Category: 8. Health

If Kurt Schaer was completely honest, his first thought when his wife started having hot flashes and night sweats was that she could “just suck it up.”

It can’t be that bad, he thought to himself: “You’re having a bad day. You’re feeling sick, we get sick, too. Just maneuver through it.”

His father taught him that a husband provides, a wife takes care of children. Emotional equity wasn’t built in their home.

The couple had survived infidelity and rebuilt their lives as marriage coaches. They lived through the death of their teenage son in a car accident and became grief leaders. But when Schaer watched his wife Denette suffer from perimenopause symptoms that grew to sharp mood swings, forgetfulness and extreme fatigue – he couldn’t bear losing the woman he’d known for three decades.

“I needed to find compassion and empathy,” Schaer, 49, says. “Nothing in life I would have my wife walk through by herself. I had to figure how to help.”

He set the thermostat in their Tampa home to 69 degrees, built what he calls a wind tunnel of fans above his wife’s side of the bed and bought a white noise machine to block out the irritating way his breathing sounded. He did laundry and other chores; many he admits that he should have been doing all along. He learned about hormone therapy.

“But most important,” he says, “I listened.”

Just as Gen X and millennial women are changing the way they approach perimenopause and menopause, piercing through the cultural zeitgeist, so are their husbands and partners. Bro fitness podcasts are now talking about hormones and strength training. Men are joining their wives for medical appointments, going to menopause retreats, and making TikTok videos and documentaries. They are doing so with both a sense of urgency and sometimes humor. One man even named his wife’s menopause symptoms “Agnes” to remind them that it is part of his wife, but not all of her.

But the process by which men are approaching menopause in this generation is akin to other ways they are defining masculinity. Or, at the very least, exploring how they have understood what it means to be a man. Maybe masculinity still does mean taking care of and protecting your partner, being the breadwinner and remaining stoic all the same. But just like the men who understood changing a diaper in the 1990s didn’t take away their manliness, so can participating in their spouse’s emotional needs.

This evolution in masculinity, where vulnerability and authenticity are valued, moves away from the restrictive path in which the men interviewed by USA TODAY were raised. It’s not just changing them, but their marriages.

Women are welcoming men to the menoconversation

Perimenopause and menopause shouldn’t simply be discussions in a gynecologist’s office, says Tamsen Fadal, who wrote “How to Menopause.”

And yet it was almost always relegated to the exam room, somewhere with stirrups in sight.

It’s not only about the body temperature changes. There’s the so-called “menobelly.” The irritability or walking into a room only to forget why seconds later. Oh, and a plummeting sex drive, which almost always makes women spiral into shame.

“This can create conflict in the relationship if you don’t bring men into it,” Fadal says.

There are few studies on how men view menopause, but one of the most recent shows that almost three of four men now say they talk with their partner about menopause. These men also discuss treatment options, according to Menopause, the Journal of the Menopause Society.

Perimenopause, the time leading up to the menopause where a woman’s period stops, can last up to 10 years and include a fluctuation in hormones. It can present with symptoms ranging from frozen shoulder to achy joints and often women suffer for years before diagnosis.

These are men who grew up with fathers who ignored menopause. These are men who now are realizing their mothers went through this and they didn’t even know.

After all, there’s a silence that had always accompanied women going through menopause. If they dared asked for help, it was about masking symptoms − and feelings − in order to please others. It was to not draw any more attention to the fact that they were aging.

These also are men who see that while divorce rates overall are dropping, divorces among adults 50 and older are increasing. Seven in 10 women blame perimenopause or menopause for the breakdown of their marriage, according to a survey in the United Kingdom by the Family Law Menopause Project and Newsom Health Research and Education.

Welcome to the ‘menodivorce’. Why women aren’t sweating marriage in a sea of hot flashes

Fadal helped make “The M Factor,” a documentary about menopause. When it was screened earlier this year, the majority of audiences were women. Then she noticed a shift.

“Women were starting to bring their husbands or partners to help them understand this,” she says. “Half of the population will go through menopause, and we need the other half to understand it.”

Finding his vulnerability in talking about menopause

Jesse Robertson was driving home from his sales job when he heard menopause expert Dr. Mary Claire Haver on a health podcast.

He was astounded by how often women are misdiagnosed, the misunderstandings about hormone therapy, and his own ignorance. So, he posed a question on his parenting TikTok account this summer: “Do women want husbands to talk to them about menopause?”

Hundreds of women told him they wanted men to learn more. The husband and father of two shifted his videos to menopause and perimenopause. He approaches it not as an expert, but someone learning along with other men.

While it has grown his audience and given him a sense of pride in helping others, there’s been another more important transformation.

It has brought him closer to his wife of 17 years.

“It’s allowed me to have more vulnerable conversations with her,” says Robertson, 47, who lives in the Minneapolis area. “If I can talk to her about this, something sensitive, personal, and kind of uncomfortable for me, we can talk about anything.”

Bell Hooks, the late author and cultural critic, said that even the most loving of couples fall into the trap of avoiding emotions and projecting expectations onto the other person. It’s a comfortable game, one that has furnished endless aisles of self-help books. Women are from venus. Men are from mars, right?

