Elder Care (Everybody)

Researchers have revealed how an overlooked type of indirect brain damage contributes to ongoing disability after a stroke. The paper shows how the thalamus -- a sort of central networking hub that regulates functions such as language, memory, attention and movement -- is affected months or years after a person has experienced a stroke, even though it was not directly damaged itself. The findings may lead to new therapies that could reduce the burden of chronic stroke, which remains one of the leading causes of disability in the world.

Endovascular therapy, a minimally invasive surgery performed inside the blood vessels, is preferred to alternative approaches for vessel obstructions in life-sustaining areas of the brain, analysis suggests.

New research shows that adopting a healthy diet can reduce the severity of chronic pain, presenting an easy and accessible way for sufferers to better manage their condition.

Many individuals seeking asylum in the United States show increased stress and pain symptoms that are associated with indications of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers have analysed the effects of seven different hormone treatments for menopausal symptoms on the risk of blood clots, stroke and heart attack. The study, which involved around one million women aged between 50 and 58, is the largest and most comprehensive study of currently prescribed hormonal substances in the world. The results show that the risks differ depending on the active substance and how the medicine is taken.

New research, based on data from more than 28,000 caregivers in three countries, shows that the longer individuals spend caring for loved ones, the more their well-being suffers, regardless of the caregiving context. These findings underscore the need for policy discussions to alleviate the burden of informal care.

Healing the gut may be the key to improving long-term recovery in stroke patients, scientists have found. The latest of multiple studies highlights the potential of this novel avenue of treatment, which takes advantage of the link between the brain and digestive system to curb cognitive impairment and other lingering impacts of a stroke or brain trauma.

A research group has investigated how Alzheimer's disease can be diagnosed more reliably in the future.

A research team has developed a new class of oral peptide therapeutic leads for treating chronic abdominal pain. This groundbreaking innovation offers a safe, non-opioid-based solution for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which affect millions of people worldwide.

Researchers show that genetic traits influence the cellular composition of atherosclerotic plaques, which over time will affect the risk of such lesions to cause a stroke or heart attack. The new knowledge can be used to improve the risk assessment and treatment of patients with atherosclerosis in the future.

Incidence of stroke and ischemic heart disease are declining around the world, except for in a handful of regions, according to a new study. Researchers find that in East and West Sub-Saharan Africa, East and Central Asia and Oceania, ischemic heart disease is increasing, which may be attributed to eight factors that include diet, high BMI, household air pollution and more.

Alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. nearly doubled from 1999 to 2020. The sharpest spike occurred among 25- to 34-year-olds (nearly fourfold), while individuals aged 55 to 64 had the highest rates. Men consistently had higher rates but women saw the largest proportional rise, with deaths increasing 2.5 times. Asian and Pacific Islander communities experienced the steepest ethnic increase, while the Midwest saw the greatest regional rise (2.5 times), followed by the Northeast, West, and South.

Researchers have linked disease-related proteins and genes to identify specific cellular pathways responsible for Alzheimer's genesis and progression. The proteins were gathered from cerebrospinal fluid and are a good proxy for activity in the brain. Several of them may be potential targets for therapies.

Recent advances in bladder cancer treatments may offer hope of curative care to more patients, including those with high-risk localized, muscle-invasive disease, according to a new editorial.

A new study by medicine safety experts found the use of gabapentinoids -- medicines widely used to treat neuropathic pain -- increased the risk of hip fractures, especially in older patients who were frail or had kidney disease.