Experiencing daytime sleepiness is something that is usually perceived as a minor inconvenience, but for older adults, it could be an early warning sign of Dementia. This neurodegenerative disease leads to the progressive decline of brain cells. This eventually

affects memory, cognition, and personality, making everyday tasks more difficult. As one of the fastest-growing neurological disorders across the world, dementia poses a significant health threat to ageing populations.

Is Dementia Linked To Poor Sleep?

For this study, researchers followed 445 older adults (average age 76) over three years, aiming to determine whether poor sleep could increase the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often leads to dementia. At the start, none of the participants had MCI, but by the end of the study, 36 individuals had developed the condition.

The researchers discovered that participants with poor sleep were more likely to develop MCI compared to those who slept well. However, when depression symptoms were taken into account, the link between poor sleep and MCI became less pronounced, suggesting that while sleep issues are a concern, mental health also plays a key role in dementia risk.

To assess sleep quality, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used, evaluating factors such as sleep duration, disturbances, and daytime alertness. Among these, "daytime dysfunction"—defined as excessive sleepiness and low energy during the day—was most strongly associated with an increased risk of MCI. Those experiencing daytime dysfunction were more than three times as likely to develop MCI as those who didn’t report such symptoms.

There are many types of dementia:

Dementia is not a specific disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is an overall term that describes a decline in mental ability that interferes with daily life. People with dementia often have symptoms like trouble remembering, thinking, or making everyday decisions. These symptoms tend to get worse over time.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, and it mostly affects the elderly. Each form of dementia has a different cause. Though dementia mostly affects older adults, it is not a part of normal ageing. An estimated 6.7 million older adults have Alzheimer's disease in the United States. That number is expected to double by 2060, as per data from the CDC.

In 2022, 3.8% of men and 4.2% women in US were diagnosed with dementia. The percentage of people increase with age from 1.7% for those aged 65-74 to 13.1% for those aged 85 and older. Alzheimer's accounts for 60 to 80% of all dementia cases and it is most prevalent in California, Florida, and Texas, as these states have the highest number of people.

Drug-resistant superbug Candida auris (C. auris) has now been detected in 27 US states. According to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3,437 clinical cases have been reported through July 25.

The figure is about 1,000 fewer than the 4,290 cases reported during the same period last year.

Candida auris Remains A Critical Public Health Threat

C. auris is a deadly fungus that primarily poses a concern for people who are hospitalised or in long-term care facilities. The total number of clinical cases has increased since the pathogen was first detected in the US in 2016, the CDC said.

While the rate of increase has slowed in recent years, C. auris remains a “critical public health threat.”

First discovered in Japan in 2009, the pathogen can live silently on the skin but can become deadly when it reaches the bloodstream. It kills about 3,000 patients in US hospitals and long-term care facilities each year.

Now, a new study published in the journal Science has revealed why the deadly superbug can be so difficult to remove from the skin once it takes hold.

How Candida auris Permanently Colonizes Skin

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) found that C. auris actively rewires the skin’s immune system to protect itself, taking refuge in hair follicles where current therapies cannot reach it.

“Candida auris colonizes skin way better than most other fungi, setting it up to invade once the immune system is weakened,” said Dean Merrill, a dermatologist, UCSF professor and first author of the study.

“The big clinical problem is that we have no effective way to remove it from the skin,” he added.

To understand why C. auris persists on the skin unlike other fungi, researchers compared it with Candida albicans, a common fungus that the skin and immune system normally clear quickly.

In mice, C. auris was found to persist by taking refuge in hair follicles.

While C. albicans activated an immune signal called IL-17, which helps renew the skin’s surface and strengthen antifungal defenses, allowing the infection to be cleared, C. auris, triggered interferon gamma, a signal more commonly associated with viral infections.

The fungus achieved this by remodeling its outer cell wall to expose more of a molecule called chitin. This prompted immune cells to release interferon gamma around the hair follicle.

The interferon gamma then blocked the skin’s antifungal defenses, including IL-17. It also slowed the natural replacement of cells in the hair follicle, causing older, damaged cells to accumulate and creating a niche where C. auris could flourish.

How The Finding Will Help?

The findings reveal potential targets for preventing C. auris from persisting on the skin.

One possible approach could involve drugs that shift the immune response away from interferon gamma and toward IL-17, which drives the skin’s normal antifungal clearing process.

Another possibility could be drugs that block chitin, potentially preventing the fungus from amplifying interferon gamma signals, Merrill said.

More broadly, the researchers say the findings offer a new way of understanding how microbes can quietly coexist with humans before becoming dangerous.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Ebola outbreak may have been spreading for months before health authorities officially declared it, raising new questions about why the early warning signs were missed.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), genetic sequencing indicates that the current outbreak began as early as February 2026, while the DRC officially declared the outbreak on May 15. By then, the virus had already had time to spread through communities in eastern DRC.

The outbreak is being caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare Ebola species for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific course of treatment.

What Were The Early Warning Signs?

One of the major reasons why the current Ebola outbreak expanded within a short period of time was that it not immediately recognised.

Some early patients were reportedly treated for malaria or typhoid, illnesses that can initially cause symptoms such as fever, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea. Early testing also focused on the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, delaying recognition of Bundibugyo virus.

WHO’s own assessment had already identified an unusual cluster of severe illness and deaths in the Mongbwalu health zone in Ituri Province by early May. A subsequent investigation covering April 15 to May 13 identified 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths across three health zones.