To love, she said, men and women must be willing to hear each others’ truths without punishment or exception.

Now Robertson hears from men and couples who are watching his menopause videos together.

“It isn’t just women who have to go through it,” he says. “It’s something that partnerships have to go through.”

Men need to learn more and stop being (expletives)

Todd Maxwell was scrolling through his phone when he came across one of Robertson’s videos describing symptoms that sounded like his wife: fatigue and brain fog, frozen shoulder, and mood swings.

“I think this is what you might have,” he told her. “Perimenopause.”

She was only 40. When she told doctors, they discounted her symptoms, blaming the shoulder issues on exercise and the fatigue on their four children.

When she had confided in Maxwell about hot flashes, he says he had made jokes about it. “It was awkward, and I didn’t know what to say,” he says. “I should have been more understanding.”

They separated this summer.

“I told her that I’m really sorry it took me this long to realize that I could have been more helpful,” says Maxwell, 47. “Men need to learn more and stop being (expletives.)”

Maxwell, an oil lineman, lives in a small town in Alberta, Canada. He grew up believing men don’t show emotion. Sharing how he felt, he thought, feel could only add to his wife’s burden.

He threw himself into being the kind of father that he never had – the kind that goes to hockey games and listens. But, he says, he didn’t put that same energy into understanding his wife.

Until now. He started therapy. He’s reading books and watching videos to learn more about perimenopause.

“Now if I want to talk to my wife about how I’m feeling, I write in my journal. I take a walk,” he says. “I think about her feelings, what she needs. I want to be here for her, for my daughters and my sons.”

Men need to understand menopause is more than mood swings

When Dave Maher began training women over 40, he saw that no matter what they ate or how much they exercised, they weren’t losing weight.

It was also about hormones and estrogen, things that change drastically during perimenopause and menopause.

“It’s insulting for us to tell midlife women to just eat less and move more,” he says. “Women have been gaslit and lied to and suffered needlessly.”

Woman in menopause prescribed antidepressants in medical blunder

Leslie Ann McDonald knew something was wrong when she started skipping workouts and sleeping after school drop-offs.

unbranded – Newsworthy

Perimenopause and menopause treatment is about health and longevity, not simply feeling better. It’s about decreasing risks for Alzheimer’s and heart disease, about building strength to stay out of an assisted living facility. It’s about the quality of the last third of a woman’s life. As Maher learned more, his business shifted to helping women better understand and get treatment – from hormone therapy to nutrition – in midlife.

“Men need to understand it’s not just mood swings,” says Maher, 41. “It’s the collapse of estrogen and progesterone and testosterone. Women need this to be healthy – for their hearts, their brains. Men need to wake up. This affects their wives, sisters, and daughters.”

She was prescribed antidepressants But this mom was in menopause and needed another drug.

Becoming a better man

In some ways, Schaer’s wife’s perimenopause helped him better understand himself. And, he hopes it is making him a better husband.

“My generation of men was taught, ‘Bro, work hard. Come home. Try to make your kid’s sports games if you can’ and you’re golden,” he said. “But that’s not enough.”

In his role as a marriage coach, he sees women who want their husbands to change, to evolve. And men who often still want to come home to “the girl they married.”

(Even if she’s 48.)

Schaer wants to help them learn what he has, in many ways the hard way over decades. That the act of giving love is what makes you better, it’s what isn’t just for your partner, it’s also what changes you.

“You are going to step up and learn to love in ways you didn’t know you could,” he says. “I love my wife more today than when I met her. I have learned that the love we have has been refined.”

Every time Schaer learns a new symptom, behavior or health issue with menopause, the same thing always happens. He musters just enough courage. He gets in the pain with Denette.

And when he does, on the other side of that love, there’s just more love.

Laura Trujillo is a national columnist focusing on health and wellness. She is the author of “Stepping Back from the Ledge: A Daughter’s Search for Truth and Renewal,” and can be reached at ltrujillo@usatoday.com.

I don’t remember where I was when my TikTok feed showed me a video of a woman holding her stillborn baby, but I remember how I felt. At first, it appeared like any other video of a woman holding a newborn. It was tightly wrapped in blankets while she cradled it in her arms. She was crying, but so are most of the women in these post-birth videos. It wasn’t until I read the caption that I realised what I was looking at. Her baby had been delivered at 23 weeks. I was 22 weeks pregnant. I felt doomed.

My social media algorithms knew I was pregnant before family, friends or my GP. Within 24-hours, they were transforming my feeds. On Instagram and TikTok, I would scroll through videos of women recording themselves as they took pregnancy tests, just as I had done. I “liked”, “saved”, and “shared” the content, feeding the machine, showing it that this is how it could hold my attention, compelling it to send me more. So it did. But it wasn’t long before the joy of those early videos started to transform into something dark.

The algorithm began to deliver content about the things you fear the most while pregnant: “storytimes” about miscarriages; people sharing what happened to them and, harrowingly, filming themselves as they received the news that their baby had no heartbeat. Next came videos about birth disfigurements, those found by medical professionals early on, and those that were missed until the baby’s birth.

