The COVID-19 pandemic may be over, but our immune systems are still feeling the impact. After years of battling constant viral threats, from COVID-19 to seasonal flu and other infections, our body’s defense system is exhausted. Many people continue to experience lingering inflammation, frequent illnesses, and slower recovery times. This extended state of immune stress has compromised us further to chronic illness, including autoimmune diseases and even neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's. So why is our immune system still in trouble? And how do we give it its power back? Understanding immune exhaustion is the beginning of rebuilding our body's natural immunity.

A weakened immune system makes people more susceptible to disease, mental illnesses, and even sleep disorders. Now, new research indicates that immune system depletion may play an important role in the onset of Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurologic disorder that compromises movement and cognition.

Role of Inflammation in Parkinson's Disease

Dysfunctional immune response is a leading cause of long-standing inflammation within the body, that has been found to contribute towards a multitude of conditions, including cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, depression, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

As people age, their immune system naturally becomes less effective. This deterioration, referred to as immune exhaustion, may be a key contributor to the onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease. Rebecca Wallings, a Parkinson’s Foundation Launch Award grant recipient and senior postdoctoral fellow at the University of Florida, believes that an accumulation of exhausted immune cells could be driving neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s patients.

How a Tired Immune System Might Affect Parkinson's?

Parkinson's disease is most commonly linked with the degeneration and loss of dopaminergic neurons—motor nerve cells that produce dopamine, an essential neurotransmitter for movement. While researchers have long suspected inflammation is involved in this neurodegeneration, the mechanisms are not yet well understood.

Wallings' study is on immune cell exhaustion, a process by which aging immune cells fail to control immune responses effectively. Her research indicates that instead of dampening inflammation in Parkinson's patients, attempts should be made to rejuvenate the immune system to regain its functionality.

Energy Deficiency in Immune Cells

One of the major findings of Wallings' work is the function of mitochondrial impairment in immune cell exhaustion. Mitochondria are commonly called the powerhouses of cells, as they are vital for generating energy. As mitochondria age and become inefficient, immune cells fail to function well, potentially accelerating neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease.

Wallings has found that mutations in the LRRK2 gene, a recognized genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease, are linked with defective mitochondrial function and immune cell exhaustion. Her current work includes testing various therapeutic approaches to restore mitochondrial function in immune cells with the potential to enhance the immune system and potentially prevent or treat Parkinson's disease.

Will Rejuvenating the Immune System Help in Treatment?

For decades, the standard practice in treating Parkinson's has been to suppress brain inflammation. Yet Wallings' work indicates that instead of slowing down immune responses, restoring the immune system could be a more successful strategy. By addressing mitochondrial impairment and immune resilience, researchers can potentially reverse or slow down Parkinson's disease.

Wallings is now looking into how to rejuvenate immune cells by fixing mitochondria. She studies immune cells from patients with Parkinson's as well as from healthy subjects and performs experiments on animal models to determine if rejuvenation of the immune system could result in improved disease outcomes.

Lifestyle Factors That May Affect Parkinson's Risk

While there is no cure for Parkinson's disease, some lifestyle adjustments may decrease the chances of developing the illness. Since neurodegenerative diseases are associated with chronic inflammation and immune dysfunction, developing habits that enhance immune function might prove helpful.

Diet: There is evidence to suggest that eating in accordance with the Mediterranean or MIND diets, both high in antioxidants, healthy fats, and anti-inflammatory foods, can encourage brain wellness and reduce Parkinson's risk.

Avoiding Dangerous Substances: Restricting alcohol and nicotine use can maintain a robust immune system and suppress inflammation.

Reducing Stress: Chronic stress weakens immune function, so methods such as meditation, exercise, and sufficient sleep can lead to improved overall well-being.

As we brace ourselves for another bout of winter, we can’t help but feel wary about the changes the dip in temperature brings on our mood and mental well-being. You are not imagining winter depression when you start to feel sudden loss of joy.

Seasonal depression is more than feeling gloomy. You may no longer enjoy the activities you once relished, like listening to music, exercising or meeting friends. This isn’t just another effect of winter. Experts have designated a term for it: anhedonia.

Anhedonia refers to the loss of pleasure or interest in something you once enjoyed. It is one of the symptoms of depression, including seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Unlike sadness, anhedonia can render someone feeling disconnected with or indifferent towards things they once enjoyed.

