Music therapy taps into long-term memory, which remains intact longer than short-term memory in dementia patients.

"One of our patients struggles to recall much from his past. He has Dementia. However, whenever he listens to songs in his mother tongue, it boosts his mood and reconnect with his memories," Neha Sinha, Dementia Specialist, Psychologist, CEO & Co-founder of Epoch Elder Care told me recently.

This made me wonder if music can really help elderly patients with complex neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, Dementia and Multiple Sclerosis. Turns out that it can. While it does not specifically treat them, music definitely helps stabilize symptoms, fostering emotional well-being and improving the quality of life for patients.

Music And Memories To Treat Physical Symptoms

Behavioural challenges, such as aggression, anxiety, and social disinhibition, are common in patients with Dementia. Music therapy addresses these issues by creating a calming atmosphere and making them more open to treatment. "Listening to or engaging with music can soothe anxiety, regulate sleep patterns, and encourage them to be more receptive to assistance in performing their activities of daily life (ADL) more comfortably. Moreover, Reminiscence therapy, which helps recall events and discuss past events to improve their well-being, is known to be profoundly effective in treating such conditions.

Music therapy also taps into long-term memory, which remains intact longer than short-term memory in those suffering from Dementia. Familiar tunes or songs from childhood can stimulate certain neural connections, particularly if they are in their mother tongue. This soothes their anxiety, provides comfort and even prompts them to engage in social conversations.

Additionally, music therapy aids motor coordination, which is particularly helpful to those with Parkinson's. Incorporating rhythmic movements like walking or light dancing to music can improve muscle relaxation and enhance motor abilities. While there is no direct evidence linking music therapy to alleviating physical symptoms, its positive impact on mood and cognitive function makes patients more receptive to medical treatment.

Music Therapy Has Shown Significant Benefits

Healing with music is believed to date back to ancient Greece when music was used in an attempt to cure mental disorders. Throughout history, music has been used to boost morale in military troops, help people work faster and more productively, and even ward off evil spirits by chanting.

Music therapy does not involve specialists in most cases. It involves:

• listening to music
• singing along to music
• moving to the beat of the music
• meditating
• playing an instrument

While there have been meaningful improvements in global health over the past decade, in larger terms, the global health progress continues to be ‘fragile and insufficient’, warned the World Health Organization (WHO) in its new report.

The World Health Statistics 2026 report calls for stronger systems to protect progress.

WHO highlighted several major improvements between 2010 and 2024, including:

• New HIV infections dropped by 40 per cent
• Tobacco and alcohol consumption declined globally
• The number of people needing treatment for neglected tropical diseases fell by 36 per cent

• 961 million people gained access to safe drinking water
• 1.2 billion gained access to sanitation
• 1.6 billion gained access to basic hygiene
• 1.4 billion people gained access to clean cooking solutions

Major Challenges Persist

Despite progress, several global health challenges continue to worsen. These include:

• Malaria incidence has risen by 8.5 per cent since 2015,
• Anemia still affects 30.7 per cent of women of reproductive age, with little improvement over the last decade.
• Childhood overweight prevalence also reached 5.5 per cent in 2024.

“These data tell a story of both progress and persistent inequality, with many people – especially women, children and those in underserved communities – still denied the basic conditions for a healthy life,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“Investing in stronger, more equitable health systems, including resilient health data systems is essential to target action, close gaps and ensure accountability,” he added.

Also read: Another Norovirus Outbreak Confirmed Aboard Cruise Ship In France; Over 1,700 People Trapped

Urgent Need To Protect Progress

The report stressed the urgent need to strengthen universal health coverage (UHC), noting that 1.6 billion people were pushed into poverty due to out-of-pocket healthcare expenses in 2022.

Vaccination coverage also remains below target, contributing to recent measles outbreaks in countries including the US and Bangladesh.

Although maternal mortality has fallen by 40 per cent since 2000, it still remains nearly three times above the 2030 target. Progress in reducing premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases has also slowed since 2015.

Air pollution caused an estimated 6.6 million deaths globally in 2021, while poor water, sanitation, and hygiene contributed to 1.4 million deaths in 2019.

“These trends reflect too many deaths that could have been avoided,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems, Access and Data.

“With rising environmental risks, health emergencies, and a worsening health financing crisis, we must act urgently – strengthening primary health care, investing in prevention, and securing sustainable financing to build resilient health systems and get back on track.”

Gaps In Health Data

The WHO report also flagged major gaps in global health data collection.

By the end of 2025, only 18 per cent of countries were reporting mortality data to WHO within one year, while nearly one-third had never submitted cause-of-death data.

Of the estimated 61 million deaths globally in 2023, only about one-third included cause-of-death information, and just one-fifth had properly coded International Classification of Diseases (ICD) data.

"While global health efforts are delivering results, progress is fragile and insufficient," stated the report, while stressing the need for accelerated action, stronger health systems, and improved data to renew progress toward the 2030 health goals.

