even has him looking towards a future where he can return to work.

Combined with traditional speech and movement therapy, Mark Foster uses a portable neuro-modulation stimulator, or PoNS device, to deliver a very small electrical current through his tongue to the brain. The current, controlled via a collar worn around the neck, helps form new pathways for existing skills, and can help increase the efficacy of existing therapies.

Foster has been truly impressed, and made more progress in 6 months with the PoNS device than in 4 years of traditional therapy.

“I would say that it has helped an immense amount with confidence,” Foster told London Free Press. “It hasn’t been perfect, don’t get me wrong… but I’m having an easier time getting around.”

Foster, from London, Canada, was laying electrical wire on a build site in Paris (also in Canada), when he fell onto the cement below. He stood up, dusted himself off, and after a moment, concluded he was fine.

Then, at the urging of a coworker, he went to the hospital for a CT scan and MRI. They concluded he had extensive swelling, but also an unusual formation of cells in his brain called a cavernoma that would have pre-dated the fall. A week later, unable to sleep, Foster went for a warm shower, which increased his blood pressure and led to a stroke.

Interestingly enough, he was recovering well from the stroke itself, before his wife Sonia noticed him slurring his speech and having trouble with balance. They returned to the hospital and found the swelling in his brain’s cavernoma area so extreme that the determination was to perform brain surgery immediately, as he was bleeding and experiencing something like a mini-stroke.

It erased both the progress Foster had already made, and most of the hope he had left.

“It took a long time to go from absolutely nothing,” Foster said. “It broke my heart, but at the same time, it gave me a reason to kind of push myself trying to get back into the swing of things.”

The PoNS device, built by Helius Medical Technology, was originally designed to assist in multiple sclerosis recovery, but also, recently and successfully underwent an FDA-overseen Phase 3 clinical trial for stroke rehabilitation.

Over 100 patients undergoing a double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial found significantly increased benefit from physical rehabilitation for both balance and gait when using the PoNS device.

In June, CignaHealth became the fifth major payer to authorize a claim for the PoNS mouthpiece and controller at out-of-network adjusted negotiated list price of $19,161. The average in-network contracted payment rate is $18,350.

GNN has reported on these togue-zapping therapies before, with another such device being designed for use in the curing of tinnitus.WATCH the company press release below… Tongue-Zapping Device Does More in 6 Months Than 4 Years of Normal Stroke Rehabilitation

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World AIDS Day: HIV infections down 49 pc, deaths reduced by over 81 pc in India

New Delhi (IANS): Between 2010 and 2024, India achieved 48.7 per cent decline in annual new HIV infections, 81.4 per cent reduction in AIDS-related deaths and 74.6 per cent decline in mother-to-child HIV transmission, the government said on Sunday, ahead of the 'World AIDS Day 2025'.

India continues to demonstrate substantial progress under the current phase of the National AIDS Control Programme.

“HIV testing increased from 4.13 crore (2020–21) to 6.62 crore (2024–25); access to antiretroviral treatment rose from 14.94 lakh to 18.60 lakh PLHIV; and viral load testing nearly doubled from 8.90 lakh to 15.98 lakh in the same period,” said the Health Ministry.

These outcomes surpass global averages and reflect India’s leadership, sustained domestic investment, evidence-based strategies, and robust community engagement.

Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda will lead the national-level observance of ‘World AIDS Day’ at Vigyan Bhawan here on Monday, in the presence of senior officials — reaffirming the government’s unwavering commitment to advancing the national response to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and stigma elimination.

The event, organised by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), will bring together government leaders, development partners, youth representatives, community advocates, people living with HIV (PLHIV), and frontline health workers, reflecting a united approach to accelerating India’s journey towards ending AIDS as a public health threat.

According to the ministry, a youth-led flash performance will underscore the importance of awareness and responsible behaviour.

This will be followed by the inauguration of a thematic exhibition, showcasing digital innovations, programme achievements, and community-led models implemented under the National AIDS and STD Control Programme.

Beneficiary experience stories and an audio-visual presentation will highlight India’s progress under NACP-V, along with upcoming priorities, said the ministry.A major highlight of the observance will be the launch of a new campaign video series under NACO’s national multimedia initiative, centred around three core pillars — Youth and Awareness, Elimination of Vertical Transmission, and Stigma and Discrimination. World AIDS Day: HIV infections down 49 pc, deaths reduced by over 81 pc in India | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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The next great performance booster for athletes? Sleep

Charli Sargent, CQUniversity Australia and Greg Roach, CQUniversity Australia

When we think of elite athletes, we generally think of people who are at the top of their game physically.

