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Studies of rodents with a menstrual on/off switch could help people with endometriosis and other disorders

To obtain the toxic chemical cantharidin, insects suck beetles’ blood—and even munch on their digested remains

Age-related decline in motor control, manifesting as impaired posture, gait, and slowed movement execution, significantly diminishes the quality of life in older adults. These functional deficits are associated with alterations in neurophysiological data, which are analyzed using advanced techniques including spectral analysis, complexity measures, and functional connectivity network analysis. These methodologies provide valuable insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning...

Direct care workers in long-term care settings are essential to provide care for older adults and people with disabilities who have daily needs. There is an increasing demand for an adequately sized and well-prepared direct care workforce to support people living with dementia due to its rising prevalence. However, a lack of standardized policies and data leaves researchers and policymakers with little evidence to guide the development and refinement of workforce policies. The National Institute...

Aging increases vulnerability to cognitive decline after repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (rm-TBI), yet mechanisms linking age-related factors to neurodegeneration remain poorly understood. This study investigated how brain-derived exosomes from aged mice (A-Exo) worsen rm-TBI outcomes. In a murine rm-TBI model, intranasal A-Exo administration significantly exacerbated spatial memory deficits and hippocampal neuronal apoptosis compared to brain-derived exosomes from young mice (Y-Exo) or...

Age-related renal impairment often occurs insidiously and has become an important cause of chronic renal failure, especially when individuals with other chronic diseases. However, there is lack of effective treatments. Research on diabetic patients has revealed that empagliflozin (EMPA), one of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, exhibits a distinct protective effect on aging kidneys. EMPA has been shown to improve renal fibrosis and ameliorate inflammatory cytokines, including...

We previously reported that T96K is a gain-of-function mutation in TREM2 based on its ability to increase ligand-dependent activation. Here, we show that TREM2^(T96K) increases risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a whole-genome sequencing dataset comprised of family-based and case-control samples. Trem2^(T96K) also reduced clustering of microglia around β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques exclusively in female 5xFAD mice. Furthermore, T96K decreased levels of soluble Trem2 in female 5xFAD mice and human...