https://medicalxpress.com/healthy-aging-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Healthy Aging Many people living with dementia never receive an accurate diagnosis, in part because Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and related conditions are notoriously difficult to tell apart and often occur together. Now, a new tool based on artificial intelligence and a simple blood draw may provide clarity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-blood-ai-dementia-brain-diseases.html Sat, 30 May 2026 08:00:03 EDT news699018268 Healthy lifestyles can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other complications in childhood cancer survivors. These are the findings of two new international studies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-lifestyle-childhood-cancer-survivors.html Fri, 29 May 2026 13:40:06 EDT news699279661 Scientists at Université de Montréal have figured out how metformin—a common drug that's used to treat type-2 diabetes and that may cut the risk of developing cancer and even help humans and other mammals live longer—actually works. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-metformin-diabetes-reshape-aging-cancer.html Fri, 29 May 2026 09:20:08 EDT news699263013 For the first time, researchers found blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease that correlated with minor cognitive differences in midlife adults who did not have dementia. The study, led by UC San Francisco, also found that the biomarkers, which measure tau and amyloid plaque, were associated with a greater chance of cognitive decline in these participants. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-blood-biomarkers-reveal-subtle-midlife.html Thu, 28 May 2026 18:30:05 EDT news699205741 A new study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center predicts rising temperatures driven by climate change will dramatically increase heat-related heart disease in the United States. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-triple-heart-disease-burden.html Thu, 28 May 2026 15:40:06 EDT news699199261 In a new study published recently in the journal Nature, researchers at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Health have created the first growth charts for white matter in the brain over a human lifetime. The work brings together nearly two decades of Vanderbilt research collaborations, the university's extensive MRI data collections, and an advanced AI-enabled computing platform. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brain-reveal-lifetime-white-growth.html Thu, 28 May 2026 13:20:02 EDT news699191039 Molecular clocks that can provide accurate estimates of both molecular age and lifespan across multiple mammalian species and tissue types are presented in an article published in Nature this week. An analysis of more than 11,000 human, rodent, and primate samples reveals conserved signatures of aging. This framework may aid the development of targeted interventions to improve longevity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-gene-clocks-lifespan-species-epigenetic.html Thu, 28 May 2026 12:20:01 EDT news699187143 Trillions of microorganisms live in the human gut, collectively forming the gut microbiome. They support important bodily functions, including digestion, metabolism, and the immune system. While this microbial community remains stable for many years, it often becomes unbalanced with age: diversity declines, certain microorganisms gain the upper hand, and the risk of inflammation increases. Why the gut microbiome loses its balance with age is one of the central unanswered questions in aging research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-aging-immune-gut-microbiome.html Wed, 27 May 2026 17:20:04 EDT news699114602 Why do some people remain mentally sharp into old age, while others experience cognitive impairments earlier in life? Two recent studies involving Forschungszentrum Jülich provide new answers to this question. They show that brain health does not depend on a single factor, but on the interaction of many influences throughout our entire lives. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brain-health-interaction-lifestyle-environment.html Wed, 27 May 2026 16:40:04 EDT news699113581 People with good physical fitness in their 30s and 50s have more elastic arteries later in life. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal Scientific Reports, titled "Aerobic capacity at age 34 predicts arterial stiffness in age 63, independent of classical and advanced lipid-related cardiovascular risk factors: a longitudinal cohort study." The association remains regardless of cholesterol levels and other risk factors. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-good-30s-artery-health-decades.html Wed, 27 May 2026 14:20:03 EDT news699101281 Alzheimer's disease (AD) often begins long before it is clinically recognized, with subtle brain changes emerging years before noticeable memory loss or cognitive decline. Among the earliest regions affected are the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, areas essential for spatial navigation. This has led researchers to look beyond memory and explore navigation ability as a potential early indicator of the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-virtual-reality-pathfinding-errors-flag.html Wed, 27 May 2026 13:00:05 EDT news699100082 Obtaining home care for older adults with Medicaid can be a complex, multi-step process marked by delays and uncertainty, often resulting in long wait times, according to a new Weill Cornell Medicine study. Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that millions of Americans with limited income and resources depend on for free or low-cost health coverage, including the help needed to age at home. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-york-families-maze-medicaid-funded.html Tue, 26 May 2026 14:20:03 EDT news699021421 A largely overlooked space between cells in women's brains may hold the key to understanding memory loss tied to estrogen decline after menopause, reports a new preclinical Northwestern Medicine study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-memory-decline-menopause-linked-loss.html Tue, 26 May 2026 05:30:01 EDT news698919841 Frequent changes in blood pressure could affect cognitive health and contribute to brain changes associated with dementia risk, according to new research from Monash University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-blood-pressure-hours-poorer-brain.html Mon, 25 May 2026 14:00:01 EDT news698933221 Genes undergo extensive editing through a process called alternative splicing, which greatly increases the size of the functional genome—the working portion of our DNA that helps make each person unique. Put simply, a single gene can be edited in different ways to produce multiple sets of instructions. This helps explain why humans differ so significantly from fruit flies and mice, despite having a similar number of genes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-nitric-oxide-rewires-gene-brain.html Fri, 22 May 2026 11:40:04 EDT news698666821 Why do cells age—and why do we lose our energy and vitality as we get older? This question is one of the central challenges of modern biomedicine. The focus is particularly on mitochondria—tiny cellular organelles long known as the cell's powerhouses but now understood as dynamic control centers that not only produce energy, but also coordinate cellular communication, adaptation, and many of the processes essential for life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-energy-age-membrane-lipid-destabilize.html Thu, 21 May 2026 16:20:05 EDT news698587261 Why are conditions such as chronic stress, depression, cardiovascular disease, fragmented sleep, and aging all associated with a higher risk of dementia? In a new review piece in Science, University of Rochester Medicine neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, proposes that many of these seemingly different conditions may converge on the same biological problem: disruption of a sleep-dependent brain rhythm that helps clear waste from the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brain-night-shift-clearance-dementia.html Thu, 21 May 2026 14:00:12 EDT news698571481