When the name misleads, the disease remains misunderstood. Hence, endocrinologists now propose renaming PCOS as Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome or PMOS.

This is because the term “Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome” is considered a misnomer. The name makes it sound like the condition is only related to the ovaries. However, over 30% of such patients have normal ovaries. The root lies in the hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenals, pancreas, and adipose tissue — truly polyendocrine.

The cysts in the name are actually antral follicles. The real burden is insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, NAFLD, and a 2-fold higher cardiovascular risk by age 50.

Not just reproductive: PCOS is India’s commonest endocrine disorder — 1 in 5 young women. It drives diabetes, hypertension, depression, and infertility.

PMOS, the acronym, expands as:

P — Polyendocrine: HPO axis + adrenal + insulin + leptin dysfunction

M — Metabolic: Insulin Resistance, obesity, fatty liver, CVD risk

O — Ovarian: Anovulation, hyperandrogenic ovarian dysfunction remains key

S — Syndrome: Heterogeneous, lifelong

This aligns with the 2023 International PCOS Guideline that defines it as a “metabolic + reproductive + psychological disorder”. Yet patients are still told, “You just have cysts.” PMOS reminds every physician to check OGTT, lipids, BP, and mental health at age 18, not 45.

The bottom line is that by changing the name, it is possible to change the game. When a 16-year-old hears “Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome”, she understands it’s not vanity or infertility alone.

India is better prepared to deal with potential Hantavirus outbreaks due to the healthcare infrastructure and quarantine systems established during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Dr NK Ganguly, former Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

In an exclusive interview with HealthandMe, Dr Ganguly said that while isolated cases of Hantavirus have appeared in India in the past, especially in crowded peri-urban and urban settings in Kerala, large-scale outbreaks have largely been reported in countries such as China, Argentina, the UK, and the US.

Dr Ganguly said that India's healthcare system significantly improved after the deadly COVID pandemic.

“India is overprepared in a way that during the COVID-19, our system, even at the district level or in much more rural settings, got established,” he said.

He pointed out that hospitals now have access to ECMO, BPAP systems, ventilators, and oxygen management facilities to curb the spread in case of an outbreak.

Dr Ganguly also mentioned the availability of antiviral drugs and experimental vaccine efforts that could potentially be explored for hantavirus treatment. “There are some crude vaccines which are made here also,” he said.

He added that India’s quarantine systems and public health drills developed during COVID-19 would also help contain future outbreaks.

“I think India will be okay because of the sheer transmission dynamics of this virus,” he said.

Hantavirus is a zoonotic disease that primarily gets transmitted through contact with infected rodents or exposure to their urine, droppings, and saliva, though rare cases of person-to-person transmission have also been reported.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 11 cases — including three deaths — have been confirmed so far. However, additional suspected and confirmed cases are likely to emerge across countries.

Also read: Hantavirus Can Linger Indoors, Spread Through Contaminated Dust, Says Infectious Disease Expert

Importance Of One Health

The One Health approach is critical in understanding and containing outbreaks like hantavirus, Dr Ganguly said.

The One Health approach, which integrates human health, animal health, and environmental monitoring, is also crucial to target the emerging infectious diseases, he noted.

Further, the noted microbiologist stressed the importance of strengthening surveillance across humans, animals, and the environment.

He explained that disease surveillance requires collaboration between bird specialists, forest experts, environmental scientists, and mammologists, especially for tracking zoonotic infections such as avian flu and hantavirus.

“In avian flu, birds follow special migration routes, so we needed bird specialists, forest experts, environmental experts, and mammologists,” Dr Ganguly said.

The expert also highlighted the growing challenge posed by shrinking spaces between humans and animals and the role of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in emerging disease threats.

“Animal health is equally important. We need to maintain them, track their movements, and do surveillance,” he said.

Need To Track Climate

Dr Ganguly also warned that rising temperatures and shrinking boundaries between humans and animals could increase the risk of future infections.

“It is an environmental infection. With the rise of temperature, more hantavirus infections occur,” he told HealthandMe.

Why India Must Boost Surveillance

Calling surveillance one of the most critical tools in outbreak prevention, he urged India to strengthen monitoring systems for animals, vectors, and humans alike.

“We need to set up a dedicated surveillance for hantavirus in India, and we need to track hantavirus,” he said.

Dr Ganguly explained that to date, hantavirus cases in India have been detected accidentally during testing for respiratory infections or flu-like illnesses using advanced panel-based diagnostic systems.

“Like now these days, what happens is that when you are getting respiratory infection or flu-like symptoms, they put up a test system which is known as bio-fire or a thing like that which identifies 26 panels and gives the CT scoring of that, so from there, hantavirus emerged,” he said.

He added that India should strengthen surveillance tools and continue monitoring infections in animals, vectors, and humans alike.