We assume they do everything better than mere mortals – but what about when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep?

Does being a superhuman athlete make you a superhuman sleeper?

Why sleep matters

Exercise has long been associated with better sleep and it seems reasonable to assume most elite athletes are good sleepers – after all, their job is to exercise and recover.

However, many athletes fail to clear the bar when it comes to getting enough sleep.

In fact, in a 2021 sample of 175 elite Australian athletes from 12 sports, only 3% obtained enough sleep on a regular basis, while 71% fell short by an hour or more.

This research mirrors studies on able-bodied and para-athletes from the United States, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland and China.

So why is sleep such hard work for an elite athlete?

Barriers to sleep

When it comes to sleep, an athlete’s toughest opponent is usually their training and competition schedule.

For some athletes (think individual sport athletes like swimmers, triathletes and cyclists), it is regular early morning training sessions combined with very few days off that makes things difficult.

For others (think team sport athletes like Australian rules footballers and netballers), it is training and competition schedules that change from week to week combined with travel that impact sleep.

Anxiety prior to competition, can also make it hard for athletes to get enough sleep.

So why does it even matter? In short, because sleep plays a part in athletic performance.

In a recent consensus statement, sleep and sports scientists from around the world recognised sleep’s importance for athletic performance. They also agreed elite athletes are particularly susceptible to insufficient sleep.

Many leading athletes – including eight-time Olympic gold medal sprinter Usain Bolt, four-time National Basketball Association title winner LeBron James, and 20-time Grand Slam tennis champion Roger Federer – agree sleep is crucial to success.

Sleep, illness and injury

Studies suggest elite athletes can still perform at or near their best after a night of insufficient sleep.

But whether they can perform day after day (like during an intensive training block) after multiple nights of insufficient sleep is the real championship question – one that we don’t quite have the answer to yet.

But let’s not forget the two words that can stop any athlete in their tracks – illness and injury.

People who obtain 5-6 hours of sleep per night are 4.5 times more likely to develop a common cold following exposure to rhinovirus compared to people who obtain seven hours of sleep per night.

If elite athletes don’t get enough sleep, they are more likely to get ill.

The relationship between sleep and risk of injury in elite sport is not as clear.

But insufficient sleep slows down response time, impairs movement patterns and reduces sport-specific skill execution – all of which may lead to injury.

But perhaps the biggest issue for elite athletes when it comes to insufficient sleep is how it makes them feel.

After multiple nights of insufficient sleep, athletes feel more fatigued before training, perceive the exercise to be harder and experience greater mood disturbance compared to when they are well rested.

The ability to tolerate high levels of training is critical for athletes. Without enough sleep on a regular basis, an athlete may struggle to recover from training and poor recovery can impair subsequent performance.

For this reason alone, many sleep and sports scientists believe sleep is critical for performance because it is the foundation of recovery.

Some tips for coaches and athletes

At the highest level, small improvements in performance can be the difference between finishing on the podium or back in the bunch.

A case in point is the Tour de France – widely regarded as the most physically and mentally demanding endurance race in the world.

Recently, many teams have attempted to optimise the sleeping conditions of their riders by using “recovery buses” – that transport cyclists from one stage of the race to the next – and outfitting hotel rooms with personalised mattresses and pillows.

Despite the gruelling demands, riders’ average sleep duration is surprisingly reasonable – about 7.2 hours per night.

But not all athletes and teams have access to recovery buses and personalised hotel rooms.

What are some of the other strategies that athletes can adopt to ensure good sleep?

Here are some tips (for athletes and coaches) to consider when thinking about sleep:

• ensure you are spending enough time in bed to get the sleep you need – to get the recommended eight hours of sleep per night, we need a “sleep opportunity” of about nine hours in bed
• avoid training too early (before 6am) and/or minimise the number of early morning starts in a row
• evening competition results in delayed sleep opportunities. Minimise the number of activities athletes engage in immediately after competition and if possible, delay the start time of next-day recovery sessions
• use strategic daytime naps to supplement reduced night-time sleep opportunities (limit naps to one hour, use an alarm and target late morning or early afternoon)
• aim for regular bed/wake times on nights when you can control your sleep opportunity.