One night, after a before-bed scroll delivered me a video of a woman who filmed her near-death childbirth experience, I uninstalled the apps through tears. But they were soon reinstalled, when the needs of work, friendships and habit dictated they must be. I tried blocking the content I didn’t want to see, but it made little difference.

On TikTok, there are more than 300,000 videos tagged under “miscarriage”, and a further 260,000 under “miscarriageawareness”. One video with the caption “live footage of me finding out I had miscarried” has almost half a million views. Another showing a woman giving birth to a stillborn baby has just under five million.

In another context, before I was pregnant, I would have found the content barrier-breaking and important. I don’t think the individuals who share such vulnerable moments are doing anything wrong. For the right person, it could be a lifeline. But it didn’t feel right in the feed of someone who had inadvertently signalled to the algorithm that they were having a baby.

When I talk about this experience with others who were pregnant at the same time as me, I am met with knowing nods and stories that match my own. I hear about how they were also served up personalised doses of fear, and how the algorithms evolved to target the things specific to them. Our experiences feel like a radicalisation, as normal worries were driven to new heights by a barrage of content that became more and more extreme. This is pregnancy and motherhood in 2025.

“There are supportive posts, and then there are things so extreme and distressing, I don’t want to repeat them,” says Cherelle Mukoko, who is eight months pregnant. Mukoko mostly sees this content on Facebook and Instagram. She used to see it on TikTok as well, before she deleted the app. “My eldest is four. During that pregnancy, I came across upsetting posts on social media, some of them quite close to home, but this time it seems worse. The content feels more graphic and harder to escape.”

Mukoko, 35, who is a woman of colour, has found that she is specifically shown content around the treatment of Black women in pregnancy. An analysis of NHS data in 2024 found that Black women are up to six times more likely to experience severe complications during a hospital delivery than their white counterparts. “That hasn’t been my reality, but it does make me go into every appointment more cautious and on edge, wondering how I’ll be treated,” she says.

“They really do instil fear,” she continues. “You start thinking: ‘Could this happen to me? Will I be in that unlucky percentage?’ With the complications I’ve already had during this pregnancy, seeing such negative things makes my intrusive thoughts spiral. It can leave you feeling resentful – you’re enduring so much already, and then on top of that, your social media feed is fuelling more anxiety.”

For Dr Alice Ashcroft, a 29-year-old researcher and consultant who analyses the impact of identity, gendered language and technology: “It first started when I was trying to conceive. Seeing pregnancy announcements was hard. I also started to get a lot of ads for vitamins that would increase the chances of conception, but the reason I was struggling was an underlying health issue (a very rare blood disorder), so this was really hard to stomach.”

It didn’t stop once she was pregnant. “Towards the end of my pregnancy, we had some worrying scans at about 36 weeks, and I was looking at the web links suggested to me by the midwives. I’m not sure if it was the cookies I generated (which work as a digital footprint) or simply that the platforms I was engaging with knew I was in late pregnancy, but I started to see a large amount of content about late-stage terminations and miscarriages.” Her baby is now six months old.

The ability of algorithms to target our most sensitive and private fears is uncanny and cruel. “I’ve been convinced for years that social media is reading my mind,” says Jade Asha, 36, who had her second son in January. “With me, it was all about body image: showing women at nine months pregnant still in the gym, when I hadn’t been able to do a 10-minute walk in months. Pregnancy makes my arthritis flare up. Even now, there are some days I can barely leave the house because swollen knees make it so difficult to walk.”

Bottle-feeding her baby became another source of anxiety, says Asha. “My feeds would come up with posts about how breast is the only way, and a thousand comments of women agreeing. The problem with social media is that everyone is an ‘expert’ and so strong in their opinions that it can suck many others in. Social media makes me feel lazy, useless, and inferior – even though I am going through the toughest time of my life.”

For Dr Christina Inge, a researcher at Harvard University specialising in the ethics of technology, these experiences are not surprising. “Social media platforms are optimised for engagement, and fear is one of the most powerful drivers of attention,” she says. “Once the algorithm detects that a person is pregnant, or might be, it begins testing content – the same as it does with any other information about a user. If a user lingers on an alarming video on pregnancy, even if just for a second, that is interpreted as interest. The system then feeds you more of the same.

“Distressing content isn’t a glitch; it’s engagement, and engagement is revenue,” Inge continues. “Fear-based content keeps people hooked because it creates a sense of urgency; people feel they need to keep watching, even when it’s upsetting. The platforms benefit financially, even as the psychological toll grows.”

The negative effect of social media on pregnant women has been widely researched. In August, a systematic review into social media use during pregnancy considered studies from the US, the UK, Europe and Asia. It concluded that while social media can offer peer-to-peer advice, support and health education, “challenges such as misinformation, increased anxiety and excessive use persist”. The review’s author, Dr Nida Aftab, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, highlights the role healthcare professionals should play in helping women make informed decisions about their digital habits.