Geographical disadvantage was also one of the reasons. Ituri is affected by armed conflict, population displacement and poor road access. Health workers have faced shortages of protective equipment, while some facilities have struggled because of workers' strikes.

Also read: Nova Scotia's Ebola Trial: Why Is Canada Testing A Vaccine When It Has No Outbreak?

What Is The Current Status Of DRC Ebola Outbreak?

The Ebola outbreak in DRC continues to grow at a rapid pace. The latest government figures cited by WHO and international media show about 4,200 confirmed Ebola cases and at least 1,900 deaths in DRC.

WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi described the situation bluntly: “We are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also warned that the outbreak is moving faster than the response, with cases doubling in some hotspots. He wrote on on X that “the outbreak is spreading faster than our scale up of the response”, adding that new cases had doubled in some hotspots over the previous week.

Ebola becomes considerably harder to contain once transmission moves beyond identifiable limits. Unlike respiratory viruses, Ebola primarily spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids and contaminated materials. But when patients are not recognised early, they can unknowingly expose others, healthcare workers and caregivers.

Also read: FDA Approves Moderna's First mRNA Flu Vaccine, Marking A Milestone In Influenza Prevention

Effects Of Delayed Recognition

One of the major challenges in this outbreak is that around 60–70% of new cases are reportedly occurring outside known contact chains, making traditional contact tracing much harder. The current outbreak has also unfolded in crowded urban and displacement settings, rather than remaining confined to an isolated rural location.

The 2014–2016 West African Ebola epidemic was officially declared in March 2014, although the first human case was later traced back to December 2013. That outbreak eventually led to more than 11,000 deaths.

Also read: Amid Rapidly Expanding Ebola Outbreak, DR Congo Is Seeing An Alarming Increase In Maternal Deaths; Here's Why

Progress In Bundibugyo Vaccine Development

The WHO is now pushing to accelerate the response, including clinical trials of the Ervebo vaccine, which is licensed against the Zaire strain but may offer some protection against Bundibugyo. Researchers are also developing vaccines specifically targeting Bundibugyo virus.

mRNA-1469 is an investigational vaccine developed using Moderna's messenger RNA (mRNA) platform, the same technology used in its COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine builds on the company's broader research into filoviruses, the family of viruses that includes Ebola.

A new experimental menopause drug has shown promising results in reducing hot flashes, with the company reporting an 83% reduction in moderate-to-severe episodes in a mid-stage clinical trial.

Shares of Canadian biotechnology company AbCellera surged nearly 40% on Monday after it announced positive results for ABCL635, an experimental non-hormonal treatment for moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause.

The Phase 2 study involved 92 women. After four weeks, women who received a single 600-mg dose of ABCL635 experienced an 83% reduction in the frequency of moderate-to-severe hot flashes, equivalent to 8.8 fewer episodes per day from baseline. The placebo group reported a 33% reduction, or 3.5 fewer episodes per day.

The treatment also improved the severity of symptoms, sleep and women's overall assessment of their improvement, according to the company.

The most commonly reported side effects, however, included headache, fatigue and reactions at the injection site.

What Makes This Drug Significant?

ABCL635 takes a different approach from hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It is a non-hormonal antibody treatment that targets the neurokinin 3 receptor, or NK3R, a protein involved in the brain's regulation of body temperature.

During menopause, falling estrogen levels can disrupt the activity of a group of brain cells known as KNDy neurons. This can make the body's temperature-control system overly sensitive, triggering hot flashes. By blocking NK3R signaling, ABCL635 is designed to help restore that balance.

Also read: Lifestyle Genetics And Hormones: Understanding The Interplay Of Risk Factors For Ovarian Cancer

More About The Drug

One of the drug's potential advantages is its dosing. ABCL635 is being developed as a long-acting, once-monthly injection, rather than a daily pill.

AbCellera's chief medical officer Sarah Noonberg said the approach could appeal to women already accustomed to self-injecting medicines and could potentially improve adherence compared to daily dosing.

When the Phase 2 programme began, Noonberg said: “Menopausal symptoms can have a profound impact on quality of life,” adding that the company wanted to assess whether ABCL635 could offer women a safe and effective non-hormonal alternative.

However, the drug is still experimental and has not been approved for clinical use. AbCellera said additional 12-week trial data are expected later this year, which will provide a better picture of how long the benefits last and how the treatment performs over a longer period.

The drug development comes as non-hormonal menopause treatments are gaining popularity. FDA-approved options already include drugs targeting neurokinin pathways, including Astellas' Veozah and Bayer's Lynkuet, giving women alternatives when hormone therapy is unsuitable or not preferred.

Also read: Are Women More Likely To Experience More Severe Neurological Symptoms Of Long COVID Than Men? New Study Finds

Why Menopausal Hot Flashes Can Be Unnerving?

Hot flashes, also known as vasomotor symptoms, are among the most common symptoms of menopause. The Menopause Society says up to 80% of women experience hot flashes or night sweats at some point during the menopause.

A hot flash can begin suddenly, often as an intense wave of heat across the face, neck and chest. It may be followed by sweating, chills, dizziness, anxiety or racing heartbeat. When these episodes happen during sleep, they are known as night sweats.

Frequent hot flashes can repeatedly interrupt sleep, leaving women irritable and fatigued the next day. Poor sleep can then affect concentration, mood and daily functioning, creating a cycle in which one menopause symptom amplifies another.