Charli Sargent, Professor, Professorial Research Fellow and Research Cluster Co-Lead - Sleep and Biological Rhythms, CQUniversity Australia and Greg Roach, Professor, Appleton Institute for Behavioural Science, CQUniversity Australia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Dharmendra discharged from hospital, ambulance departs from actor’s home

(Photo : IANS/apnadharmendra/insta)

Mumbai, (IANS) Veteran actor Dharmendra, who was on ventilator support at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, has been discharged from the hospital.

According to hospital sources, the veteran actor was discharged earlier today. An ambulance was seen leaving Dharmendra’s residence. His family, however, remained tight-lipped about his current health condition. As per the latest reports, the ‘Sholay’ actor has been shifted home for further treatment.

On Wednesday, Bobby Deol was spotted leaving Breach Candy Hospital around 7 a.m., following a speeding ambulance. He was seen arriving at home along with the vehicle. It is being reported that the Juhu area near Dharmendra’s residence is now under heavy police surveillance.

The 89-year-old actor was admitted for medical observation and moved to the ICU on November 10. His wife, Hema Malini, and daughter, Esha Deol, shared that he was stable and on the road to recovery. Esha’s statement read, “My father is stable & recovering. We request everyone to give our family privacy. Thank you for the prayers for papas speedy recovery. (sic).”

Meanwhile, Hema Malini took to social media to denounce the false reports of Dharmendra’s death, describing them as “unforgivable” and “highly irresponsible.” She wrote, “What is happening is unforgivable! How can responsible channels spread false news about a person who is responding to treatment and is recovering? This is being extremely disrespectful and irresponsible. Please give due respect to the family and its need for privacy.”On November 11, Sunny Deol’s team provided an update on the actor’s health, stating that he is recovering well and responding positively to treatment. They urged everyone to keep him in their prayers for continued health and a long life. “Sir is recovering and responding to treatment. Let’s all pray for his good health and long life.” Dharmendra discharged from hospital, ambulance departs from actor’s home | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

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A 9-Year-Old Son Saves His Father from Leukemia by Donating Stem Cells

Nick Mondek with his family after the stem cell procedure – Credit: Cedars-Sinai

A boy in California may have saved his father from a deadly returning cancer by becoming one of if not the world’s youngest stem cell donor.

9-year-old Stephen Mondek from Torrance loves playing catch with his dad, Nick, who himself loves nothing more than being a father.

In 2022 Mr. Mondek was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, and had to be treated rapidly with an injection of donor stem cells from his older brother who was a perfect genetic match.

He went into remission but the cancer came back “ferociously fast,” and Mondek’s only option was that he had to find another stem cell donor. This form of leukemia affects the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow, but an injection of stem cells can form the basis of a new immune arsenal that can locate and attack the leukemia tumors.

A search through the National Bone Marrow Registry failed to turn up a match, but remembering the case of a friend of his, Mondek went into Cedars-Sinai Cancer center in April with a question to his doctors. He was remembering the case of a friend of his who received a lifesaving stem cell donation from his 18-year-old son to cure lymphoma.

“As my doctor came in the room, I said, ‘Could a 9-year-old who’s 70 pounds give us enough stem cells?’” Mondek said to NBC Nightly News.

Ronald Paquette, the clinical director of the Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, confirmed that Stephen Mondek who turned 10 back in August, was a possible donor. A child receives half of their DNA from each parent, so Stephen would naturally be a half-match.

Reporting on the story itself, Cedars-Sinai wrote that Paquette said a half-match might make the transplant more effective. A half-matched immune system might more easily recognize and kill the cancer cells in Mondek’s bone marrow, and transplants from younger donors tend to be most successful.

“The conversation with Stephen was pretty simple,” Mondek said. “I said, ‘Hey, Buddy, Dad’s sick and they need someone to give me stem cells, and they want to know if you want to get tested to see if you can do it.’”

Stephen’s response: “When do we go?”

“I wanted to make my dad’s cancer go away, and if I was sick, I would think he would do the same thing for me,” Stephen said.

After confirming that Stephen was a suitable match, he had the procedure explained to him so that he could give his own informed consent before visiting Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s Hospital for the donation that required general anesthesia. The stem cells were collected via a process of blood cycling over 6 hours.