Not only are pregnant women more vulnerable social media users, they may also be spending more time scrolling. A study published in Midwifery last year found there was a significant change in time spent on social media, frequency of use, and problematic use during pregnancy, all of which peaked at week 20. Additionally, 10.5% of the women in the study had a possible addiction to social media as defined by the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, meaning that social media had a significantly negative effect on their daily lives.

Looking at the wider picture, Inge suggests several ways forward. Design changes could mean that platforms deliberately use positive, evidence-based content in sensitive areas such as pregnancy, health and grief. There could be more transparency around why users are seeing certain content (with an option to recalibrate when needed), and policymakers could put stronger safeguarding measures in place on sensitive topics.

“Helping users understand that their feeds are algorithmic constructions, not neutral mirrors of reality, can help them disengage from the spiral,” Inge says. “Pregnancy and early parenthood should be protected spaces online, but they’re treated as just another data point to monetise.”

For Ashcroft, the answer to the problem is complex. “One of the issues across the board is that the technology is developing at such a rate that legislation is slow to catch up,” she says. “But in this instance, I’m not sure where the onus lies. It could be on governments to legislate for accurate information on social media, but that sounds scarily like censorship. Some social media platforms are incorporating factchecking into their platforms with AI, but these are sometimes inaccurate and hold certain biases.” Using the “I’m not interested in this” feature could help, she suggests, “but even this will not be entirely successful. The main advice I would give is to reduce your use of social media.”

At the start of the year, my baby arrived. She was healthy, and I could finally take a breath. But the relief was short-lived. In the months since my pregnancy ended and motherhood began, the content on my feeds has shifted to the new fears I could face. When I open Instagram, the suggested reels that now appear include: A video on “What NOT to do when your baby wakes up 20 minutes into their nap”; another of a baby in a carrier overlaid with the text “THIS IS REALLY NOT SAFE”; and a clip of a toddler with a piece of Lego in its mouth with the warning: “This could happen to your child if you don’t know how to act.”

Is there a chance that this content makes me a better, more diligent and informed parent? Perhaps some of it does. But at what cost? The recent Online Safety Act has forced us to face our societal responsibility to protect vulnerable groups when they browse online. But as long as the constant, lingering threat of doom, despair and misinformation haunts the smartphones of new and expectant mothers, while social media companies monetise their fears, we are failing in this duty.

Researchers have long known that a particular subset of neurons die as Parkinson’s disease progresses, but they aren’t sure why. The new work, published in the scientific journal eLife, shows that in mice, chronic activation of these neurons can directly cause their demise. The scientists hypothesize that in Parkinson’s, neuron overactivation could be triggered by a combination of genetic factors, environmental toxins, and the need to compensate for other neurons that are lost.

“An overarching question in the Parkinson’s research field has been why the cells that are most vulnerable to the disease die,” says Gladstone Investigator Ken Nakamura, MD, PhD, who led the study. “Answering that question could help us understand why the disease occurs and point toward new ways to treat it.”

Too Much Buzz

More than 8 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative brain disease that causes tremors, slowed movement, stiff muscles, and problems walking and balancing.

Scientists know that a set of neurons that produce dopamine and support voluntary movements die in people with Parkinson’s. Many lines of evidence also suggest that the activity of these cells actually increases with disease, both before and after degeneration begins. But whether this change in activity can directly cause cell death is poorly understood.

In the new study, Nakamura and his colleagues tackled this question by introducing a receptor specifically into dopamine neurons in mice that allowed them to increase the cells’ activity by treating the animals with a drug, clozapin-N-oxide (CNO). Uniquely, the scientists added CNO to the animals’ drinking water, driving chronic activation of the neurons.

“In previous work, we and others have transiently activated these cells with injections of CNO or by other means, but that only led to short bursts of activation,” says Katerina Rademacher, a graduate student in Nakamura’s lab and first author of the study. “By delivering CNO through drinking water, we get a relatively continuous activation of the cells, and we think that’s important in modeling what happens in people with Parkinson’s disease.”

Within a few days of overactivating dopamine neurons, the animals’ typical cycle of daytime and nighttime activities became disrupted. After one week, the researchers could detect degeneration of the long projections (called axons) extending from some dopamine neurons. By one month, the neurons were beginning to die.

Importantly, the changes mostly affected one subset of dopamine neurons — those found in the region of the brain known as the substantia nigra, which is responsible for movement control — while sparing dopamine neurons in brain regions responsible for motivation and emotions. This is the same pattern of cellular degeneration seen in people with Parkinson’s disease.

A Link to Human Disease

To gain insight into why overactivation leads to neuronal degeneration, the researchers studied the molecular changes that occurred in the dopamine neurons before and after the overactivation. They showed that overactivation of the neurons led to changes in calcium levels and in the expression of genes related to dopamine metabolism.

“In response to chronic activation, we think the neurons may try to avoid excessive dopamine — which can be toxic — by decreasing the amount of dopamine they produce,” Rademacher explains. “Over time, the neurons die, eventually leading to insufficient dopamine levels in the brain areas that support movement.”

When the researchers measured the levels of genes in brain samples from patients with early-stage Parkinson’s, they found similar changes; genes related to dopamine metabolism, calcium regulation, and healthy stress responses were turned down.

