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University of Wisconsin-Madison / Nature Communications · 3 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In nearly 1,200 adults, higher blood levels of a gut molecule called ImP tracked faster cognitive decline

Study (mice plus human blood and cognitive follow-up). Barbara Bendlin, Federico Rey, and colleagues report in Nature Communications (2026; 17(1); doi 10.1038/s41467-026-74744-z; ScienceDaily 3 October 2026). Imidazole propionate (ImP) is made by some gut bacteria as they get energy from histidine. In mice, ImP that reached the brain increased abnormal beta amyloid and tau. In almost 1,200 people in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention and the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, higher blood ImP lined up with markers of those abnormal proteins and with faster decline on repeated cognitive tests. About 43% of the people carried a genetic variation tied to higher ImP; the team suspects it may change how well the kidneys clear the molecule. Earlier work had linked ImP to type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease. Bendlin said a generally better diet would probably help, and that the finding is not an instruction to stop eating eggs or red meat, because histidine is an essential amino acid found in many foods. A drug that lowers ImP is a hypothesis, not a product in this paper. UCLA and the University of Gothenburg contributed. Educational notes. This is not a dementia treatment.

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  • Cognitive / dementia research
  • study
  • cognition
  • gut
  • nutrition

Cedars-Sinai / Nature Metabolism · 3 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

Restoring a liver enzyme called UBE2N reduced fat, inflammation, and scarring in a mouse model of fatty liver disease

Study (mice; preclinical). Ekihiro Seki and colleagues, including Cedars-Sinai, report in Nature Metabolism (2026; 8(9):1926; doi 10.1038/s42255-026-01590-0; ScienceDaily 3 October 2026). The American Liver Foundation figure quoted in the release is that about 100 million people in the United States have metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and that roughly 20% to 25% of them develop the inflammatory, scarring form called MASH. The group found that the enzyme UBE2N falls in liver cells as that disease advances. UBE2N helps clear damaged mitochondria and break down fat. Restoring it in laboratory mice reduced fat accumulation, inflammation, and scarring. There is no cure for MASH; current care is mainly lifestyle change, and medicines remain limited. This is a mouse result, not a human treatment trial. Educational notes. This is not a supplement for fatty liver.

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  • Metabolic / glucose
  • study
  • inflammation

Wiley / Cancer · 3 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 109 people with early blood disorders, daily vitamin C did not slow abnormal cell growth; an exploratory look found fewer deaths

Study (phase 2 randomized trial). The EVITA trial, published online in Cancer (2026; 132(19); doi 10.1002/cncr.70549; ScienceDaily 3 October 2026), enrolled 109 people in Denmark and the United States with a blood disorder that can become cancer or with a low-risk blood cancer. Fifty-five people took 1,000 mg of oral vitamin C a day and 54 took placebo for 12 months. The primary result, growth of the abnormal cells, was similar in the two groups. Vitamin C lined up with inflammatory-signal changes the authors read as favorable, and with fewer cases of anemia, pneumonia, acute aseptic arthritis, and internal bleeding. Gastrointestinal problems were more common on vitamin C. At a median 33.6 months, 35 people had died: 11 assigned to vitamin C and 24 assigned to placebo. That survival comparison was exploratory. Co-senior authors Peter A. Jones of Van Andel Institute and Kirsten Grønbæk of Rigshospitalet said it is too soon for a recommendation and that a larger phase 3 trial is needed. Educational notes. This is not a reason to take 1,000 mg of vitamin C to prevent cancer.

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  • study
  • inflammation

Harvard Health Publishing / British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 64,743 UK adults, a faster walking pace lined up with a lower death rate even below 5,000 steps a day

Study (observational; one week of wrist tracking). A Harvard Heart Letter brief on 2 October 2026 describes a paper published online on 8 September 2026 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers used tracker data from 64,743 adults in the United Kingdom, average age 62. Over about eight years there were 1,697 deaths, 502 of them from cardiovascular disease. Pace was the average steps per minute across each person’s 30 highest-activity minutes, which did not have to be consecutive. Compared with people who took fewer than 5,000 steps a day at about 45 steps per minute, people under 5,000 steps who walked faster had a substantially lower risk of cardiovascular and other deaths, similar to people who took 5,000 to 7,500 steps at a slower pace. The lowest death rates in the step groups were at 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day. The authors call a brisk 90 to 100 steps per minute for 30 minutes a day a promising target, and say people with less time or ability can mix step count and speed. The brief does not give a hazard ratio. This is not a randomized walking program, and one week of tracking does not prove that speeding up caused the lower death rate. The brief does not split results by sex. Educational notes. This is not a training prescription.

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  • 40–59
  • 60+
  • Cardiovascular / lipids
  • study
  • fitness
  • off-label-context

Newcastle University / The Conversation · 2 Oct 2026 · Exercise

A Newcastle commentary says one strength session a week can help older adults keep the strength to stand and carry

Commentary (not a new headcount trial). Christopher Hurst, senior research associate at Newcastle University, wrote in The Conversation; ScienceDaily carried it on 2 October 2026. The piece reviews evidence that sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, raises the risk of falls and fractures, particularly after age 70, and that adults with several long-term conditions are at higher risk. It argues that strength work, including squats, bands, machines, or body weight, is the most effective way to keep the strength used to stand, climb stairs, and carry bags, and that walking or cycling mainly train heart and lung fitness. It cites reviews that one session a week can produce meaningful strength gains in people new to training, that 20 to 25 repetitions with a lighter load can match about ten heavier repetitions if the effort is high, and that people in their 80s and 90s have built or kept strength with appropriate support. Protein is mentioned as the building block for repair. Participation is described as low. This is an expert synthesis of existing research, not a new trial with its own participant count. Educational notes. This is not a workout plan for a painful joint.

