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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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A new study in the US has found that millions of military veterans continue to experience suicidal thoughts, yet many of them are not receiving the mental health treatment they need.
Researchers say the findings highlight the urgent need to improve access to mental health services and strengthen suicide prevention efforts, particularly for younger and female veterans.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed data from 2,636 US military veterans who participated in the 2025-2026 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (NHRVS), a survey conducted between December 2025 and January 2026.
Also read: US Government Backs Psychedelic Therapies Research For Veterans With PTSD and Depression
Researchers found that 13.4% of veterans reported having suicidal thoughts within the previous two weeks, while 14% experienced suicidal thoughts during the past year.
Compared with data collected in 2019-2020, the prevalence of recent suicidal thoughts increased from 9% to 13.4%, representing a 49% rise over five years. However, the prevalence of lifetime suicide planning (8%) and suicide attempts (4.9%) remained largely unchanged.
Based on national population estimates, the researchers said:
One of the study's most concerning findings was that a substantial number of veterans reporting suicidal thoughts were not receiving mental health care.
Among veterans who experienced suicidal thoughts in the previous two weeks:
Researchers also observed similar gaps in the use of psychotherapy and psychiatric medications.
The researchers also found that younger veterans and women veterans carried a disproportionately higher risk of suicidal thoughts, suicide planning and suicide attempts.
The authors concluded, "These findings suggest that suicidal ideation has increased among US veterans over the past 5 years, whereas suicidal planning and attempts have not, underscoring the need to strengthen early intervention, treatment engagement, and targeted prevention efforts."
They further added, "A substantial proportion of veterans reporting recent suicidal ideation are not currently engaged in mental health treatment."
The study showed that veterans who used the VA healthcare system as their primary source of care were more than twice as likely to receive mental health treatment compared with veterans receiving care outside the VA.
According to the researchers, this may reflect better access to mental health services within the VA system. However, the findings also indicate that significant treatment gaps remain even among VA users due to barriers like stigma, delayed help, limited availability of services, or other factors.
The study comes as suicide continues to be a major public health issue among US veterans. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 6,000 veterans die by suicide each year, and veterans continue to have higher suicide rates than the general US population.
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A humanitarian worker has been admitted to a specialist infectious disease unit in London after being potentially exposed to the Ebola virus while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
UK health officials have stressed that there are no confirmed Ebola cases in the United Kingdom and that the risk to the public remains very low.
The individual, a UK resident involved in treating Ebola patients in eastern DRC, was medically evacuated to London as a precaution and is being monitored in a high-level isolation unit. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the worker is not showing symptoms of Ebola but is under observation because the virus has an incubation period of 2 to 21 days.
The evacuation follows established international protocols for healthcare and humanitarian workers who may have been exposed to highly infectious diseases. Health authorities emphasized that:
Officials are also conducting routine contact assessments where necessary, although no wider public health concerns have been identified.
Also read: Ebola Outbreak: Confirmed Cases Hit 2,344, Deaths Rise To 930
The admission comes as the Democratic Republic of the Congo is battling one of its most severe Ebola outbreaks in recent history.
The outbreak, declared on May 15, 2026, is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a less common species for which there are currently no licensed vaccines or proven antiviral treatments.
This has made containment significantly more challenging than previous Ebola outbreaks caused by the Zaire strain. According to the latest reports from Congolese health authorities and international agencies:
WHO believes the true number of infections could be two to four times higher because many cases remain undetected in conflict-affected areas.
Also read: Ebola Outbreak In Congo: UN Warns Frontline Responders As Cases Surface In New Areas
Recognizing the growing threat, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on May 16, 2026, just one day after the outbreak was officially announced.
WHO warned that the outbreak poses a significant regional and international public health risk due to rapid transmission, cross-border spread, limited access to affected communities, lack of approved vaccines for the Bundibugyo virus and ongoing armed conflict disrupting healthcare operations.
Experts say the current situation should not cause public alarm. The UK's specialist infectious disease units are designed to safely manage suspected cases of high-consequence infectious diseases, and precautionary evacuations of healthcare workers have occurred during previous Ebola outbreaks.
Public health officials stress that:
A U.S. humanitarian worker in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had tested positive for Ebola a few days ago.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed, saying it is working closely with the individual's employer, U.S. government health agencies, and Congolese health authorities to prevent further transmission by tracing contacts to identify people who may have been exposed.
According to reports, the infected individual was working for a humanitarian organization in eastern Congo, where the outbreak has continued to spread despite ongoing response efforts.
The CDC has not released details about the patient's identity or condition but emphasized that contact tracing and public health measures are underway.
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Research suggests that disruptions in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, during which we dream, consolidate memory, and process emotions, could be among the earliest biological signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Scientists now believe that changes in sleep are not just a consequence of Alzheimer's, but may actually appear years before primary cognitive symptoms emerge.
Also read: Scientists Discover Brain Protein That Could Slow Alzheimer's Disease Progression
The study, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, studied 128 older adults, including people with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and cognitively healthy individuals.
Participants underwent overnight polysomnography, the gold standard sleep test that records brain activity, breathing, heart rate, eye movements, and muscle activity during sleep.
Researchers discovered that participants who took significantly longer to enter REM sleep, known as REM sleep latency, were more likely to have Alzheimer's disease.
These individuals also showed:
Also read: Can One Partner's Dementia Raise the Other's Risk? New Study Suggests An Interesting Link
Scientists believe REM sleep also supports the brain's "cleaning system," helping remove waste products that accumulate during the day.
When REM sleep is delayed or disrupted, this process may become less efficient, allowing toxic proteins like amyloid-beta to build up over time.
According to Dr. Yue Leng, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco and one of the study's authors: "Delayed REM sleep may disrupt the brain's ability to consolidate memories by interfering with the process that converts recent experiences into long-term memories. If this is insufficient because REM sleep is delayed or shortened, it could increase the stress hormone cortisol. This may impair the brain's hippocampus, a critical structure for memory consolidation."
Commenting on the findings, Dr. Jocelyn Cheng, neurologist and Senior Director of Neuroscience Clinical Research at Eisai U.S., said:
"The relationship may be bidirectional. Delayed REM may contribute to Alzheimer's-type changes, and/or Alzheimer's itself may result in prolonged REM latency."
The new findings offer a possible biological explanation. Researchers suggest that the accumulation of amyloid may interfere with the brain's internal clock and its ability to regulate normal sleep cycles, creating a vicious cycle where poor sleep accelerates brain changes linked to Alzheimer's.
Researchers say future studies should examine whether improving REM sleep through better sleep hygiene or treatment of conditions such as sleep apnea could help slow or delay Alzheimer's-related brain changes.
Experts recommend maintaining a regular sleep schedule, limiting alcohol before bedtime, reducing evening screen exposure, and seeking medical evaluation for persistent sleep disorders.
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