A week later, Mondek underwent pre-donation chemotherapy to suppress his own immune system before eventually receiving the stem cells. After 6 weeks in the hospital, he was back home, but not before arriving in time to watch the final inning of Stephen’s little league game.

“Stephen was very brave, and our team made sure everything went perfectly so that this young boy could help his father,” said Hoyoung Chung, DO, a critical care pediatrician at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s.“He donated six million stem cells to save my life, so it’s not just an honor to call him my son, I’m proud to call him my hero,” Mondek said. A 9-Year-Old Son Saves His Father from Leukemia by Donating Stem Cells

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Tiny Protein Confirmed to Dismantle the Toxic Clumps Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

– credit, NIH

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have demonstrated for the first time that the protein midkine plays a preventative role in Alzheimer’s disease.

Midkine is known to accumulate in Alzheimer’s patients, but rather than accelerate the disease, it seems to prevents a second, sticky protein from clumping together—the chief hallmark in this form of dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease drug research almost exclusively focuses on amyloid beta, referred to sometimes as tau protein—its molecular class. There are 6 kinds of tau proteins, and they’re necessary for maintaining the stability of microtubules in human nerve fibers, but when tau proteins—in particular amyloid beta—become hyperphosphorylated, they are observed to clump together around neurons and cause a kind of atrophy.

This is generally considered to be the pathology and driver of Alzheimer’s disease. The rot cause is manifold, with a patient’s genetic mutations, sex, toxin exposure, and sleep history all suspected to play a role.

Midkine, the other molecular character in this tale, is a small, multifunctional growth factor protein found abundantly during embryonic development but also involved in normal cell growth.

Its role in cell growth means that midkine is often overexpressed in cancer, making it a valuable biomarker. However, beyond some preliminary studies showing its increase in Alzheimer’s, midkine’s link to the neurodegenerative disease has been poorly understood.

In a study published on August 21st in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, co-author author Junmin Peng and colleagues used fluorescence assays among other techniques to investigate how much of the correlation between midkine and amyloid beta is just a coincidence.

They knew that earlier Alzheimer’s models where midkine is lacking showed more amyloid beta accumulation, and so they used a fluorescent sensor to monitor amyloid beta assemblies, called thioflavin T, and tracked the real associations going on between these two compounds.

Their data revealed that midkine inhibits amyloid beta elongation and secondary nucleation, two specific phases during assembly formation. Nuclear magnetic resonance confirmed this finding.

“Once the amyloid beta assemblies grow, the signal becomes weaker and broader until it disappears because the technique can only analyze small molecules,” said Peng, referring to the ability to spot thioflavin T amid the tau ‘tangles’. “But when we add in midkine, the signal returns, showing that it inhibits the large assemblies.”

Additionally, the researchers used Alzheimer’s disease mouse models that have increased amyloid beta and demonstrated that removing the midkine gene resulted in even higher levels of amyloid beta assemblies. These results point to the protective role the protein has against Alzheimer’s disease.“We want to continue to understand how this protein binds to amyloid beta so we can design small molecules to do the same thing,” said Peng. “With this work, we hope to provide strategies for future treatment.” Tiny Protein Confirmed to Dismantle the Toxic Clumps Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

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1 in 4 people globally still lack access to safe drinking water, report finds

Despite progress over the last decade, billions of people around the world still lack access to essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services, putting them at risk of disease and deeper social exclusion.

A new report: Progress on Household Drinking Water and Sanitation 2000–2024: special focus on inequalities , launched by WHO and UNICEF during World Water Week 2025, reveals that, while some progress has been made, major gaps persist. People living in low-income countries, fragile contexts, rural communities, children, and minority ethnic and indigenous groups face the greatest disparities.

