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.

Anxiety and depression are major concerns in adulthood, but could nutrition during the earliest stages of life influence health decades later? Two new studies suggest that lower sugar exposure during the first 1,000 days of life may be associated with lower risks of anxiety, depression and even several cancers later in life.

The findings, from studies published in Translational Psychiatry and PNAS point to the potential long-term effects of early-life nutrition. However, the findings do not mean that restricting sugar in infancy directly prevents these diseases.

Sugar Rationing And Mental Health

A 2026 study led by researchers from the University of Surrey, UK, analyzed 46,448 people born between October 1951 and March 1956.

Participants were grouped according to how long they were exposed to sugar rationing: from in utero only to 24 months. People conceived after food rationing had ended served as the main comparison group.

Researchers also analyzed brain MRI data from 5,990 participants.

Lower Risk Of Anxiety And Depression

Compared with people conceived after rationing ended, those exposed to sugar rationing for the three longest periods had significantly lower hazards of both anxiety and depression.

• Shorter-exposure groups did not show significant differences.
• The associations were stronger in women.
• Adult sugar intake was broadly similar across groups, at about 58–59 g/day of free sugar and 122–124 g/day of total sugar.

When later-life sugar intake was considered, the association with anxiety persisted among those exposed throughout pregnancy and the first two years of life, while the association with depression weakened and was no longer statistically significant.

Further, MRI analysis found differences across rationing groups in 80 of 139 gray matter regions. Analysis identified 11 regions that differed from participants conceived immediately after rationing ended, including the brainstem, occipital fusiform gyrus and several cerebellar regions.

Sugar And Cancer Risk

A separate study published in PNAS examined whether sugar exposure during the first 1,000 days could influence cancer risk later in life.

Researchers from China Agricultural University and the University of Cambridge used the abrupt end of UK sugar rationing in September 1953 as a natural experiment. The analysis included 64,761 UK Biobank participants born between 1951 and 1956.

Compared with those whose first 1,000 days were not affected by rationing, participants exposed to rationing showed lower incidence of several cancers:

• Liver/intrahepatic bile duct cancer: 69% lower
• Prostate cancer: 52% lower
• Lung cancer: 41% lower
• Rectal cancer: 40% lower
• Breast cancer: 36% lower

The researchers identified two possible pathways behind the association.

How Could Early Sugar Exposure Matter?

• Long-term dietary habits: People exposed to rationing consumed less sugar, ate smaller quantities and had healthier, more diverse diets even five decades later, suggesting that early-life exposure may influence lasting food preferences.

• Biological ageing: The rationed groups had longer leukocyte telomeres, equivalent to about 2.2 fewer years of biological ageing, along with lower levels of Granzyme B, a marker linked to chronic immune activation.

Sugar's Link With Mental Health And Cancer

Sugar is an important source of energy for the brain, and very low blood glucose can impair brain function. However, excess sugar intake has also been associated with metabolic problems that can affect long-term health.

When it comes to cancer, sugar does not directly cause cancer, and cutting out all sugar does not “starve” cancer cells. Both healthy and cancer cells use glucose for energy.

However, consistently consuming excessive amounts of added sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity, which are established risk factors for several cancers.

Men who consume higher amounts of dietary nitrite may have a greater risk of colorectal cancer, particularly the type affecting the distal colon, according to a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The study followed 82,009 middle-aged and older adults in Sweden for more than two decades and identified 3,170 cases of colorectal cancer.

Researchers found that men in the highest category of nitrite intake had a 23% higher risk of colorectal cancer overall compared with those in the lowest category. The strongest association was for for distal colon cancer, where the risk was 50% higher.

The findings were not seen in women, and dietary nitrate was not associated with colorectal cancer in either men or women.

More About The Study

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden used dietary information collected in 1997 and updated in 2009 and 2019. They linked this information with Sweden's cancer registry to identify colorectal cancer cases through 2022.

