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.

There is a particular cruelty about ovarian cancer. It does not announce itself loudly. Instead, it murmurs softly with a bit of bloating here, some lower back pain there, a persistent sense that something is not quite right, but nothing dramatic enough to cause alarm. And by the time most women receive a diagnosis, the disease has often made itself very much at home.

Every year on May 8th, the world pauses to mark World Ovarian Cancer Day, an occasion that has grown since its launch in 2013 into a genuinely global movement. This year’s theme – ‘No Woman Left Behind’ – carries particular weight because the uncomfortable truth is that far too many women are being left behind by late diagnoses, by underfunded research, and by healthcare systems that have historically paid less attention to this disease than it deserves.

The Numbers We Need to Sit With

Roughly 250,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year across the world. An estimated 140,000 will die from it. It is, by some measures, the deadliest of all gynecological cancers, and yet, it receives a fraction of the public attention given to breast cancer.

The comparison is worth dwelling on. Approximately 89 per cent of breast cancer patients survive beyond five years. For ovarian cancer, that figure drops to around 45 per cent – nearly half! And the primary reason for that stark difference is not that ovarian cancer is inherently untreatable but that it is rarely caught in its early stages.

When diagnosed at Stage I before the cancer has spread beyond the ovaries, survival rates climb dramatically, with some studies suggesting above 90 per cent. The problem is that only around 20 per cent of cases are caught that early. The rest are diagnosed at Stage III or Stage IV, when the cancer has already spread to the abdomen, lymph nodes, or beyond.

Why Does It Get Missed?

Ask most people to name the symptoms of ovarian cancer, and you will likely be met with a blank look. That in itself is part of the problem. Unlike the distinct lump in breast cancer cases or the irregular bleeding associated with cervical and uterine cancer, ovarian cancer does not produce one clear and recognizable sign. What it does produce are symptoms that most of us would simply dismiss – persistent bloating, feeling full quickly when eating, pelvic or lower abdominal pain, urge to urinate more frequently or urgently, unexplained fatigue, and a change in bowel habits.

Each of those individually could be attributed to several other conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, gut infections, stress, dietary changes, and even getting older. That is precisely what makes this disease so dangerous. Women dismiss these symptoms. Sometimes doctors do too.

This is not about blame; it is about recognition. The medical community has made genuine progress in understanding ovarian cancer, but there simply aren’t any reliable early-screening tests available that are similar to mammograms for breast cancer or smear tests for cervical cancer. Hence, genuine and widespread public awareness becomes the closest thing to building a first line of defense.

No Woman Left Behind: A Global Reckoning

The 2026 theme is not merely a slogan. It is a confrontation with the reality that a woman’s place of residence, country, or economic circumstances should not determine whether or not she lives.

In higher-income countries, access to surgery and chemotherapy, whilst still imperfect, is broadly available. Newer treatments are beginning to extend survival times for women with advanced disease. Research into biomarkers is advancing, offering hope for earlier detection in the future.

But in lower-income countries, the picture is vastly different. Women are often diagnosed later, treated less effectively, and supported less comprehensively. The global survival gap for ovarian cancer is not simply a medical problem; it is more a problem of justice.

‘No Woman Left Behind’ asks us to hold that in mind. Progress that only reaches the privileged is not progress enough.

What Women Can Do Right Now

The absence of a reliable screening test makes personal awareness all the more essential. There are several things every woman can do, not just on May 8 but throughout the year.

• Know your body – That phrase risks sounding hollow, but it carries real weight here. If you notice symptoms – particularly if they are new, persistent, and happening more than 12 times a month – do not dismiss them. Note them down and take them seriously.
• Know your family history – Ovarian cancer has a significant genetic component. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes substantially increase a woman’s lifetime risk. If you have a family history of ovarian or breast cancer, speak to your GP about whether genetic testing might be appropriate for you. Knowledge is not a cause for panic; it is a basis for informed decisions.
• Advocate for yourself – This is perhaps the hardest one to say and the most important. Women have historically been more likely to have their symptoms dismissed or attributed to anxiety, hormones, or stress. If something does not feel right, go back and ask again. Push for a referral. You are entitled to be taken seriously.
• Talk about it – The single most powerful thing any of us can do is have conversations — with friends, with family members, in offices, and community spaces. The more ovarian cancer is spoken about, the more women will recognize its symptoms. And the more symptoms are recognized early, the more lives can be saved.

The Quiet Power of Collective Action

Since 2013, World Ovarian Cancer Day has grown into a movement that now spans more than 80 per cent of the world’s countries and is supported by over 200 organizations globally. That is an extraordinary thing. It is proof that sustained, collective attention can shift awareness, influence policy, and ultimately change outcomes.

But awareness days only work if they spark something beyond the day itself. The teal ribbons and social media posts matter, not because they are gestures, but because every gesture has the potential to reach someone who needs to hear it, someone whose bloating has been going on for two months, someone whose mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and who has never thought to ask whether their own risk might be elevated. Someone who simply did not know.

