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News flashes are posted here frequently to keep you up-to-date with the latest advances in health and longevity. We have an unparalleled track record of breaking stories about life extension advances.

Ashwagandha improves symptoms in postmenopausal women

September 28 2026. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that ashwagandha root improved sleep quality, menopausal symptoms, body fat percentage and quality of life in postmenopausal women. The findings were reported September 15, 2026, in the journal Menopause.

The trial included 65 postmenopausal women aged 45 to 65 years, among whom 34 were given 600 milligrams ashwagandha root extract and 32 received a placebo daily for 12 weeks. Sleep quality, body composition, menopausal symptoms, health-related quality of life and bone mineral density were evaluated at the beginning and end of the trial.

At the trial’s conclusion, sleep quality had improved among ashwagandha-treated women compared with the placebo and the proportion of treated women who reported poor sleep declined to 12.1% from 82.4% reported at the beginning of the trial. Menopausal symptom scores, including psychological, physical and urogenital scores, also significantly improved in the group who received ashwagandha, while minimal changes occurred in the placebo group.

Compared with the placebo, the reduction in percentage of body fat was significantly greater at the end of 12 weeks among women who received ashwagandha. Health-related quality-of-life improved significantly in all domains among ashwagandha-treated women, while no quality-of-life domains improved among participants who received a placebo. The largest quality of life differences between groups at the end of the trial were observed in social functioning, energy and fatigue, and pain. No significant differences in bone density between ashwagandha-treated and placebo groups were observed.

"In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in postmenopausal women, 12 weeks of Withania somnifera root extract at 600 mg/day produced large improvements in sleep quality, menopausal symptoms, and health-related quality of life, along with modest but consistent reductions in body fat percentage," authors Simran Obhrai of Guru Nanak Dev University and colleagues concluded. "As expected, given the short duration and the kinetics of bone remodeling, no significant changes in bone mineral density or T-score were detected."

—D Dye

D3 plus DHA equal better cognitive function in mildly cognitively impaired individuals

September 25 2026. Findings from a year-long clinical trial reported August 24, 2026, in Nutrients, revealed cognitive benefits for vitamin D3 and the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in older men and women with mild cognitive impairment.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 360 participants aged 65 years and older who met mild cognitive impairment criteria. Groups of 90 participants each were assigned to 800 international units (IU) vitamin D, one gram of DHA, both nutrients or a placebo for 12 months. All but five individuals completed the trial. Cognitive function and blood biomarkers were evaluated at the beginning of the study and at six and 12 months.

Serum vitamin D and red blood cell levels of DHA were similar between groups at the beginning of the trial and increased at six and 12 months among those who received either or both nutrients. Blood markers of pyroptosis (programmed cell death that results in inflammation and cellular swelling) decreased in all treatment groups in comparison with the placebo yet showed less improvement among those who received vitamin D3 or DHA alone than among participants who received combined treatment. While tests that evaluated cognitive function revealed better scores in the treatment groups at six and 12 months (including scores for full IQ, verbal IQ, performance IQ, and subtests that included information, digit span, vocabulary, arithmetic, comprehension, similarities, picture completion, block design, digit symbol and picture arrangement) those who were given vitamin D3 or DHA alone showed less improvement in full IQ, verbal IQ, performance IQ, information, digit span, vocabulary, comprehension, picture completion, block design and picture arrangement compared with participants who received both nutrients.

"A 12-month intervention with vitamin D3, DHA, or their combination significantly improves cognitive function and mitigates pyroptosis, and the combined intervention showed superior benefits," authors Ruifang Yang and colleagues concluded.

—D Dye

High mortality risk associated with vitamin B1 deficiency syndrome

September 23 2026. A study of people with Korsakoff syndrome, an irreversible neurocognitive disorder caused by a severe deficiency of thiamin (vitamin B1), documented deaths among 30.2% of a group of patients during a median 3.1-year follow-up period. The findings were reported September 14, 2026, in the AMA journal JAMA Neurology.

Korsakoff syndrome commonly occurs among individuals with alcohol use disorder but can also develop in other conditions in which malnutrition may occur. Symptoms documented in the current study included disorientation to time and place, amnesia, agitation, hallucinations and other abnormalities.

Among 1,320 men and women with Korsakoff syndrome included in the current study, 398 died during a median 3.1-year period. Nineteen percent had previous diagnoses of Wernicke's encephalopathy, a vitamin B1 deficiency disorder of the central nervous system that can progress to Korsakoff syndrome. Individuals between the ages of 80 and 89 years had an 89% greater risk of death than those between 60 and 69 years of age. Other factors associated with death during follow-up included malnutrition, which increased mortality risk by 54%, and male sex and alcoholic liver disease, which were associated with 45% increases.

"To our knowledge, this is one of the largest cohorts of patients diagnosed with Korsakoff syndrome and one of the few studies to comprehensively characterize their clinical presentation, neuroimaging findings, and long-term outcomes in routine clinical practice," authors Imelda Coffi, MD, and colleagues announced.

