Poor Sleep, Daytime Sleepiness May Lead To Dementia: Read Details Here

Updated Dec 19, 2024 | 08:00 PM IST

SummaryLatest research has established a potential link between poor sleep and the development of dementia, particularly a condition called motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR).
Daytime Sleepiness

Daytime Sleepiness (Credit: Canva)

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?

Daytime sleepiness is a direct result of poor sleep quality. Now, a recent research, published in the journal Neurology, highlighted a potential link between poor sleep and the development of dementia, particularly a condition called motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR). The study found that 35.5% of participants who reported extreme daytime sleepiness developed MCR, which is a precursor to dementia.

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.

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British-Nigerian Influencer Dies After Penis Enlargement Procedure In Thailand: What Are The Risks?

Updated Sep 6, 2026 | 05:15 PM IST

SummaryA social media influencer died due to pulmonary embolism, which he suffered after undergoing a penis enlargement procedure in Bangkok, Thailand.
British-Nigerian Influencer Dies After Penis Enlargement Procedure In Thailand: What Are The Risks?

Credit: AI

British-Nigerian businessman and social media influencer Igho “Tiny” Ubiribo, 43, died after undergoing a cosmetic penis enlargement procedure in Bangkok, Thailand.

According to findings from a UK coroner’s inquest, Ubiribo, who was also known as Denisi or Ego, reportedly underwent the procedure on March 5, 2026, while travelling with his wife. The treatment involved injections containing hyaluronic acid and lidocaine.

What Happened?

According to reports on the inquest, Ubiribo developed chest pain and repeatedly lost consciousness later that day while receiving a massage.

He was taken to Sukhumvit Hospital in Bangkok, where his condition deteriorated rapidly. Doctors reportedly attempted CPR for more than 100 minutes, but he died before a CT scan could be completed.

A post-mortem examination in the UK subsequently found that he had suffered a pulmonary embolism, a potentially life-threatening blockage of blood flow in the lungs.

The coroner’s findings reportedly linked the fatal embolism to the substances injected during the cosmetic procedure. Reports say material consistent with the filler was found in the lungs.

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About Pulmonary Embolism

A pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood vessel supplying the lungs becomes blocked, most commonly by a blood clot that has travelled from another part of the body.

It can cause sudden chest pain, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, or fainting and can become fatal if the blockage is severe.

In Ubiribo's case, the coroner’s findings linked the embolism to material associated with the cosmetic injection rather than describing a conventional blood clot travelling from the legs, which is unusual.

Also read: Paris Jackson Undergoes ‘Painful’ ECT for Depression: Can Electroconvulsive Therapy Reduce Suicide Risk?

Can Penile Fillers Be Risky?

Complications can include infection, swelling, tissue damage, deformity, nodules, and vascular complications. If an injected substance enters a blood vessel, there can be potentially serious consequences.

The risks can also depend on the substance used, injection technique, the setting in which the procedure is performed, and the medical expertise and competence of the person administering it.

Ubiribo’s case does not mean that every penile filler procedure causes pulmonary embolism, but it indicates that cosmetic procedures are not risk-free simply because they are elective.

The American Urological Association and Urology Care Foundation have previously stated that subcutaneous fat injection for increasing penile girth has not been shown to be safe or effective.

Ubiribo’s death has now renewed attention on the risks associated with cosmetic penile augmentation, particularly when procedures are undertaken abroad.

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Alzheimer’s Prevention Before Symptoms Appear: NHS Trial Tests Experimental Drug In High-Risk People

Updated Sep 6, 2026 | 05:00 PM IST

SummaryA new trial is testing an experimental drug that could delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease in high-risk people even before symptoms surface.
Alzheimer’s Prevention Before Symptoms Appear: NHS Trial Tests Experimental Drug In High-Risk People

Credit: AI

An international clinical trial in the UK is examining whether Alzheimer’s disease can be delayed or prevented before symptoms like memory loss and confusion begin. The trial marks a significant shift from treating existing symptoms to intervening much earlier to delay or prevent the disease.

The Phase III PrevenTRON trial, led in the UK by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, will study the experimental drug trontinemab in around 1,600 adults aged 55 to 80 who have no symptoms of Alzheimer’s but are at high risk of developing the disease in the future.

Who Is Eligible To Take Part In The Alzheimer’s Prevention Trial?

To be eligible to participate, the participant must have no memory problems. Researchers will use blood testing to look for p-tau217, a biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s-related changes in the brain and increased future risk of cognitive decline.

The trial is recruiting internationally. At least 15 UK hospitals are expected to participate. Surrey and Borders Partnership is the first site in the UK and Europe to open the study.

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either trontinemab or a placebo. Researchers will then follow them for around four to six years to determine whether treating the disease before symptoms appear can delay or prevent dementia.