Rather than relying only on participants' diet at the beginning of the study, researchers used repeated measurements to capture changes in nitrite and nitrate intake over time. Among men, the highest versus lowest levels of nitrite consumption were associated with a hazard ratio of 1.23 for colorectal cancer. For distal colon cancer, the hazard ratio rose to 1.50.

Also read: How Genetic and Genomic Testing Can Help Women Make Smarter Cancer Decisions

Difference Between Nitrite And Nitrate

Nitrite and nitrate are related compounds, but they are found in different foods and behave differently in the body. Nitrate occurs naturally in vegetables, particularly leafy greens, as well as drinking water. Nitrite is also naturally present in some foods but is commonly used as a preservative in processed meat and other animal products.

The researchers found no association between dietary nitrate and colorectal cancer, making the distinction particularly important.

Also read: Moderna-Merck’s Personalized mRNA Vaccine: Ushering In A New Era In Cancer Care?

Why Nitrite Could Be A Concern For Cancer Risk?

A possible explanation involves N-nitroso compounds, which can form when nitrate and nitrite undergo chemical reactions in the body. Some N-nitroso compounds are known to be carcinogenic in animals.

The researchers saw that previous studies have also investigated possible links between nitrite exposure and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. However, the exact biological mechanism behind the association observed in this study remains uncertain.

The researchers also found that the association was specific to men, and they said the reason for this difference is unclear.

Sex Difference Needs More Investigation

The authors noted that the higher risk associated with nitrite intake was confined to men and suggested several possible biological explanations, including differences in oxidative stress and other sex-specific factors.

But they stressed that these mechanisms have not been established as the reason for the finding. The study concludes that further research should examine nitrite and colorectal cancer separately in men and women and.

The study was observational, meaning researchers identified an association between dietary nitrite intake and cancer risk but could not prove a direct cause and effect relationship.

For people who work, laptops and computers are something we use every day. Sitting in front of a screen for hours can be bad for your neck and spine. When you sit and use your laptop the way you position yourself can hurt your neck over time.

This is true even when you are just scrolling on your phone. Keeping your head bent for a long time can put stress on the muscles and joints in your neck.

How Looking Down At Screens Strains Your Neck

The problem is not the laptop itself but how we use it. Many people spend hours looking down at a screen without realizing it. This can cause muscle fatigue, stiffness, headaches and neck pain that will not go away.

Your neck is meant to support your head and let you move it around. When you keep your head tilted forward for hours the muscles in your neck have to work hard to keep it that way. Over time this can cause discomfort. Make it harder to move your neck.

If you sit with posture it can also affect the normal curve of your neck. Poor posture may not cause spinal problems on its own but it can cause wear and discomfort. This is especially true for people who already have neck or spine problems.

Also read: The Hidden Health Risk of Sitting for Long Hours: What Young Professionals Need to Know

Small Workspace Changes Can Reduce Neck Strain

One simple way to reduce strain on your neck is to make your workspace more comfortable. Your laptop or monitor should be at eye level so you do not have to look down all the time. Your back should be. Your arms should be comfortable too. Keep your feet flat on the floor. Do not sit still for too long.

It is also important to move regularly. Of sitting for hours get up and move every 30-40 minutes. Stand up walk around and move your neck and shoulders gently. This can help prevent stiffness and reduce strain on your neck. Your neck is meant to move not be stuck in one position for hours.

When Neck Pain Should Not Be Ignored?

If your neck is stiff after a day, it may feel better with rest and better posture. If the pain gets worse or does not go away, you should see a doctor. If you have pain in your arm or if your arm feels numb tingling or weak you should see a doctor too.

To protect your neck, you do not have to make changes. Just make small adjustments to how you sit and use your laptop and move around more during the day. This can make using your laptop more comfortable. Reduce strain, on your neck and spine.

By Dr. Zahir Abbas Merchant, Consultant Spine Surgeon, Saifee Hospital, Mumbai