"In this large clinical cohort of patients diagnosed with Korsakoff syndrome, high mortality, a considerable burden of vascular comorbidities, and frequent underrecognition of Wernicke encephalopathy were observed," they concluded. "This study emphasizes the substantial clinical burden of Korsakoff syndrome and the need for more standardized diagnostic approaches to facilitate earlier recognition and management of the disorder in both clinical practice and future research."

—D Dye

Glutamine boosts pancreatic cancer treatment

September 11 2026. Findings from a phase 1 trial indicate a benefit for the addition of the amino acid L-glutamine to first-line chemotherapy for cancer of the pancreas, a malignancy that has a 3% five-year survival rate. The trial's findings were reported August 31, 2026, in the journal Nature Cancer.

"L-glutamine . . . is shown to support improved gut health and even therapeutic benefit in preclinical cancer models for which the mechanism is yet to be understood," authors Jun Gong of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and colleagues wrote.

The trial enrolled 16 men and women with advanced pancreatic cancer between May 13, 2021, to Jun 2, 2023. Fifteen participants had metastatic disease, and one person had locally advanced cancer. All participants received daily L-glutamine beginning one week prior to the initiation of 28-day cycles during which the chemotherapies gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel were administered on days 1, 8 and 15. Starting doses of L-glutamine were escalated to a maximum tolerated dose of 15 grams twice per day combined with chemotherapy. Most treatment-related adverse effects were caused by chemotherapy rather than L-glutamine. The median follow-up was 20 months.

L-glutamine plus chemotherapy caused tumors to shrink in 15 (94%) of the participants. Two participants experienced complete responses and five had partial responses. As of May 2024, five of the sixteen participants remained alive.

Further investigation determined that L-glutamine limited systemic inflammatory responses and malabsorption, while helping maintain the integrity of the gut barrier in addition to other effects.

Gong and associates noted that the combination of L-glutamine and chemotherapy nearly doubled the overall response rate and tripled overall survival (defined as the time from the beginning of the study treatment until death), compared with historical data for gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel alone. They suggest further evaluation in a randomized, controlled trial.

—D Dye

Bromelain shows promise for traumatic brain injury

September 04 2026. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found benefits for bromelain, an enzyme occurring in pineapple, in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI), the leading cause of injury mortality. The findings were reported July 19, 2026, in Food Science & Nutrition.

The trial included 58 men and women aged 18-65 years who were admitted to a neurologic intensive care unit with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Diagnoses included epidural hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage, intraventricular hemorrhage or brain edema. Half of the participants received 200 milligrams of bromelain given by feeding tube three times per day and the remainder received a placebo for 14 days. Clinical evaluations that included the Glasgow Coma Scale, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), Nutrition Risk in the Critically Ill (NUTRIC) and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II were conducted at the beginning of the study and on days 7 and 14. Time spent on a ventilator, blood markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, and other factors were also evaluated.

At the end of the trial, individuals who were given bromelain showed improved SOFA, NUTRIC and APACHE scores and lower blood levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6, a marker of inflammation) compared with the placebo group. At 60 days, participants who received bromelain had a significantly lower mortality rate than those who received a placebo. "The significant reduction in 60-day mortality in the bromelain group is noteworthy," authors Alireza Gheflati and colleagues remarked. "This suggests that bromelain may have longer-term benefits that extend beyond the acute phase of traumatic brain injury."

"These findings suggest that bromelain may serve as a promising adjunctive therapy to reduce inflammation and improve clinical outcomes in critically ill traumatic brain injury patients," they concluded. Further studies were recommended to confirm their results.

—D Dye

Vitamin D deficiency associated with chronic rhinosinusitis severity

September 02 2026. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 12 studies published July 23, 2026, in Frontiers in Immunology found increased severity of chronic rhino sinusitis in people who were deficient in vitamin D.

"Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide," Ibrahim Sumaily and colleagues remarked. "It is an upper respiratory tract ailment marked by widespread inflammation of the mucosal lining of the nose and paranasal sinuses."

For their review and meta-analysis, Sumaily and associates identified 12 studies that included 1,236 men and women aged 18 years and older who were diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps (which often occur in chronic rhinosinusitis). Included studies evaluated the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and disease severity or polyp recurrence, or the disease-specific effects of the addition of vitamin D to the diet.

Significantly lower serum vitamin D levels were observed in individuals with chronic rhinosinusitis than those without the condition. Among individuals with nasal polyps, the incidence of deficiency was greater than 90%. Low vitamin D levels were associated with greater disease severity.

In studies that evaluated the effects of oral or intranasal vitamin D, individuals who received vitamin D showed improvements in symptom severity, radiologic findings and quality of life, as well as a decrease in postoperative recurrence of nasal polyps compared with control groups. No significant adverse effects were reported. "These therapeutic effects are likely mediated through multiple mechanisms, including modulation of inflammatory pathways, enhancement of epithelial barrier function, and regulation of local immune responses," the authors wrote.

They concluded that vitamin D deficiency is strongly associated with increased disease severity and recurrence and that the vitamin may serve as a promising addition to standard treatment. "Further high-quality randomized controlled trials are required to establish optimal dosing strategies and inform clinical guideline recommendations," they recommended.

—D Dye

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