https://medicalxpress.com/healthy-aging-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Healthy Aging New research has demonstrated a mechanistic link between the immune response to herpesviruses—the family of viruses related to cold sores, childhood infections and mononucleosis—and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. A team of scientists from Cardiff University's School of Medicine, Systems Immunity Research Institute and Dementia Research Institute has shown that herpesvirus infection leads to accelerated cognitive decline and that specific groups of immune cells—T cells—play an important role in increased dementia risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-herpes-immune-response-linked-alzheimer.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 12:40:08 EDT news703246207 An experimental drug might help slow early Alzheimer's disease in a markedly different way than today's treatments—by lowering levels of a brain protein called tau, researchers reported Tuesday. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-experimental-alzheimer-drug-brain-protein.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 12:25:54 EDT news703250723 In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, U.S. researchers found that people with agitation and dementia in late life who took a special medical formulation of two active ingredients found in marijuana—THC and CBD—had significantly less agitation than people who received a placebo. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-cannabis-derived-treatment-eases-agitation.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:02 EDT news703143805 Older adults who followed a structured, 2-year healthy lifestyle program improved their memory and thinking skills significantly more than those who received only general health advice, according to the Latin American Initiative for Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Cognitive Decline (LatAm-FINGERS) trial, published in The Lancet. Gains were about 55% greater per year on overall tests of memory and thinking. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-year-lifestyle-older-adults-cognition.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:20:08 EDT news703154848 By freezing your own healthy blood stem cells in your 20s, thawing them and undergoing a stem cell transplant in your 40s or 50s, it might be possible to rejuvenate your blood-forming and immune systems. Science fiction? At least it works when old mice receive healthy blood stem cells from young mice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-young-blood-stem-cells-rejuvenate.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:00:01 EDT news703154449 A new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Newcastle University in the U.K. finds that the share of adults living with dementia rose substantially across several Latin American and Caribbean sites over the past two decades. The research provides the first direct evidence that some parts of Latin America are moving in the opposite direction of dropping dementia rates in the U.S. and other wealthy nations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-dementia-latino-populations-multidecade.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 06:00:02 EDT news702907784 In a global breakthrough published in Nature Genetics, researchers have successfully mapped the cells and genes that regulate bone formation and loss at an unprecedented scale and discovered the critical role that blood vessel cells play in bone health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-genetic-bone-diseases.html Fri, 10 Jul 2026 09:00:01 EDT news702889621 Fertility declines as women get older for many reasons, such as a drop in egg quality, decreased follicle numbers and hardening of ovarian tissues. That's a problem for would-be mothers in many countries who prefer to have their children later in life, often in their 30s and 40s. Current treatments for infertility include hormone therapy and in vitro fertilization (IVF), which primarily focus on treating hormonal imbalances and helping eggs mature or be fertilized. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-softening-aging-ovaries-fertility-women.html Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:40:20 EDT news702806703 People diagnosed with early-onset dementia had reduced work productivity up to 15 years before diagnosis, according to a study published in Neurology. Researchers also found the number of years of lower productivity varied depending on the type of dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-decline-productivity-years-early-onset.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:00:05 EDT news702704488 Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have identified clear links between the composition of gut bacteria and frailty in older women. In cases of high frailty, with an increased risk of illness and death, gut bacterial diversity is lower and function is impaired. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, is based on a population of 2,081 Swedish women ages 75–80. The study demonstrates that frailty is linked to lower diversity and poorer functional capacity of the gut microbiota. These results are largely confirmed by an independent Chinese cohort comprising 1,448 older men and women. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-diversity-poorer-function-gut-bacteria.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:00:07 EDT news702724275 A new study from Mass General Brigham, Boston University and the Concussion & CTE Foundation found that National Football League (NFL) players had higher rates of neurodegenerative disease-caused mortality than the general population. A cohort study of nearly 20,000 NFL players revealed that, while players had lower mortality on average compared with national rates, they were four times more likely to experience neurodegenerative mortality. Results are published in eClinicalMedicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-nfl-players-die-due-neurodegenerative.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:00:05 EDT news702704463 People are living longer than they did at the turn of the 20th century, but living well into old age depends on more than a healthy lifestyle. Scientists say it is also shaped by how we think, adapt and connect with others. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-sardinia-blue-zone-elders-differently.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 06:20:01 EDT news702704426