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A study of long-lived families has identified rare genetic variants that may help people stay healthier for much longer as they age. One standout mutation appears to temper inflammation, potentially delaying disease and extending years of healthy living.

Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine may have uncovered a promising new way to combat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Instead of trying to stop Tau and alpha-synuclein proteins from gathering into tiny droplets inside brain cells, the researchers found that tubulin—the protein that builds the cell’s internal transport network—can redirect these proteins away from forming toxic clumps and toward healthy, productive work.

A long-term Yale study is challenging one of the biggest myths about aging. Nearly half of adults over 65 improved physically, mentally, or both over time, despite the common belief that aging means constant decline. Researchers found that people with more positive attitudes about getting older were significantly more likely to show these gains.

Autophagy preserves neuronal integrity by clearing damaged proteins and other subcellular components, yet it declines with age and exacerbates in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although autophagy reduces tauopathy, whether it can proactively restrict early tau pathology via post-translational modifications (PTMs) has remained unclear. In a recent paper, we have identified a mitophagy-based metabolic signaling mechanism linking the autophagy-initiating kinase Unc-51-like autophagy activating kinase 1...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder marked by extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau, synaptic dysfunction, and chronic neuroinflammation. AD pathogenesis involves multiple central nervous system (CNS) cell types-including neurons, astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes, and, less prominently, neural stem cells (NSCs), ependymal cells, and endothelial cells-which undergo coordinated but...

Mild Behavioral Impairment (MBI) and amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) are complementary early markers of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet their combined neuroanatomical correlates and predictive value for conversion remain underexplored. In this study of 72 community-dwelling older adults (49 aMCI, 23 healthy controls), we retrospectively classified aMCI participants into non-converters (aMCI-NC, n = 31) and converters (aMCI-C, n = 18) based on longitudinal follow-up. Baseline structural...

CONCLUSION: In this exploratory randomized trial, JQG was associated with greater improvements in grip strength, physical performance, and sarcopenia-related quality of life than calcitriol over 12 weeks, with no major safety concerns observed. Exploratory biomarker and metabolomic findings suggest that inflammatory regulation, hormonal and neurotrophic modulation, and bile acid-related metabolic remodeling may be involved in the response to JQG. These findings are hypothesis-generating and...

CONCLUSIONS: Sarcopenia and even possible sarcopenia were associated with higher risks of incident ADL inability.

Social connectedness strongly influences health and longevity, and adult pair bonds provide psychological benefits distinct from other social relationships. Oxytocin (OT), corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), and opioids play an important role in pair bond formation and maintenance. OT modulates the stress response via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, while the kappa (κ) opioid system may modulate OT signaling in contexts of stress and separation. Here, 20 male and female coppery...

Senescent cells accumulate in chronically diseased liver tissues and are known to actively contribute to disease pathology. To date, these studies have predominantly focussed on senescence in epithelial cells, such as hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells, and senescence in liver endothelial cells remains largely understudied. Here, we utilise publicly available single-cell RNA-sequencing data, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent staining to detect senescent endothelial cells within...

As newborn neurons make their way through the developing brain, they must squeeze through incredibly tight spaces to reach their final destinations. Researchers discovered that this physical journey routinely causes some of the most severe forms of DNA damage—double-strand breaks—yet the young brain has evolved an impressive ability to repair the damage almost immediately.

Researchers have concluded that nicotine vapes are likely to cause lung and oral cancers, based on evidence ranging from human biomarkers to animal and laboratory studies. The findings challenge the idea that vaping is a harmless alternative to smoking and suggest health risks may be emerging much sooner than many expected.

Compounds responsible for the aroma of cannabis and many other plants may offer a surprising new way to relieve chronic pain. Researchers found that several cannabis-derived terpenes significantly reduced pain in mouse models of fibromyalgia and post-surgical pain, with one terpene, geraniol, showing especially strong effects. Unlike THC, these compounds are not associated with psychoactive effects, making them a potentially attractive alternative for pain treatment.

Scientists have discovered that a gene normally considered a DNA-protecting "good guy" can become dangerous when cells make too much of it. The gene, EXO1, acts like molecular scissors that help repair DNA, but when overproduced it starts cutting DNA it shouldn't, creating damage linked to cancer.

The obesity treatment landscape is changing fast, with GLP-1 drugs opening the door to more effective care than ever before. Experts now envision a future where medications, minimally invasive procedures, surgery, and precision medicine work together to deliver better long-term results.

Aging is a progressive and irreversible biological process that contributes to the pathogenesis of numerous age-related diseases. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of aging is crucial for promoting healthy aging and extending healthspan. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are pivotal regulators of post-transcriptional gene expression and play essential roles in diverse biological processes. RBPs interact with both coding and non-coding RNAs to regulate RNA metabolism, stability, localization, and...

Age acceleration, or the difference between biological and chronological age, is a research area of growing interest, particularly in the field of age-related and neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). First-generation epigenetic clocks that predict chronological age utilising DNA methylation data were the first to derive estimates of age acceleration, which have been associated with several age-related conditions. More recently, second-generation epigenetic clocks that...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves early disruptions in brain connectivity, yet how AD risk markers relate to resting-state dynamic functional connectivity (rs-dFC) remains unclear. We examined associations of AD pathology, genetic risk, and blood-based biomarkers (BBMs) of neurodegeneration with local and distant rs-dFC in cognitively normal older adults and explored links with cognitive performance. Baseline data from 86 cognitively normal older adults in the AGUEDA trial (NCT05186090) were...

Telomere length (TL) has been proposed as a marker of appendicular lean mass (ALM) decline; however, longitudinal evidence remains limited. We aimed to investigate the longitudinal association between TL and 6-year trajectories of ALM. This longitudinal study included 185 older adults aged 55-75 years with overweight or obesity and metabolic syndrome at baseline. Baseline TL was assessed using a monochrome multiplex real-time quantitative PCR. ALM from the four limbs was obtained at baseline,...

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) shows limited efficacy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here, we demonstrate that ICB-induced IFN-γ signaling upregulates H2-T23 on pancreatic tumor cells, which interacts with NKG2A on NK cells to induce NK cell senescence through activation of p38 MAPK and STAT1/3 pathways. This impairs NK cell cytotoxicity and restricts antitumor immunity. Dual blockade of PD-1 and NKG2A effectively prevents NK cell senescence, restores NK cell function, and...