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An experimental treatment happens to be the solution to delay Alzheimer's symptoms in some people. These people are the ones who are genetically destined to get the disease in their 40s or 50s. These new findings form ongoing research has now been caught up in Trump administration funding delas. The early results of the study has been published on Wednesday and the participants too are worried that politics could cut their access to a possible lifeline.
One of the participants had said, "It is still a study but it has given me an extension to my life that I never banked on having." The participant is named Jake Henrichs, form New York City, who is 50 years old. He is one of them to be treated in that study for more than a decade now and has remained symptom-free despite inheriting an Alzheimer's-causing gene that had killed his father and brother around the same age.
Two drugs which can modestly slow down early-stage Alzheimer's are sold in the United States. These drugs clear the brain of one of its hallmarks, a sticky gunk-like part called the amyloid. However, there have not been any hints that removing amyloid far earlier, way many years before the first symptoms appear, may postpone the disease.
The research is led by Washington University in St Louis, which involved families that passed down rare gene mutation as participants. This meant it was almost guaranteed that they will develop symptoms at the same age their affected relatives did.
The new findings is based on a subset of 22 participants who received amyloid-removing drugs the longest, on average eight years. Long-term amyloid removal cut in half their risk of symptom onset. The study is published in the journal Lancet Neurology.
Washington University's Dr Randall Bateman, who directs the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network of studies involving families with these rare genes says, "What we want to determine over the next five years is how strong is the protection. Will they ever get the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease if we keep treating them?”
The researchers before though did not know what exactly caused Alzheimer's which affects nearly 7 million Americans, most of them in their later life. However, it is clear that these silent changes occur in the brain at least two decades before the first symptom shows up. The big contributor. At some point amyloid buildup can trigger a protein named tau that then starts to kill neurons, which can lead to cognitive decline.
Researchers are now thus studying the Tau-fighting drugs and are looking into other factors, like inflammation, brain's immune cells and certain virus.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has expanded its focus as researchers have found more reasons for Alzheimer's. In 2013, the NIH's National Institute on Aging funded 14 trials of possible Alzheimer's drugs over a third targeting amyloid. By last fall, there were 68 drugs and 18% of them target amyloid. However, there are scientists too who think that amyloid is not everything and their is way more in the brain tissue, immune cells, and more which can be studied.
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India has joined the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP)-led NeoSep1 clinical trial, a landmark international study evaluating new antibiotic treatments for newborns with drug-resistant sepsis.
Sepsis is the second leading cause of neonatal mortality in India after prematurity and low birth weight, accounting for an estimated 30–40 per cent of all newborn deaths.
The NeoSep1 trial began in India with the first baby enrolled at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry, followed by Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS in Rohtak. Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital in Mumbai is also expected to begin enrolling newborns soon.
"Every day doctors face the heartbreaking reality of losing babies to sepsis due to lack of safe and effective treatments," said Dr Nishad Plakkal, Principal Investigator of the NeoSep1 trial in India and Associate Dean (Research) and Professor and Head of the Department of Neonatology at JIPMER.
"Having the right antibiotics at the right dose can tip the balance between life and death. This trial offers hope to change that," Plakkal added.
"The trial will give neonatologists new tools, and give babies with sepsis a fighting chance at life," said Sally Ellis, who leads GARDP's Children's Antibiotics Program.
Also read:US Woman Nearly Died After Brushing Off Sepsis Symptoms As Flu
According to Ellis, newborns are particularly vulnerable to life-threatening sepsis because of their underdeveloped immune systems.
The growing burden of antibiotic resistance in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has further worsened the problem by reducing the effectiveness of standard treatments. Studies have reported extremely high resistance to the combination of ampicillin and gentamicin, the antibiotic regimen currently recommended by the World Health Organization for the initial treatment of neonatal sepsis.
"Today, we stand at a tipping point. The antibiotics for newborns that we have relied on for decades are failing against resistant infections in many hospital settings," Ellis said.
Read More: Andhra Pradesh To Launch Rare Disease Policy, Expand Universal Newborn Screening
An estimated 3 million newborns develop sepsis every year. The condition occurs when the body's response to an infection triggers widespread inflammation, potentially leading to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. More than 90% of neonatal sepsis deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
The NeoSep1 trial aims to identify safe and effective antibiotic regimens that can reduce deaths caused by drug-resistant neonatal sepsis.
The first phase of the study, conducted in South Africa and Kenya in 2023, validated the appropriate doses of fosfomycin and flomoxef when used in combination with other antibiotics in newborns.
The second phase is using a Personalised Randomised Controlled Trial (PRACTical) design to evaluate and rank multiple antibiotic regimens for newborns with sepsis. The approach is expected to help clinicians choose the most effective treatments based on local patterns of antibiotic resistance while also informing future national and international treatment guidelines.
The NeoSep1 trial is expected to enroll 3,000 newborns across Asia and Africa by the end of 2028.
Along with India, newborns have already been enrolled in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Hospitals in Vietnam, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Uganda are also expected to join the study.
Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that harms the immune system, tissues, and organs. It can lead to organ failure or death if not treated urgently, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
According to Sepsis Alliance, the acronym TIME can help people recognize potential warning signs of sepsis and seek urgent medical care.
T — Temperature: Body temperature is unusually high or low.
I — Infection: Signs or symptoms of an infection are present.
M — Mental Decline: Confusion, excessive sleepiness, or difficulty waking up.
E — Extremely Ill: Severe pain, extreme discomfort, or shortness of breath.
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American supermodel Bella Hadid has opened up about the mental toll of living with Lyme disease, a chronic illness she has battled for years.
Bella Hadid was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2013 and has endured an ongoing battle with physical pain, extreme fatigue, brain fog, and associated depression.
In a series of Instagram Stories, the 29-year-old model shared about the daily hardships and emotional toll of recurring health flare-ups despite trying various treatment protocols.
The supermodel said it is "intimidating" to explain her symptoms of pain, exhaustion, fatigue, anxiety, brain fog, infections and trauma, and how they lead "to severe isolation and depression, especially over long periods of time," People.com reported.
"Especially when you try anything you can," she said, adding that she has read books and personal stories to better understand her symptoms, yet still experiences setbacks.
"You demand answers that no one can find. You fight. You finally have a few good days. You think you've found the right protocol, the right routine, the right treatment... and then a flare-up comes back and all of a sudden nothing feels certain again."
Hadid said flare-ups of the chronic illness often force her to cancel plans.
"You wake up with anxiety already living in your body," Hadid wrote.
"Physical pain before your feet even touch the floor....And somehow, still have to find the strength to move through another day in a body and mind that are completely exhausted."
The model said she has learned to mask her feelings.
"Sometimes it feels like unless you've lived something like this, or loved someone who has, it's impossible to fully understand."
She also reminded followers facing similar struggles that "there is light, even if you can't see it today... There is hope," before sharing a message she often tells herself during difficult times.
"As so many have said..I have to remind myself that healing isn't linear...I believe God puts before us, somehow, only what we are capable of carrying, even when we don't understand why at the time," she wrote, saying there's a "deeper purpose to all things in life."
Hadid acknowledged that although it is hard, she believes "every hardship leaves us with a lesson, a deeper compassion, or a strength we never knew we had."
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread to people through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.
Every year, an estimated 31 million people in the United States are bitten by a tick.
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States, with an estimated 476,000 patients treated for Lyme each year.
Typical symptoms include:
The best defense against Lyme disease is to prevent tick bites. This will reduce your risk of other tickborne diseases as well.
What to do after a tick bite:
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Donald Trump, the oldest president in US history, has come under increased scrutiny after turning 80 this year. The president has frequently been seen with swollen ankles and bruises on his hands, though the White House maintains he is in "excellent health."
Several doctors have also raised concerns about Trump's physical and mental health, citing instances where he appeared to fall asleep during White House meetings and international summits, as well as verbal fumbles and slurred speech.
A new book, Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, claims the president's medical condition is one of the administration's most tightly controlled areas of information. Written by New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman and investigative reporter Jonathan Swan, the book is based on more than 1,000 interviews conducted over three years.

Also read: Did Donald Trump Take Eli Lilly's Weight Loss Drug? What Did White House Say
According to the authors, Trump struggles with his hearing and began moving meetings from the East Wing to the Oval Office because of better acoustics. The change also allowed him to remain seated during lengthy meetings.
The book says some aides privately felt Trump was "beginning to seem old to them," pointing to "moments of fatigue" and a "cupped hand" behind his ear.
Speaking to Kaitlan Collins on CNN's The Source, Swan said Trump's health is "very well concealed" from the public.
"I'm not even sure that his most senior aides have a clear picture of his health, about all the aspects of his medical reports," Swan said.
Trump reportedly spent three hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on May 26, where he was examined by 22 specialists, compared with 14 doctors during his previous medical check-up
"We have no indication of who those specialists are or what their specialties are," Swan said. "They haven't released all the imaging results."
According to CNN medical expert Jonathan Reiner, Trump's medical examination by 22 specialists "is an extraordinary number."
But the White House has continued to insist Trump remains sharp and energetic.
Read More: ‘Sea Or See?’ Donald Trump's Remark Sparks Fresh Cognitive Health Speculation
According to the Daily Mail, the book claims Trump now prefers seated events, shorter public appearances and staying close to the White House.
The authors describe Trump in his second term as a "homebody," compared with his extensive travel during the 2024 campaign.
"He had never been a big sleeper, but now it seemed to his staff that he was sleeping even less, keeping stranger hours than he had in his first term," the authors wrote.
They added that Trump would often spend the early hours watching television, talking on the phone and posting on Truth Social.
The White House dismissed the book's claims.
"President Trump's sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration when Democrats and the legacy media intentionally covered up Joe Biden's serious mental and physical decline from the American people," spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Daily Mail.
"President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises."
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