The research did not reveal why activity of the dopamine neurons might increase with Parkinson’s disease, but Nakamura hypothesizes that there could be multiple causes, including genetic and environmental factors. The overactivity could also be part of a vicious cycle initiated early in disease. As dopamine neurons become overactive, they gradually shut down dopamine production, which worsens movement problems. Remaining neurons work even harder to compensate, ultimately leading to cell exhaustion and death.

“If that’s the case, it raises the exciting possibility that adjusting the activity patterns of vulnerable neurons with drugs or deep brain stimulation could help protect them and slow disease progression,” Nakamura says.

Frizz, dryness, breakage, and dullness can make hair hard to manage, and often the root cause is a lack of nourishment. Vitamin E oil has become a trusted solution because it supports hair from the inside out. This nutrient-rich oil helps smooth rough strands, protects against environmental stress, and supports the scalp for long-term hair health. It is not just another beauty trend but a natural way to maintain healthy hair.An official study published in the Journal Tropical Life Sciences Research in 2010 found that people who took vitamin E supplements for eight months had a significant increase in hair count compared to those given a placebo. Researchers linked these improvements to vitamin E’s ability to reduce oxidative stress and improve scalp circulation, both of which are important for preventing thinning and breakage. While applying vitamin E oil directly to the scalp is not the same as supplementation, experts suggest that topical use can still nourish the scalp, protect hair shafts, and support overall growth.

Vitamin E oil for hair growth

Vitamin E oil supports hair growth by improving blood circulation in the scalp, ensuring that follicles receive more oxygen and nutrients. This makes the environment for hair growth healthier and stronger. Many people find that consistent use of vitamin E oil reduces hair shedding and encourages new growth.By lowering oxidative stress, vitamin E oil also helps protect hair follicles from damage caused by pollution and UV exposure, which are two major contributors to premature thinning. A weekly scalp massage with diluted vitamin E oil not only stimulates circulation but also relaxes the scalp, which can indirectly reduce hair fall caused by stress.

Vitamin E oil for scalp health

A healthy scalp is the foundation for shiny, thick hair, and vitamin E oil plays a big role in achieving this. It balances natural oil production so the scalp does not become overly greasy or dry. Its antioxidant properties help neutralize free radicals that damage skin cells, while its anti-inflammatory effects soothe irritation and redness. Many people dealing with mild dandruff find that applying vitamin E oil mixed with coconut or jojoba oil calms the scalp and reduces flakiness. By keeping the scalp hydrated and free from buildup, vitamin E oil ensures that hair follicles remain unclogged and capable of producing healthy strands.

Vitamin E oil for shine and strength

Vitamin E oil works like a natural conditioner that instantly boosts shine and softness. When applied, it coats each hair shaft, sealing in moisture and smoothing rough cuticles. This makes hair reflect more light, giving it a glossy finish. Over time, the oil also strengthens the hair structure, reducing the risk of breakage and split ends.People with heat-damaged or chemically treated hair can benefit from vitamin E oil because it helps repair weak strands. Adding just a few drops of diluted vitamin E oil to a leave-in conditioner can make hair more manageable, tangle-free, and resistant to everyday wear and tear.

How to use vitamin E oil for hair

Pure vitamin E oil is thick and sticky, so it is best to dilute it with lighter carrier oils like coconut, almond, or jojoba oil before applying. To use, warm the mixture slightly, massage it gently into the scalp for 10 to 15 minutes, and leave it on for at least 30 minutes before washing. For deeper hydration, it can also be left overnight if blended with a lighter oil. Apart from direct application, vitamin E can be found in shampoos, conditioners, hair masks, and serums, making it easy to add to your routine. Consistency is important, and using vitamin E oil once or twice a week is enough to see visible results without overwhelming the scalp.

Precautions when using vitamin E oil for hair

Although vitamin E oil is safe for most people, overuse can cause clogged pores, scalp irritation, or greasy buildup. Always start with a small amount and perform a patch test before applying it fully. People with skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, or seborrheic dermatitis should consult a dermatologist before use.Pure vitamin E oil should not be applied daily, as too much can suffocate hair follicles rather than help them. Blending it with other oils and using it sparingly ensures that your hair gets the benefits without side effects.Vitamin E oil has been shown to improve circulation, reduce oxidative stress, and strengthen both scalp and strands. Supported by scientific research, this oil is a simple yet powerful addition to a haircare routine. With regular use, it can encourage growth, restore shine, repair damage, and protect hair from everyday stress. Whether applied directly or used in hair products, vitamin E oil remains one of the most effective natural remedies for long-lasting hair health.Also read| Using the same loofah might be your worst beauty mistake: Study

The researchers examined heart tissue from transplant recipients and healthy donors. 

The study discovered that diabetes is not just a co-morbidity for heart disease – it actively worsens heart failure by disrupting key biological processes and reshapes the heart muscle at a microscopic level.

“The metabolic effect of diabetes in the heart is not fully understood in humans,” said Dr Hunter.

