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.

For years, diet sodas have enjoyed a pretty good reputation. They offered the sweetness without the sugar, the fizz without the guilt, and for many people, they became an easy replacement for regular soft drinks. It is not hard to see why. Whether it is an afternoon craving, something to sip with lunch, or a way to satisfy a craving without reaching for sugar, diet drinks have quietly become part of many people's daily routine. However, a major new study is making people look at those drinks a little differently. Researchers have found that people who regularly consumed higher amounts of artificial sweeteners showed faster declines in memory and thinking skills over time. It does not mean your occasional Diet Coke is suddenly a problem. But if you cannot remember the last day you went without one, the findings are definitely worth knowing.

What Researchers Found

The study followed 12,772 adults in Brazil over eight years, with the average age of participants being 52. It is the largest and longest study so far looking at how artificial sweeteners may be linked to brain health. Researchers examined seven commonly used low- and no-calorie sweeteners found in ultra-processed products like sodas, flavoured water, sugar-free yoghurt and low-calorie desserts. These included:

• Aspartame
• Saccharin
• Acesulfame-K
• Erythritol
• Xylitol
• Sorbitol
• Tagatose

Throughout the study, participants completed tests that measured memory, verbal fluency, and processing speed. After taking other health factors into account, researchers noticed a clear pattern. People who consumed the highest amounts of artificial sweeteners experienced cognitive decline 62% faster than those who consumed the least. According to the researchers, that difference was roughly equal to 1.6 years of additional brain ageing.

Even people in the middle consumption group showed a 35% faster decline, equivalent to about 1.3 years of brain ageing. Out of the seven sweeteners studied, six showed an association with faster cognitive decline. The only one that did not was the Tagatose.

The Results Were Strongest In Younger Adults

One finding stood out more than the rest. Most people tend to think of memory problems as something that only becomes a concern later in life. This study suggested that may not be the full picture. The link between artificial sweeteners and cognitive decline was strongest in adults under the age of 60. Researchers believe this could mean that the habits people build during midlife play a much bigger role in long-term brain health. The association was also stronger among people with diabetes, who are often more likely to choose artificially sweetened foods and drinks instead of sugary ones. Among all the areas tested, memory appeared to take the biggest hit.

Before You Throw Away Your Diet Coke, Read This

This is where the conversation becomes important.

“Our findings do not suggest that drinking an occasional diet soda is harmful,” Claudia Kimie Suemoto of the University of São Paulo said. “Rather, they raise questions about the potential consequences of frequent, long-term consumption of artificial sweeteners.”

The study was observational, which means it identified the link, but it cannot say for sure that the sweeteners themselves caused the decline. That is a big difference. Lead researcher Claudia Kimie Suemoto from the University of São Paulo said: “Based on our study alone, I would not tell someone to stop drinking diet soda because of concerns about cognitive impairment”.

The findings also support earlier research. A 2017 study from the Framingham Heart Study reported a similar association between artificially sweetened beverages and a higher risk of stroke and dementia. Scientists say the evidence is growing, but there is still more to understand before firm conclusions can be made.

Read Also: UK Woman Dies After Sudden Abdominal Pain Following Increase In Her Mounjaro Dose

So What Should You Do?

The answer is probably not to swear off diet soda forever. Instead, experts suggest taking a closer look at how often you are reaching for it. If one can has quietly turned into several every day, it may be worth cutting back little by little. Whenever you want a Diet Coke, go for plain water, sparkling water, unsweetened tea, or black coffee. This can help reduce your overall intake without making the change feel overwhelming. The goal is not perfection; it is balance.

There is no reason to panic over a single can. But if sugar-free drinks have become something you rely on every day without really thinking about it, this study is a good reminder that even habits that seem harmless deserve an occasional second look. Sometimes the healthiest changes start with asking a simple question: "Do I really need another one?"

When patients first hear the term "bone marrow transplant," they often picture a complex surgery involving the bones or spine. This is perhaps the most persistent misconception surrounding one of modern medicine's most remarkable achievements.

Unlike other organ transplants (kidney/ heart/ liver, etc), a bone marrow transplant is not a surgery at all! It is administered much like a blood transfusion, through a simple intravenous line. Yet this deceptively simple procedure can rebuild an entire blood-forming and immune system from scratch, offering a genuine cure for blood cancers and other serious blood disorders.

Bone marrow is the body's blood factory, producing the red cells that carry oxygen, the white cells that fight infection, and the platelets that prevent bleeding. At its heart lie blood-forming stem cells or the "parent cells" capable of generating every blood cell the body will ever need.

In leukemia and related cancers, these stem cells turn rogue, crowding out healthy ones. In several inherited disorders, the marrow simply fails to manufacture healthy cells at all. A transplant addresses the problem at its root, replacing defective stem cells with healthy ones.

I often explain this to patients using the language of farming. Before sowing fresh seed, a farmer clears the field of weeds. Similarly, before healthy stem cells can be transplanted, doctors must prepare the marrow through chemotherapy and, in select cases, radiation, a stage called conditioning. Once this was punishingly intensive, limiting transplants to the young and fit. Today, reduced-intensity regimens, which are carefully tailored to suit even the old or frail patients, have extended this option to older adults and those with other health conditions.