Also read: Hormone Replacement Therapy May Lower Dementia Risk In Women, Shows Study

How Does Trontinemab Work?

Trontinemab, developed by pharmaceutical company Roche, targets amyloid plaques, abnormal deposits of the protein that build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The drug, with an antibody-based approach, intends to cross the blood-brain barrier more efficiently and remove amyloid from the brain.

Early studies have shown encouraging results. According to reports on the new trial, trontinemab cleared amyloid plaques in about 90% of people with early Alzheimer’s within 28 weeks.

However, these results came from people who already had early onset of the disease, not people being treated before symptoms, so they cannot prove that the drug will prevent Alzheimer’s.

Also read: Cyclospora to Alzheimer’s: Trump Administration Scales Back Key Health Research

Can Alzheimer’s Be Treated Before Symptoms Appear?

Changes in the brain due to Alzheimer’s can begin in the brain years before memory problems develop. By the time symptoms become obvious, substantial biological changes may already have occurred.

Professor Ramin Nilforooshan, consultant psychiatrist and chief investigator for PrevenTRON, said the trial is asking a fundamentally different question from many previous Alzheimer’s studies. With this trial, researchers intend to intervene before symptoms begin.

PrevenTRON addresses a different question, whether we can act earlier, before symptoms begin,” he said.

Trontinemab remains an experimental drug, and researchers do not yet know whether removing amyloid in people who have no symptoms will actually prevent or delay dementia.

The study will also help establish whether identifying people at increased risk using blood biomarkers and treating them years before symptoms is practical and safe. If successful, this could eventually change how Alzheimer’s disease is managed, as healthcare professionals can move from risk detection and prevention rather than waiting for symptoms.

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Bladder Cancer Detection May Get Faster & Easier: New Urine Test Detects 92% Of Cases

Updated Sep 6, 2026 | 01:00 PM IST

SummaryAnew and simple urine test has shown promise in detecting bladder cancer with high accuracy, reducing the need for every suspected patient to undergo cystoscopy.
Bladder Cancer Detection May Get Faster & Easier: New Urine Test Detects 92% Of Cases

Credit: AI

Bladder cancer detection could get easier, faster and much less invasive as a new urine test can help identify it. According to new UK research, patients may not have to wait for an invasive bladder examination just to get their cancer diagnosis.

The test, called GALEAS Bladder, detected almost 92.2% of bladder cancers in a study involving 964 patients across seven NHS urology departments. The findings were published in European Urology Oncology recently .

How Does The Urine Test Work?

In the study, patients had been referred for urgent investigation because of haematuria, or blood in the urine, one of the key warning signs of bladder cancer. Their urine samples were tested alongside the standard diagnostic method, which included cystoscopy.

Among the 964 patients who had a final diagnosis, 77 were found to have bladder cancer. The urine test detected 71 of those 77 cancers, making the success rate almost 92%.

It detected all 17 muscle-invasive bladder cancers identified in the study. It also picked up 35 of 36 high-grade cancers, equivalent to 97.2%.

Also read: PM2.5 and Cancer Risk: Practical Ways to Protect Yourself in India’s Polluted Cities

Could It Reduce The Requirement For Cystoscopy?

Cystoscopy remains an important part of bladder cancer diagnosis. The procedure involves passing a camera through the urethra into the bladder, so doctors can directly examine the organ.

While effective, cystoscopy is invasive and requires hospital resources. The researchers believe a urine-based test could help doctors decide which patients need an urgent cystoscopy and which patients may be able to safely defer the procedure.

According to this study, a negative GALEAS result was linked with a 99.3% likelihood of not having bladder cancer. Researchers estimated that using the test to triage patients could reduce urgent cystoscopies by about 730 per 1,000 patients, without reducing overall clinical benefit.

Professor Richard Bryan, Director of the University of Birmingham’s Bladder Cancer Research Centre and a study co-author, said the findings show that molecular urine testing can help clinicians determine which patients need urgent cystoscopy.

The test performed particularly well in patients whose blood in the urine was not visible to the naked eye. In this group, which represented about 30% of participants, the test identified all bladder cancers diagnosed in the study.

Also read: Have Dense Breasts? What Women Should Know About Their Breast Cancer Risk

Is The Urine Test A Replacement For Cystoscopy?

The researchers describe GALEAS as a tool to support decision-making before cystoscopy, rather than a complete replacement for diagnostic procedures. A positive result can help prioritise patients for cystoscopy, while a negative result may allow immediate cystoscopy to be deferred in appropriate cases.

The study does not mean that a person with symptoms can simply take a urine test and rule out cancer on their own. A suspected bladder cancer diagnosis still requires appropriate clinical assessment.

In the study, just 8% of participants were diagnosed with bladder cancer. The findings offer a useful way to make bladder cancer investigations more targeted, particularly where large numbers of people are referred for blood in the urine, but only a small proportion ultimately get diagnosed cancer.

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