A person experiencing anhedonia may still participate in activities they enjoy but will no longer reap emotional rewards from it.

“Anhedonia is not the kind of sadness where you’re feeling down but still have moments of enjoyment,” Dr Deeksha Kalra, Associate Consultant, Psychiatry, Artemis Hospital, Gurugram, explained to HealthandMe.

Dr Samant Darshi, Consultant Psychiatrist and Neuromodulation Expert at Yatharth Hospitals, told us, “While sadness entails the state of feeling unhappy about something, anhedonia pertains to the lack of enjoyment.”

Dr Kalra said, during SAD, anhedonia may be experienced during the affected season like winter.

“This can happen at the same time as low mood, but it can also be one of the clearest symptoms. In SAD, these changes are usually present during the affected season and resolve with the resolution of the depressive episode. So anhedonia is about muted pleasure, not just feeling sad,” Dr Kalra explains.

Effects Of Winter On Pleasure And Motivation

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Changes that come with SAD, a type of depressive phase, usually pertains to specific seasons, like mostly winter. Due to less duration of daylight, the body’s internal clock, known as circadian rhythm, may get affected. Along with circadian rhythm, poor diet, irregular sleep pattern and limited physical activity can also contribute to SAD.

This could cause one to feel difficult to initiative activities they enjoy as they no longer feel motivated, affecting the brain reward system.

“Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) causes disturbance of mood, sleep, energy, and motivation. Activities which were pleasurable before become less rewarding because of this. The changes in daylight hours may affect the body clock or the physiological processes related to mood control. The decrease in energy and motivation makes doing the activity even harder and less pleasurable,” said Dr Darshi.

Dr Kalra explains that there are a lot of phases to experiencing ‘enjoyment’. It involves identifying something rewarding, anticipating it, experiencing pleasure and learning from the experience. Depression can affect all these phases, making previously enjoyable activities feel less rewarding.

“Brain networks including the striatum and nucleus accumbens, contribute to the valuation of rewarding experiences and the motivation of behavior. When their responses are dulled and something that was once naturally rewarding may not have the same emotional resonance,” she says.

Dopamine’s Role In SAD

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Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain responsible for motivation, rewards, learning, and directing behaviour as per goals. When we talk about SAD and anhedonia, dopamine comes into the picture as it is related to motivation and rewards.

Dr Kalra explained, “Dopamine is involved in motivation, reward anticipation, learning and determining the value of pursuing something. That’s why dopamine has been looked at when researchers have investigated anhedonia and low motivation.”

But doctors say that anhedonia is not characterised by shortage of dopamine. According to research, SAD has been reported to affect dopamine signalling, including lower dopamine transporter availability in the striatum during symptomatic depression.

Dr Darshi also emphasises that dopamine is only a part of the process.

He said, “Studies concerning depression and anhedonia indicate that changes in the activity of dopamine result in the decrease in motivation and reward sensitivity. However, anhedonia encompasses many brain processes.”

SAD And Anticipatory Pleasure

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Anhedonia makes one indifferent by directly affecting the anticipatory pleasure mechanism. Anticipatory pleasure is the excitement one feels before an event. Consummatory pleasure is the enjoyment experienced while the event is in progress.

“Anhedonia can affect the anticipatory pleasure you feel when you look forward to something and the consummatory pleasure you experience when it actually happens. Someone might know that a favorite meal, holiday or meeting with friends should be enjoyable but feel little excitement beforehand. The pleasure might also feel weaker than expected when the event happens,” Dr Kalra explains.

Not Everyone May Experience Same SAD Symptoms

Everyone with SAD experiences anhedonia in different ways. While some may lose interest and pleasure, others may withdraw socially, sleep excessively, eat more, feeling more tired among other symptoms.

“SAD doesn’t affect everybody in exactly the same way any more than depression is a single biological process. Different people can experience different combinations of changes in mood regulation, circadian rhythms, sleep, appetite and energy and reward processing,” says Dr Kalra.

She also said that multiple symptoms may interact. For example, poor sleep could result into daytime sluggishness, making energetic activities less tempting.

Dr Darshi explained, “Individuals with SAD have different presentations since biology, genetics, circadian rhythm, and psychology are unique for each person. Some individuals have disturbances in reward and motivation, whereas others have sleep disturbances or carbohydrate cravings, or even fatigue. Symptoms might be overlapping and are a reflection of various underlying mechanisms.”