“Under healthy conditions, the heart primarily uses fats but also glucose and ketones as fuel for energy. It has previously been described that glucose uptake is increased in heart failure, however, diabetes reduces the insulin sensitivity of glucose transporters – proteins that move glucose in and out of cells – in heart muscle cells. 

“We observed that diabetes worsens the molecular characteristics of heart failure in patients with advanced heart disease and increases the stress on mitochondria – the powerhouse of the cell which produces energy.”

The researchers also observed reduced production of structural proteins critical for heart muscle contraction and calcium handling in people with diabetes and ischaemic heart disease, along with a build-up of tough, fibrous heart tissue that further affects the heart’s ability to pump blood.

“RNA sequencing confirmed that many of these protein changes were also reflected at the gene transcription level, particularly in pathways related to energy metabolism and tissue structure, which reinforces our other observations,” said Dr Hunter.

“And once we had these clues at the molecular level, we were able to confirm these structural changes using confocal microscopy.”

Associate Professor Lal said the discovery of mitochondrial dysfunction and fibrotic pathways could help guide future therapies.

“Now that we’ve linked diabetes and heart disease at the molecular level and observed how it changes energy production in the heart while also changing its structure, we can begin to explore new treatment avenues,” said Associate Professor Lal.

“Our findings could also be used to inform diagnosis criteria and disease management strategies across cardiology and endocrinology, improving care for millions of patients.”

Reference: Hunter B, Zhang Y, Harney D, et al. Left ventricular myocardial molecular profile of human diabetic ischaemic cardiomyopathy. EMBO Mol Med. 2025:1-42. doi: 10.1038/s44321-025-00281-9

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Our press release publishing policy can be accessed here.

Caffeine and other common substances can influence bacterial defenses, reducing the effectiveness of some antibiotics.

Compounds found in our daily diets, including caffeine, can influence how bacteria respond to antibiotics. This conclusion comes from a new study led by Professor Ana Rita Brochado and her team at the Universities of Tübingen and Würzburg.

The researchers showed that bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) use complex regulatory networks to detect chemical cues from their surroundings, and these responses can alter the effectiveness of antimicrobial drugs.

To explore this effect, the team conducted a systematic screen of 94 substances, including antibiotics, prescription medicines, and dietary ingredients. They examined how these compounds influenced the activity of key genetic regulators and transport proteins in E. coli, a bacterium that can cause disease.

Transport proteins act as channels and pumps in the bacterial membrane, controlling the flow of substances into and out of the cell. Because bacterial survival depends on maintaining a precise balance in these transport systems, changes in regulation can have major consequences.

Antagonistic interaction with caffeine

“Our data show that several substances can subtly but systematically influence gene regulation in bacteria,” says PhD student Christoph Binsfeld, first author of the study. The findings suggest even everyday substances without a direct antimicrobial effect – e.g. caffeinated drinks – can impact certain gene regulators that control transport proteins, thereby changing what enters and leaves the bacterium.

“Caffeine triggers a cascade of events starting with the gene regulator Rob and culminating in the change of several transport proteins in E. coli – which in turn leads to a reduced uptake of antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin,” explains Ana Rita Brochado.

This results in caffeine weakening the effect of this antibiotic. The researchers describe this phenomenon as an ‘antagonistic interaction.’

Broader implications for antibiotic treatment

Interestingly, this weakening effect was not observed in Salmonella enterica, a close relative of E. coli. This indicates that even related bacterial species may react differently to the same environmental cues, likely due to variations in transport pathways or their role in drug uptake. President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. (Dōshisha) Karla Pollmann remarks: “Such fundamental research into the effect of substances consumed on a daily basis underscores the vital role of science in understanding and resolving real-world problems.”

The study, which has been published in the scientific journal PLOS Biology, makes an important contribution to the understanding of what is called ‘low-level’ antibiotic resistance, which is not due to classic resistance genes, but to regulation and environmental adaptation. This could have implications for future therapeutic approaches, including what is taken during treatment and in what amount, and whether another drug or food ingredient – should be given greater consideration.

Reference: “Systematic screen uncovers regulator contributions to chemical cues in Escherichia coli” by Christoph Binsfeld, Roberto Olayo-Alarcon, Lucía Pérez Jiménez, Morgane Wartel, Mara Stadler, André Mateus, Christian Müller and Ana Rita Brochado, 22 July 2025, PLOS Biology.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003260

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Researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have discovered a potentially powerful weapon in the fight against head and neck cancers. The new drug, still in preclinical studies, attacks cancer cells from within by damaging their mitochondria, the cells’ energy factories.

The study, published in Cancer Research, was led by Besim Ogretmen, PhD, associate director of Basic Science at Hollings and director of Hollings’ Lipidomics Shared Resource.

The multidisciplinary research team aimed to suppress tumor growth in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, a cancer that develops in the cells lining the head and neck, such as the nose, mouth and throat. This highly aggressive form of cancer is treatment resistant, and a significant number of patients who receive standard care see their cancer return. Even when effective, these standard treatments can have broad impacts, killing noncancerous as well as cancerous cells and triggering debilitating side effects.