The transplant itself is almost anticlimactic in its simplicity: stem cells are infused through an IV, with no incision or operating theatre required. These cells possess a natural ability doctors call "homing": they find their own way into the bone marrow and settle there. Over two to four weeks, they begin producing healthy blood, a process called engraftment.

For decades, the greatest obstacle to transplantation was finding a matched donor. Traditionally, only a fully matched sibling would do, leaving many patients, particularly in a genetically diverse country like India, without options. That has changed decisively. Half-matched family transplants and unrelated donors identified through registries now succeed at rates that rival matched-sibling transplants. Nearly every patient today has a realistic path to a suitable donor.

Technology is reshaping this field further. Gene therapy is opening a new chapter for disorders such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia, correcting a patient's own stem cells in the laboratory rather than relying on a donor, though such therapies remain costly and available only in select countries for now.

Recovery, however, is a marathon, not a sprint. It can take months as the immune system rebuilds, requiring vigilant monitoring for infection and for graft-versus-host disease, in which transplanted immune cells attack the patient's own tissues. Advances in immunosuppressive and targeted therapies have greatly improved our ability to manage this complication, allowing most survivors to gradually return to work, education and family life.

A blood cancer diagnosis remains frightening, but treatment has advanced tremendously in two decades. Bone marrow transplantation is no longer experimental or exceptionally hazardous: it is established, evidence-based, and growing safer and more accessible across India.

Its truest achievement is not simply extending life, but restoring it: another birthday, another child watched growing up, another future reclaimed. For these patients, a transplant is quite literally a chance to begin again.

(Dr. Narendra Agrawal, Hematologist and Bone Marrow Transplant Physician and Senior Consultant and Unit Head of Haemato-Oncology at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre.)

A six-in-one (hexavalent) vaccine could make India's Universal Immunization Program more efficient, convenient for families, and cost-effective if it becomes widely available at an affordable price, according to a study led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The study found that while the hexavalent vaccine has higher upfront procurement costs, it could reduce the number of injections, improve operational efficiency, lower healthcare workload, and save time for caregivers.

What Is the 6-in-1 Vaccine?

The hexavalent vaccine protects children against six diseases with a single injection:

• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Hepatitis B
• Hemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Polio

Combining multiple vaccines into one shot reduces the number of injections infants receive during routine immunization visits.

Key Findings

Also read: India Records 20,138 Organ Transplants In 2025; Deceased Donor Transplants Reach 3,526

Researchers found that the vaccine's price is the biggest factor determining the overall cost of introducing it into India's immunization program.

The study estimated that:

• A 50% reduction in the vaccine price would allow operational savings to outweigh the additional vaccine procurement costs under the primary immunization schedule.
• Lower vaccine prices could also make broader implementation, including booster doses, economically beneficial.

The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics.

Potential Benefits of the 6-in-1 Vaccine

According to the study, introducing the hexavalent vaccine could:

• Reduce the number of injections for infants.
• Make immunization visits more convenient for children and caregivers.
• Lower cold-chain storage requirements
• Reduce the use of syringes and other vaccination supplies.
• Save time for Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) during vaccine administration and record-keeping
• Reduce the workload of cold-chain handlers and vaccine managers.
• Save time for parents and caregivers during vaccination visits.

India's Current Immunization Program

Read More: India's National Hepatitis Program Screens Over 210.6 Million, Treats 612,000 Patients

India runs one of the world's largest immunization programs, vaccinating nearly 26 million babies every year.

The program protects children against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases, including:

• Diphtheria
• Pertussis
• Tetanus
• Polio
• Measles
• Rubella
• Tuberculosis
• Hepatitis B
• Hib-related meningitis and pneumonia
• Rotavirus diarrhea
• Pneumococcal pneumonia
• Japanese encephalitis (in endemic districts)

What the Study Evaluated

A team of researchers, including from The George Institute for Global Health India, The Gates Foundation, and Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, assessed two implementation scenarios:

• Replacing the current pentavalent vaccine and fractional inactivated polio vaccine (fIPV) with the hexavalent vaccine during the primary immunization schedule.
• Replacing both the primary schedule and the DTP booster dose with the hexavalent vaccine.

The analysis considered costs from both government and household perspectives, including:

• Vaccine procurement
• Syringes and vaccination supplies
• Cold-chain logistics
• Healthcare worker time
• Caregiver time

The researchers noted that replacing the current pentavalent, fIPV and DTP booster vaccines with the hexavalent vaccine would initially increase vaccine procurement costs. However, these would be partially offset by savings from:

• Lower vaccine delivery costs
• Reduced syringe use
• Lower cold-chain requirements
• Time savings for healthcare workers involved in procurement, storage and vaccine administration

The team added that based on previous vaccine procurement trends, a 50% reduction in the hexavalent vaccine price would make the switch economically favorable under the primary immunization schedule. Further price reductions could also generate cost savings for the booster-dose scenario.

"Our study demonstrates that although the hexavalent vaccine carries a higher upfront procurement cost, it also generates important efficiencies by reducing injections, easing pressure on frontline health workers, lowering cold-chain requirements and saving caregivers' time. These findings provide important economic evidence that can inform future policy discussions on strengthening India's immunization program," Dr. Susmita said.