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The UK's obesity and overweight crisis is now costing £126bn annually, far higher than previous estimates, new analysis has found. The total includes £12.6bn in NHS treatment, £71.4bn in years lived in poor health, and £31bn in economic losses due to reduced productivity and workforce participation. Without urgent policy action, the cost could rise to [...]
Altering the environment around heart cells could help reverse age-related cardiac decline, a new study suggests. Instead of focusing on heart cells themselves, the researchers examined the extracellular matrix (ECM) – the protein- and molecule-based structure that surrounds and supports these cells. This matrix, which acts like scaffolding, helps maintain tissue integrity and relays biochemical [...]
Focusing only on weight loss in people with obesity could cause more harm than good, medical experts have said. Standard advice to eat less and exercise more often fails to deliver sustained weight loss and may reinforce harmful weight stigma. Although widely promoted, these strategies have shown limited long-term benefits for reducing events such as [...]
Taking certain widely prescribed medications over several years may increase the risk of dementia by nearly 50 per cent, researchers have found. The study identified a significantly higher dementia risk in people aged 55 and over who took strong anticholinergic drugs daily for three years or more. Anticholinergic drugs block acetylcholine, a chemical messenger involved [...]
Stroke patients with irregular heart rhythm could benefit from starting blood-thinning treatment within four days, rather than waiting as current UK guidelines often advise. Researchers found that early use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) – drugs that help prevent blood clots – reduced the risk of a second stroke due to bleeding or artery blockage [...]
Caffeine may slow the ageing process at a cellular level by activating a key energy-sensing system in cells, researchers have found. The stimulant works by triggering AMPK, a cellular fuel gauge that helps cells respond when energy levels drop. This pathway is evolutionarily conserved in both humans and simpler organisms and plays a role in [...]
Older people in northern England are more likely to be poorer, less healthy, physically inactive, lonely and live in poor housing than those in the south, according to a new report. The research highlights deepening regional inequalities, including a higher rate of economic inactivity among 50- to 64-year-olds in the North, where more than 900,000 [...]
An experimental drug taken just once a month has shown promising results for weight loss and blood sugar control in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The medication, known as maridebart cafraglutide or MariTide, acts on molecular pathways involved in appetite and insulin regulation – the hormone responsible for controlling blood sugar levels. It [...]
A daily low dose of aspirin is as effective as higher doses in reducing cancer risk for people with Lynch syndrome, according to new research. Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition caused by a faulty gene, which significantly increases the risk of cancers such as bowel and womb cancer. In the study, 1,879 people with [...]
A biotechnology company developing a wearable, drug-free treatment for Alzheimer’s has raised US$1.33m in the first stage of a planned US$5m equity round. NeuroEM Therapeutics is working to commercialise a cap that delivers electromagnetic pulses to the brain as a way of slowing or reversing cognitive decline. The equity round was led by BlueLake.vc, with [...]