To overcome these issues, the researchers developed and tested a new compound called LCL768. LCL768 is a synthetic form of ceramide, a fat molecule naturally found in cells.

Ceramides are important for healthy cell function and have been shown to induce cell death under stress. Many head and neck cancers are low in this helpful fat, which relates to poorer outcomes in patients and contributes to the tumors’ aggressive growth.

The drug’s actions hinged on its ability to increase levels of a specific ceramide called C18-ceramide inside the mitochondria of cancer cells. When C18 levels increased, it set off a process called mitophagy, by which cells remove damaged or unnecessary mitochondria. Cancer cells’ growth relies heavily on mitochondria, and when they are destroyed, the cancer cells run out of energy and die.

“LCL768 essentially cuts off the power supply to cancer cells,” Ogretmen said. “Once their mitochondria are gone, the cells can no longer grow or survive.”

In addition to breaking down mitochondria, LCL768 disrupted a key metabolic pathway. It did so by blocking fumarate, an important molecule in the cell’s energy cycle. Without fumarate, cancer cells were further impaired in their energy production. Together, the combination of C18-ceramide buildup and fumarate depletion created a dual attack that induced cancer cell death.

“Our results reveal a metabolic weakness in these cancer cells,” Ogretmen explained. “By triggering mitophagy and depleting fumarate, LCL768 shut down cancer cell survival mechanisms on two fronts, targeting both their mitochondria and metabolism.”

The team tested LCL768 in mouse models of head and neck cancer and lab-grown tumors made from actual patient tissue. In both cases, the drug led to a significant increase in mitochondrial C18-ceramide.

After treatment, cancer cells showed clear signs of mitophagy and metabolic collapse, which led to slowed tumor growth. In support of this finding, providing the cells with fumarate almost completely reversed the inhibitory effects of LCL768 and led the tumors to regrow rapidly.

The researchers highlight LCL768 as a potential new way of targeting a vulnerability in head and neck cancers. What makes this approach unique is its efficiency – LCL768 both builds up tumor-killing ceramide and disrupts a key part of cancer cell metabolism. Importantly, the drug had little effect on healthy tissues, suggesting it may offer a safer alternative to chemotherapy and radiation.

“This precise targeting could lead to fewer side effects than chemotherapy or radiation, which often damage healthy cells as well as cancer cells,” Ogretmen said. “The new drug homes in on a process cancer cells use to avoid normal cell death. Because healthy cells do not rely as heavily on these pathways, they are left mostly untouched.”

The researchers are optimistic that the results could open new doors in cancer therapy, especially for tumors resistant to standard treatments. Reduced ceramide is a hallmark of many cancers, and boosting its levels via compounds like LCL768 could be part of a new class of treatments designed to target the metabolism and stress system of tumor cells.

“These findings represent a new frontier in cancer therapy,” Ogretmen said. “We’re not only targeting cancer cells, we’re dismantling their internal infrastructure and exploiting a fundamental weakness in how those cells manage energy and stress. That could make this treatment useful for a range of tumors.”

Although LCL768 is still in preclinical testing, meaning it hasn’t yet been used with patients, the early results are promising. The team is now working to advance LCL768 toward clinical trials, with the hope that the novel approach may one day offer a lifeline to patients with hard-to-treat cancers.

“This research lays the foundation for developing a new class of anti-cancer agents that exploit mitochondrial vulnerability,” Ogretmen said. “We are exploring how to optimize this approach for clinical use so that LCL768 or drugs like it could one day offer a safe, effective option for cancer patients who currently have few available treatments.”

Reference: Oleinik NV, Atilgan FC, Kassir MF, et al. Ceramide-induced metabolic stress depletes fumarate and drives mitophagy to mediate tumor suppression. Cancer Res. 2025;85(17):3313-3334. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-24-4042

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This breakthrough uncovers a potentially powerful new therapeutic option, with further work ongoing to delineate the specifics.

Macrophages are a type of white blood cell with several high-profile roles in our immune system. They patrol around the body, surveying for bugs and viruses, as well as disposing of dead and damaged cells, and stimulating other immune cells – kicking them into gear when and where they are needed.

However, their actions can also drive local inflammation in the body, which can sometimes get out of control and become problematic, causing more damage to the body than repair. This is present in lots of different diseases, highlighting the need to regulate macrophages for improved patient outcomes. 

In the new study, just published in the international journal Cell Reports Physical Science, the Trinity team worked with human macrophages isolated from heathy donor blood samples provided via the Irish Blood Transfusion Board, St James’s Hospital. They stimulated these cells using a custom bioreactor to apply electrical currents and measured what happened.

“We have known for a very long time that the immune system is vital for repairing damage in our body and that macrophages play a central role in fighting infection and guiding tissue repair,” said Dr Sinead O’Rourke, Research Fellow in Trinity’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology, and first author of the research article. 

“As a result, many scientists are exploring ways to ‘reprogramme’ macrophages to encourage faster, more effective healing in disease and to limit the unwanted side-effects that come with overly aggressive inflammation. And while there is growing evidence that electrical stimulation may help control how different cells behave during wound healing, very little was known about how it affects human macrophages prior to this work.”