Female breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in India in 2024, with an estimated 237,231 new cases and 96,100 deaths, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Despite the importance of early detection, screening uptake remains low. Experts say India needs better access to screening and approaches tailored to age, breast density and individual risk.

Dr. Sandeep Nayak, Chairman of Oncology at MACS-Renova Oncology Institute, KIMS Hospital, Bengaluru, told HealthandMe that population-wide screening remains a distant goal, with opportunistic screening still the norm.

“Because of this, applying blanket Western guidelines is ineffective. We need a pragmatic, age-stratified approach to imaging: utilizing breast ultrasound (USG) for women aged 35 to 45—where dense breast tissue severely limits mammogram sensitivity—and reserving routine mammography for women above 50, where tissue density decreases and diagnostic yield peaks,” he said.

Why Is Breast Cancer Still Diagnosed Late in India?

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“The alarming epidemiological paradox is that while our incidence is a third of Western nations, our death rate already surpasses theirs. The issue is not that this cancer has an aggressive biology in India; it is the timeline of discovery,” said Dr. Navin Gnanasekaran, Head of Clinical Services, Radiology and Interventional Radiology for the Apollo Group Chennai Region.

Dr. Gnanasekaran said more than 60% of breast cancers in the United States are diagnosed while still localized, with five-year survival exceeding 90%. In India, many cases are detected after the cancer has spread beyond the breast, contributing to a five-year survival rate of 66.4%, he said.

India introduced population-based screening for common noncommunicable diseases in 2016 under the National Program for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), launched in 2010. The program includes breast cancer screening among women aged 30 and above.

However, National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data show that only 0.9% of women aged 30–49 had ever undergone a breast examination for cancer detection. Dr. Gnanasekaran placed the median age of breast cancer onset in India at around 45.

Should Mammograms Start at 40—or Later?

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Experts differ when routine mammography should begin and whether breast density should influence imaging choices.

Dr. Gnanasekaran recommended digital mammography every two years for women aged 40–60. He proposed linking screening reminders to Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs, deploying mobile mammography units in rural areas and using validated artificial intelligence (AI) to help interpret scans.

Dr. Nayak recommended ultrasound for women aged 35–45 and routine mammography for those above 50.

Dense breast tissue can make some cancers harder to detect on mammograms. Women at high genetic risk, including those with BRCA mutations or a strong family history, may need earlier surveillance, potentially including contrast-enhanced breast MRI in their late 20s or early 30s, depending on individual risk.

Dr. Gnanasekaran stressed that screening must be supported by accessible diagnostic and treatment services, including timely biopsies.

Is Mammography Safe, and Can It Miss Cancer?

Mammography can miss some cancers, particularly in women with dense breasts. Ultrasound may be added for dense breasts or specific concerns, while MRI is generally used for women at higher risk or in selected situations.

Dr. Garvit Chitkara, Associate Director of Breast Surgical Oncology and Oncoplasty at Nanavati Max Institute of Cancer Care, Mumbai, said the radiation risk from mammography is low, while false-positive results can lead to additional tests.

“At the recommended intervals, mammography does not meaningfully raise your cancer risk. The more real downsides are occasional false alarms that lead to extra tests, which is a reason to have it done at a good centre and discuss any call-back with your doctor,” he told HealthandMe.

A normal mammogram should not be used to dismiss a persistent lump or other breast symptoms. Women experiencing changes should seek medical evaluation even if their most recent screening result was normal.

Which Breast Changes Should You Never Ignore?

Many breast lumps are benign, including cysts and fibroadenomas, but touch alone cannot reliably distinguish a harmless lump from cancer.

“Any new lump, or a lump that is changing in size or feel, should be examined by a doctor. A quick check usually settles it and gives you peace of mind,” Dr. Chitkara said.

Persistent redness, itching or skin thickening, breast dimpling, puckering, an orange-peel texture, nipple retraction or unusual nipple discharge should also be evaluated.

Early breast cancer is often painless. Women should not wait for pain before seeking medical attention.

Molly, a head nurse at a leading city hospital, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Chemotherapy and surgery helped her overcome the disease, but 26 years later, it resurfaced during a routine examination. By then, the experience had faded from the minds of many, including her family.