Therefore, let us spread awareness this day by realizing that equality is not in regarding different things similarly, equality is in regarding different things differently, and still leaving no one behind.

Many women do not consider persistent bloating to be a serious issue because they tend to correlate their symptoms with acidity, excessive gas, overeating, or other temporary issues caused by their digestive system. Many women tend to treat their symptoms on their own by changing their diet or taking over-the-counter medications without looking into what the underlying problem may be. Many women do this because their symptoms initially seem mild. However, it is important to pay attention to any persistent bloating, especially if the bloating occurs on a regular basis, has lasted for at least one month, or is associated with symptoms such as pelvic discomfort, loss of appetite, an increased feeling of fullness, or irregular bowel habits (diarrhoea, constipation, etc.).

Is persistent bloating a sign of ovarian cancer?

In an interaction with Health and Me, Dr Parnamita Bhattacharya, Gynaecologist at CK Birla Hospitals, CMRI, spoke about the concerns surrounding persistent bloating and whether it is associated with the risk of ovarian cancer.

One of the most significant concerns surrounding persistent bloating is that women can develop ovarian cancer, especially in the early stages, without knowing or having any obvious signs that they have the disease. Because there are no routine screening tests to detect ovarian cancer in the general population, it is critical for women to be on the lookout for any symptoms of persistent bloating and report them immediately to their doctor. Unfortunately, because women often ignore their symptoms and fail to seek medical attention, by the time they do see a doctor, ovarian cancer has progressed to a later stage of development.

How to know if it is digestion-related bloating?

Not all bloating is related to ovarian cancer. Other common contributing factors to bloating include irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerance, hormonal changes, and lifestyle factors. The significant difference between "normal" bloating and "abnormal" bloating is how long each type of bloating lasts and how quickly the symptoms progress. If your bloating continues despite dietary changes, or if it increases in frequency, you should not ignore the symptoms. You should have them evaluated by a medical professional.

It is important for women to understand the signals sent by their bodies. If you frequently experience bloating, this issue needs to be investigated and not just accepted as normal. If you seek timely evaluation, doctors can determine the source of your problem early on, which greatly increases your chances of a good outcome from a serious diagnosis such as ovarian cancer.

What are the symptoms of ovarian cancer?

Ovarian cancer symptoms can be vague and may develop as the disease progresses. Therefore, timely detection is a challenge. Some of the signs of ovarian cancer include:

1. Pain in the pelvic region
2. Swollen belly
3. Loss of appetite
4. Feeling full after small meals
5. Nausea
6. Diarrhoea
7. Constipation
8. Unexpected weight loss
9. Painful sex
10. Extreme fatigue
11. Abnormal vaginal bleeding between periods

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been discharged from the ICU but will remain in the hospital for “some time” as he recovers from pneumonia, according to his spokesperson.

In a post on social media platform X, spokesperson Ted Goodman said Giuliani, 81, was hospitalized earlier this week in critical but stable condition.

Giuliani, who served as New York City's mayor from 1994 to 2001, was previously diagnosed with restrictive airway disease following the infamous 9/11 terrorist incident, where he “took down the mafia, saved New York City, and ran toward the towers on September 11th".

However, the incident left Giuliani with lasting health complications, Goodman said, adding that the former NYC Mayor "is recovering from pneumonia”.

“The virus quickly overwhelmed his body, requiring mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygen and stabilize his condition,” Goodman said.

Calling him the "same fighter he's always been, and he's winning this fight,” Goodman said that the "mayor and his family appreciate the outpouring of love and prayers sent his way”.

Notably, Giuliani is a longtime ally of President Donald Trump. In 2025, Trump also announced awarding Giuliani with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor.

What Is Pneumonia?

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung tissue, most often caused by infections. It can affect one or both lungs and can range from mild to life-threatening, especially in vulnerable populations like the elderly, young children, or those with underlying health conditions.

There are several types of pneumonia, classified based on their causes—bacterial, viral, and fungal—and each has distinct patterns of transmission and severity.

What Causes Pneumonia?

Pneumonia is not a single disease but a syndrome resulting from various infectious agents:

Bacterial Pneumonia: This is the most common type, often developing as a secondary infection after a cold or flu. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most frequent culprit.

Viral Pneumonia: Caused by viruses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), this type often starts in the upper respiratory tract and spreads to the lungs.

Fungal Pneumonia: This type is less common and usually affects individuals with weakened immune systems. It's typically contracted through environmental exposure, such as to soil or bird droppings.

Early Warning Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore

Pneumonia can be insidious. It often begins with symptoms that mimic the flu: headache, fatigue, and fever. But as the infection progresses, signs become more serious:

• Persistent cough with green, yellow, or even bloody mucus
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain, especially when breathing or coughing
• High fever, chills, and night sweats
• Confusion, especially in the elderly
• Nausea or loss of appetite