News by Subject Medicine & Health

Why do we age? What exactly is happening in our bodies? And can we do anything about it? Mankind has sought answers to these questions since time immemorial. While the pharmaceutical scientists Alexandra K. Kiemer and Jessica Hoppstädter from Saarland University are not claiming to have solved this ancient problem, they have uncovered processes within our immune system that contribute to ageing.

Eat a slab of steak and your resident gut bacteria get to work immediately to break it down. But new research shows that a metabolic byproduct, called TMAO, produced in the process can be harmful to the lining of arteries, making them age faster.

Exercise can slow or prevent the development of macular degeneration and may benefit other common causes of vision loss, such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, new research suggests.

Perimenopause is a time when women become more vulnerable to a number of health problems. A new study based on data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging identified menopause as a risk factor for the development of metabolic syndrome or some of its components, including hypertension, central obesity, and high blood sugar. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

Depression has been shown to be prevalent during menopause, affecting as many as 70% of women transitioning into menopause. A new study not only confirms the high prevalence of depression but also the greatest risk factors for it in postmenopausal women, as well as any relationships with anxiety and fear of death. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

There's good news for people with Parkinson's disease. A new study shows that deep brain stimulation may not increase the risk of developing dementia. The study is published in the July 1, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Bristol scientists have discovered a novel pathology that occurs in several human neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease. The article, published in Brain Pathology, describes how SAFB1 expression occurs in both spinocerebellar ataxias and Huntington's disease and may be a common marker of these conditions, which have a similar genetic background.