“We are really excited by the findings. Not only does this study show for the first time that electrical stimulation can shift human macrophages to suppress inflammation, we have also demonstrated increased ability of macrophages to repair tissue, supporting electrical stimulation as an exciting new therapy to boost the body’s own repair processes in a huge range of different injury and disease situations.”

The findings from the interdisciplinary team led by Trinity investigators, Professor Aisling Dunne (School of Biochemistry and Immunology) and Professor Michael Monaghan (School of Engineering) are especially significant given that this work was performed with human blood cells (showing its effectiveness for real patients); electrical stimulation is relatively safe and easy in the scheme of therapeutic options; and the outcomes should be applicable to a wide range of scenarios.

Corresponding author Prof. Monaghan added: “Among the future steps are to explore more advanced regimes of electrical stimulation to generate more precise and prolonged effects on inflammatory cells and to explore new materials and modalities of delivering electric fields. This concept has yielded compelling effects in vitro and has huge potential in a wide range of inflammatory diseases.”

Reference: O’Rourke SA, Suku M, Petrousek S, Hoey DA, Dunne A, Monaghan MG. Electromodulation of human monocyte-derived macrophages drives a regenerative phenotype and impedes inflammation. Cell Rep Phys Sci. 2025:102795. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102795

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Dr. Karen Zaghiyan, a prominent colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, recently shared vital advice on bowel cancer in a widely viewed Instagram video. She offers straightforward guidance for anyone concerned about or diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Dr. Zaghiyan stresses the life-saving importance of early screening, particularly colonoscopies, and urges patients to seek second opinions to ensure accurate diagnoses. She warns against unverified remedies and emphasizes taking prompt, informed action when symptoms arise. Her advice highlights how timely medical decisions can dramatically improve outcomes, highlighting the critical role of awareness, professional consultation, and early intervention in combating colorectal cancer.

5 hard truths about colon cancer

1. Get a colonoscopy early

Dr. Zaghiyan stresses that everyone should begin colorectal cancer screening at age 45, even if they feel healthy or have no family history. Colonoscopies allow doctors to visually inspect the entire colon and remove precancerous polyps before they develop into cancer. Unlike at-home stool tests, which can miss a significant number of polyps, colonoscopies are more than 95% effective at detecting and preventing colorectal cancer. Proper preparation, including dietary adjustments and the use of laxatives, is essential for an accurate examination. Patients should also plan for post-procedure transport due to sedation. Starting screenings early can dramatically increase the chances of detecting cancer at a curable stage.

2. Take screening and diagnosis seriously

Early detection is critical in improving survival rates for colorectal cancer patients. Dr. Zaghiyan notes that patients diagnosed at stage one have around a 90% chance of surviving at least five years, while those diagnosed at stage four have only a 10% five-year survival rate. Symptoms like rectal bleeding, changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain, fatigue, or unexplained weight loss should never be ignored. Delaying medical attention or dismissing these signs as minor issues can allow the disease to progress, making treatment far more complicated and reducing the likelihood of a positive outcome. Taking diagnosis and screening seriously can be the difference between life and death.

3. Seek second opinions

Dr. Zaghiyan strongly recommends getting a second opinion for any diagnosis or if symptoms are concerning. Misdiagnoses are not uncommon, and consulting multiple experts ensures that patients receive the most accurate assessment and treatment plan. For instance, rectal bleeding might be incorrectly attributed to hemorrhoids without proper examination. Patients should feel empowered to ask questions, challenge their care plans, and consult additional specialists if necessary. Taking the extra step to verify your diagnosis can prevent mistakes and provide access to the latest treatment options, potentially saving lives.

4. Avoid unverified remedies

Online advice and alternative treatments can be misleading or harmful. Dr. Zaghiyan warns against trusting unproven cures, such as extreme diets, supplements, or home remedies promoted online. Instead, patients should rely on evidence-based medical treatments and consult registered cancer dietitians to safely complement conventional therapy. For those seeking innovative approaches, enrolling in clinical trials with rigorous oversight is far safer than following anecdotal or unverified claims. Sticking to verified medical advice increases the likelihood of successful treatment and minimizes unnecessary risk.

5. Act timely and follow medical guidance

Delaying treatment is one of the most dangerous decisions a patient can make. Dr. Zaghiyan emphasizes that once concerning symptoms appear or a diagnosis is confirmed, timely action can mean the difference between curable and advanced disease. Following your doctor’s recommendations without unnecessary delay, adhering to medication schedules, and attending follow-up appointments is crucial. Patients should avoid waiting to “see if it goes away” and instead act promptly, as early intervention substantially increases survival chances.

Symptoms and risks of colon cancer

Colorectal cancer often develops silently, showing few or no symptoms in its early stages. Being aware of both warning signs and risk factors is crucial, as early detection can dramatically improve survival rates. Individuals should pay attention to changes in their digestive health and seek prompt medical evaluation if they notice unusual patterns or persistent discomfort.Common symptoms:

Risk factors:

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your health routine or treatment.