All posts tagged: infections

Severe infections independently amplify the risk of dementia later in life

Severe infections independently amplify the risk of dementia later in life

Published by José Betancourt

People who experience severe, hospital-treated infections face an elevated risk of developing dementia later in life, and this connection operates independently of other underlying medical conditions. Researchers reached this conclusion by analyzing the vast electronic health records of the Finnish population. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Medicine. Medical professionals have observed a link between infectious diseases and cognitive decline for some time. Proposed explanations revolve around how the immune system interacts with the central nervous system. A severe infection causes widespread inflammation throughout the body. This persistent inflammation can affect the blood-brain barrier, which is a tight layer of cells that normally protects the brain from toxins and pathogens circulating in the bloodstream. When the blood-brain barrier becomes compromised, harmful proteins and inflammatory cells can enter the brain tissue. This infiltration can promote neuroinflammation, a state of chronic immune activation inside the brain. Such an environment plays a role in the destruction of brain cells, a hallmark of dementia cases. Infections also trigger vascular issues across the body, which can involve changes …

Everyday infections, not vaccines, are linked to an increased risk of childhood stroke

Everyday infections, not vaccines, are linked to an increased risk of childhood stroke

Published by José Betancourt

Childhood stroke is a rare but serious medical event, and recent evidence suggests that everyday illnesses might increase the risk of it occurring. A recent study published in Neurology indicates that children who experience an infection have a higher chance of suffering a stroke shortly afterward, while recent vaccinations show no such association. These findings highlight the importance of infection prevention to help protect the vascular health of young people. Strokes happen when blood flow to the brain is blocked or when a blood vessel bursts. While strokes in adults are often tied to conditions like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, children who experience strokes usually do not have these standard risk factors. Instead, childhood strokes tend to stem from genetic diseases, heart defects, or blood clotting disorders. Scientists are increasingly looking into the role of infections as a potential trigger for these events. Previous small scale studies pointed to a possible link between childhood stroke and common illnesses, like respiratory infections. However, comprehensive data tracking entire populations over several years has been lacking. …

This common wildflower has become a promising source to fight antibiotic-resistant infections

This common wildflower has become a promising source to fight antibiotic-resistant infections

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Long before we had modern antibiotics to rely on, people often turned to traditional medicines from plants to treat infections. The root of tormentil (Potentilla erecta), a small yellow wildflower that grows across Ireland, the UK and Europe, was used for centuries in Irish and European traditional medicine. It was used to treat wounds, sore throats, diarrhoea and gum disease. These traditional uses suggested that tormentil could contain compounds powerful enough to kill microbes. Our latest research has now shown that not only does tormentil have antimicrobial activity, it may also be powerful enough to fight microbes that are resistant to modern antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat. This occurs when bacteria evolve to survive the drugs used to treat common infections. This makes some infections very difficult and sometimes impossible to treat. Antimicrobial resistance could be pushing us …

Cystitis or tooth decay could trigger dementia just a few years later

Cystitis or tooth decay could trigger dementia just a few years later

Published by skeptic

A scanning electron micrograph of E. coli (yellow) infecting cells within a human bladder (blue), causing them to secrete thick mucus (orange) PROFESSOR P.M. MOTTA ET AL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Severe cystitis, pneumonia or tooth decay could increase the risk of dementia. A study of hundreds of thousands of people across Finland has found that people who were treated in hospital for these infections were significantly more likely to develop dementia – including an early-onset form of the condition – within the next six years. We increasingly think that dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, could be prevented or delayed through brain-training games, steadfast lifestyle changes and even saunas. Now, the latest research adds to the mounting evidence supporting infection avoidance to further reduce the odds of developing the condition. “It suggests that dementia risk may be partially modifiable,” says Kuan-Ching Wu at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who wasn’t involved in the study. In 2021, Pyry Sipilä at the University of Helsinki and his colleagues noticed that people who were hospitalised with severe infections were more likely …

How viral infections disrupt memory and thinking skills

How viral infections disrupt memory and thinking skills

Published by José Betancourt

Viral infections often leave lasting marks on human memory and thinking skills by altering the balance of the immune system. A recent comprehensive review of medical data reveals that specific inflammatory immune responses slow down mental processing and impair memory across a variety of different viral illnesses. These findings were published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. When a virus invades the body, the immune system launches a defense mechanism that involves an array of cells and chemical messengers. Some of these messengers are known as pro-inflammatory cytokines. These are small proteins that sound the alarm and promote inflammation to clear the infection. Once the threat passes, the body normally releases anti-inflammatory signals to calm the response and restore normal operations. Sometimes this defensive response does not turn off correctly, leading to lingering systemic inflammation. Medical professionals routinely observe this phenomenon in people recovering from viruses like the one that causes COVID-19. Patients often report persistent brain fog, which includes trouble concentrating, slowed thinking, and memory lapses. Similar cognitive issues frequently appear in people …

Chronic Pain Can Make Noise Unbearable By Rewiring The Brain, Study Says

Chronic Pain Can Make Noise Unbearable By Rewiring The Brain, Study Says

Published by Sam Flores

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, March 6, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Everyday sounds add to the torment of a person with chronic back pain, apparently because pain rewires how the brain responds to noise, a new study says. People suffering from back pain process sounds differently and more intensely, adding to their agony, researchers recently reported in the Annals of Neurology. “Our findings validate what many patients have been saying for years that everyday sounds genuinely feel harsher and more intense,” said senior researcher Yoni Ashar, co-director of the Pain Science Program at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. “This tells us chronic back pain isn’t just about the back,” Ashar said in a news release. “There’s a broader sensory amplification happening in the brain, and that opens the door for treatments that can help turn that volume down.” For the new study, researchers compared 142 adults with chronic back pain to 51 pain-free folks. All of the participants underwent MRI brain imaging, during which they were asked to perform tasks such as …

Measles cases are rising. Other vaccine-preventable infections could be next.

Measles cases are rising. Other vaccine-preventable infections could be next.

Published by skeptic

The vast majority of these cases have been children who were not fully vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy is thought to be a significant reason children are missing out on important vaccines—the World Health Organization described it as one of the 10 leading threats to global health in 2019. And if we’re seeing more measles cases now, we might expect to soon see more cases of other vaccine-preventable infections, including some that can cause liver cancer or meningitis. Some people will always argue that measles is not a big deal—that infections used to be common, and most people survived them and did just fine. It is true that in most cases kids do recover well from the virus. But not always. Measles symptoms tend to start with a fever and a runny nose. The telltale rash comes later. In some cases, severe complications develop. They can include pneumonia, blindness, and inflammation of the brain. Some people won’t develop complications until years later. In rare cases, the disease can be fatal. Before the measles vaccine was introduced, in …

Dr. Oz begs Americans to take the measles vaccine as infections soar

Dr. Oz begs Americans to take the measles vaccine as infections soar

Published by Sam Flores

The U.S. is in the grips of a historic measles surge, with more than 3,000 measles cases reported in 45 states across the country since the start of 2025. So far, two unvaccinated children have died from the disease. At least 920 people have been infected in South Carolina, and a similar number in Texas. In both states, nearly all infected individuals were unvaccinated. Now Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is urging Americans to get the measles vaccine as the country is on the brink of losing its measles elimination status. “Take the vaccine, please. We have a solution for our problem,” Oz said on CNN’s State of Union on Sunday. “Not all illnesses are equally dangerous, and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses. But measles is one you should get your vaccine [for],” Oz said. Mehmet’s urging comes almost a year after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. called in April 2025 for supplying Texas with “needed” measles vaccines in the wake …