Ten key facts from the report: 

1. Despite gains since 2015, 1 in 4 – or 2.1 billion people globally – still lack access to safely managed drinking water*, including 106 million who drink directly from untreated surface sources.
2. 3.4 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation, including 354 million who practice open defecation.
3. 1.7 billion people still lack basic hygiene services at home, including 611 million without access to any facilities.
4. People in least developed countries are more than twice as likely as people in other countries to lack basic drinking water and sanitation services, and more than three times as likely to lack basic hygiene.
5. In fragile contexts**, safely managed drinking water coverage is 38 percentage points lower than in other countries, highlighting stark inequalities.
6. While there have been improvements for people living in rural areas, they still lag behind. Safely managed drinking water coverage rose from 50 per cent to 60 per cent between 2015 and 2024, and basic hygiene coverage from 52 per cent to 71 per cent. In contrast, drinking water and hygiene coverage in urban areas has stagnated.
7. Data from 70 countries show that while most women and adolescent girls have menstrual materials and a private place to change, many lack sufficient materials to change as often as needed.
8. Adolescent girls aged 15–19 are less likely than adult women to participate in activities during menstruation, such as school, work and social pastimes.
9. In most countries with available data, women and girls are primarily responsible for water collection, with many in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia spending more than 30 minutes per day collecting water.
10. As we approach the last five years of the Sustainable Development Goals period, achieving the 2030 targets for ending open defecation and universal access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services will require acceleration, while universal coverage of safely managed services in this area appears increasingly out of reach.

“Water, sanitation and hygiene are not privileges, they are basic human rights,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, Director a.e, Environment, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organization. “We must accelerate action, especially for the most marginalized communities, if we are to keep our promise to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.” 

“When children lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, their health, education, and futures are put at risk,” said Cecilia Scharp, UNICEF Director of WASH. “These inequalities are especially stark for girls, who often bear the burden of water collection and face additional barriers during menstruation. At the current pace, the promise of safe water and sanitation for every child is slipping further from reach – reminding us that we must act faster and more boldly to reach those who need it most.” Source Article

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Why dermatology remains highly sought-after medical specialty

Year after year, dermatology continues to rank among the most competitive and sought-after medical specialties both globally and in Armenia. According to Armenia’s National Research Center for Health Programs, dermatology is currently the second most preferred specialty among clinical residency applicants in the country, following radiology.

So, what drives this enduring interest in dermatology?

Dermatology is a multifaceted field that deals not only with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of skin, hair, nail and gland disorders, but also with cosmetic skin concerns. It overlaps with several other specialties, including oncology, immunology, venereology, trichology and plastic surgery, the Heratsi Analytical Center reports.

As the skin is the body’s largest and most exposed organ, it is vulnerable to a wide spectrum of diseases, ranging from infections and autoimmune conditions to metabolic and even cancerous disorders. These often affect patients’ overall health and quality of life, making dermatological care essential.

According to the World Health Organization, skin diseases rank among the top 10 most common health conditions globally, affecting nearly one-third of the world’s population. The American Academy of Dermatology lists the most prevalent skin disorders as:

• 
  
• Atopic dermatitis: Affects 15–30% of children and 2–10% of adults
• Psoriasis: A chronic autoimmune disease found in 2–4% of the population
• Seborrheic dermatitis: Seen in around 4.4% of people, mainly adults
• Acne: Diagnosed in 28% of adolescents and over 20% of adults

Demand for dermatological care is also being fueled by demographic changes, including population aging and the explosive growth of cosmetic dermatology. Services such as Botox injections, dermal fillers, laser procedures and microdermabrasion are increasingly popular, driven by the public’s growing interest in maintaining a youthful appearance. Between 2000 and 2023, the global demand for such cosmetic procedures grew by up to 460%, with nearly 35 million procedures performed worldwide in 2023 alone.

Cosmetic dermatology is also one of the most lucrative branches of clinical practice. Incomes are largely procedure-based, attracting both experienced practitioners and new doctors seeking financial stability and career flexibility.

The rise of dermfluencers, dermatologists sharing educational content on social media, has also increased the field’s visibility, particularly among medical students. This blend of clinical work, media presence, and entrepreneurship has made dermatology more relatable and aspirational.

A study by U.S.-based AMN Healthcare identified several key factors that make dermatology appealing to future doctors:

• Excellent work-life balance, with few emergency shifts
• Shorter training periods compared to other specialties
• Quick diagnoses, often without the need for extensive testing
• Diverse clinical practice, from chronic care to high-tech aesthetic procedures
• High income potential and patient satisfaction

Lastly, rapid advancements in technology, especially artificial intelligence in diagnosis, are transforming dermatology into one of the most innovative and future-ready medical fields.In sum, dermatology today represents a dynamic and high-impact specialty, blending science, technology, and aesthetics. It stands as one of the most promising clinical careers of the 21st century. Source: Article

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