Molly is not alone. Filmmaker and author Tahira Kashyap was diagnosed with Stage 0 breast cancer, or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), in 2018. She underwent a mastectomy, followed by systemic therapies and chemotherapy. In 2025, she revealed that her cancer had relapsed after seven years.

“Round 2 for me... I still got this,” she wrote, emphasizing the importance of routine screening and regular mammograms.

In 2024, breast cancer caused an estimated 694,000 deaths and 2.4 million new cases worldwide, making it the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in 164 of 186 countries.

“The last chemotherapy session or final radiation appointment may mark the end of active breast cancer treatment. But for many women, the fear does not end there. ‘What if the cancer comes back?’ can remain an unsettling companion, even on the happiest days,”

Prof. Jyoti Bajpai, Director – Medical, Precision & Immuno-Oncology, Apollo Hospitals, Mumbai & Western Zone, told HealthandMe.

Despite advances in screening and treatment, completing treatment does not mean an immediate return to normal life. As hospital visits become less frequent, friends and family may assume the hardships are over. But survivorship can mark the beginning of a quieter struggle with fear, uncertainty and adapting to a changed body and mind, added Dr. Randeep Singh, Director and Senior Consultant, Oncology Services, Medical Oncology, Haemato-Oncology & BMT, Narayana Hospital, Gurugram.

The Physical and Financial Burden of Survivorship

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Fatigue, joint pain, menopausal symptoms and changes in body image may persist after treatment, Prof. Jyoti noted. Every ache can trigger anxiety, while follow-up appointments can revive old fears.

Restrictive diets, conflicting advice and misinformation can complicate everyday decisions. The pressure to resume family and professional responsibilities may also leave little room for emotional distress.

An Indian study led by the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Karnataka and presented at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting found that 43% of breast cancer survivors reported persistent fatigue and reduced physical activity, while 71% reported financial concerns.

The Fear of Recurrence

Dr. Randeep described fear of recurrence as one of the most challenging aspects of survivorship.

“Fear of recurrence is one of the most challenging aspects of survivorship. Survivors still may be concerned about the bumps, aches, and pains they experience that are different from those they are used to. You may start to think of things that cause you fear and anxiety: How can it be that I just have a headache, but how can it be that the cancer has returned?”

Scans, blood tests and follow-up visits can also be emotionally draining.

“There may be worry or stress that is hard to describe to someone who's never been through it before. To a survivor, it can be a reminder of all the things that have happened to her and all the things she fears. This worry is not a weakness. The journey from cancer survivor can alter someone's notion of safety, health and the future.”

Changes in Body Image and Intimacy

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Changes in appearance can affect self-confidence, Dr. Randeep told HealthandMe. Hair may regrow differently, scars may remain, and the loss or reshaping of a breast can change how a woman feels about her body. Physical discomfort, diminished libido or reduced attraction to a partner may also affect intimacy.

“These experiences are so personal. A woman may be thankful to be alive and at the same time mourn the body, energy, or normalcy she had prior to her cancer diagnosis. Both emotions can be experienced at the same time and neither lessens her strength,” he said.

The Loneliness Behind the Smile

During treatment, support may come through phone calls, hospital visits, meals and messages of encouragement. Once treatment ends, that attention can fade as people assume the survivor is fine.

Survivors may also feel pressured to remain positive, particularly when others remind them how fortunate they are to have survived. They may suppress anxiety, sadness or frustration to avoid worrying their families.

Why Support Must Continue After Treatment

Cancer care must extend beyond controlling the disease, said Prof. Jyoti Bajpai, Founder & President-Elect of the Immuno-Oncology Society of India (I-OSI) and Asia Co-Chair of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC).

Alongside appropriate surveillance and management of physical symptoms, women need evidence-based guidance, nutritional support and psychological care. Families must recognize that recovery is individual and that fear of recurrence deserves compassion, not dismissal.

Family and friends, counsellors and breast cancer survivor groups can provide emotional support. Healthy habits, gentle physical activity, adequate rest and honest conversations with healthcare professionals can also help survivors cope. Persistent anxiety, depression or physical symptoms should not be ignored; medical or psychological help should be sought when needed.

Survivorship is a process of rebuilding trust, finding happiness and accepting an uncertain future. The goal is not merely to help women live beyond cancer, but to give them the support, understanding and confidence to live fully again.

“No woman should have to navigate that journey alone,” Dr. Jyoti said.