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  • 60+
  • commentary
  • aging
  • fitness
  • study

University of Oxford / BMJ Public Health · 2 Oct 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 1.4 million adults in England, 59% of people with high blood pressure had never been diagnosed

Study (cross-sectional clinic readings). Wenyu Liu, David John Hunter, and colleagues at Oxford Population Health report in BMJ Public Health (2026; 4(3):e004815; doi 10.1136/bmjph-2025-004815; ScienceDaily 2 October 2026). They used Our Future Health readings from people who joined in 2022–2025. Hypertension was a systolic pressure of at least 140 mmHg, a diastolic pressure of at least 90 mmHg, or blood-pressure medicine. About 37% met that definition: 15% of people ages 18 to 39, and 71% of people ages 80 or older. Age-standardized prevalence was 42% in men and 29% in women. Almost 59% of people who met the definition had never been diagnosed and were not on medicine. Among people already taking medicine, half still read 140/90 mmHg or higher. The authors argue that repeating measurements and trying lifestyle changes before medicine, as in current NICE guidance, leaves too many people undetected or undertreated. This is a snapshot of detection, not a test of a drug or a diet. Educational notes. A headline is not a blood-pressure diagnosis.

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  • Women
  • Men
  • Under 40
  • 40–59
  • 60+
  • Cardiovascular / lipids
  • study
  • nutrition

University of Colorado Anschutz / Blood Cancer Discovery · 2 Oct 2026 · Aging

High-risk MDS stem cells depended on an NAD recycling enzyme in lab models; healthy blood stem cells were less dependent

Study (patient-derived cells and animal models). Sweta B. Patel, Eric M. Pietras, Craig T. Jordan, and colleagues report in Blood Cancer Discovery (2026; 7(5):796; doi 10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-25-0498; ScienceDaily 2 October 2026). High-risk myelodysplastic syndrome stem cells relied more than healthy blood-forming stem cells on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), through the salvage enzyme NAMPT. Blocking NAMPT dropped NAD and weakened the disease-driving cells; healthy blood-forming stem cells compensated more easily. The same pattern showed up in patient-derived cells and in animals. MDS can cause severe anemia, infections, and transfusions, and high-risk disease can become acute myeloid leukemia. The release says MDS occurs mainly in older adults and that about 10,000 to 20,000 people are diagnosed in the United States each year. It does not give the ages of the samples used. The authors plan to study NAMPT-blocking drugs in people. This is a cancer-cell vulnerability, not evidence that an NAD pill helps or hurts. Educational notes. This is not a reason to start an NAD product.

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  • study

Texas A&M University / Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 29 Sept 2026 · Supplements / medicine

In 64 adults ages 45 to 65, daily creatine tracked more lean tissue, including in the group without a workout plan

Study (12-week trial; journal supplement issue). Richard Kreider and colleagues at Texas A&M report in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2026; 23 supplement 1; doi 10.1080/15502783.2026.2716273; Texas A&M 18 September 2026; ScienceDaily 29 September 2026). Sixty-four healthy adults ages 45 to 65 finished. People chose whether to join a resistance-plus-aerobic plan three times a week plus a modest calorie deficit, or to stay out of that plan, and were then randomized to 10 grams of creatine monohydrate or placebo daily. In the no-plan group, creatine tracked about 2.4 pounds (1.1 kg) more lean tissue and higher leg-press and bench-press strength. In the plan group, creatine tracked nearly 3 pounds (1.4 kg) more lean tissue and a larger drop in body-fat percentage, while placebo showed little lean-tissue change, plus greater strength and longer time to exhaustion. Aerobic capacity did not rise beyond the plan itself. Choosing the plan was not randomized. The citation is a supplement issue, so this may be a meeting report rather than a full paper. A 2025 review by Kreider’s group of 685 trials found no significant difference in side-effect rates versus placebo; that is not a personal safety clearance. Educational notes. This is not a reason to start a 10-gram scoop for weight loss.

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  • 40–59
  • 60+
  • study
  • fitness
  • nutrition

University of Copenhagen / Nature Aging · 29 Sept 2026 · Exercise

Lower cardiolipin in mouse muscle lined up with a fast-to-slow fiber shift; partial restoration reversed wasting in that model

Study (mice, plus human muscle samples that confirm a decline). Fabian Finger, Zach Gerhart-Hines, and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen report in Nature Aging (university news 29 September 2026) that cardiolipin, a fat almost exclusive to the inner mitochondrial membrane, falls in mouse and human muscle mitochondria with age and disease. Lowering cardiolipin in young mice reproduced the fast-to-slow fiber shift seen in aged mice and people. Restoring cardiolipin to about two-thirds of normal began to reverse wasting in that model and prevented the animals’ early deaths. Reactive oxygen species helped carry the signal: mopping them up with N-acetylcysteine blunted the fiber shift and, in these engineered mice, made wasting worse. Blocking the receptor ERRγ in cultured cells stopped the fiber switch. Human samples were used to confirm the cardiolipin drop, not to test a remedy. A cardiolipin-directed treatment has accelerated approval for Barth syndrome, a rare genetic condition, which is a different use. Educational notes. This is not advice to take an antioxidant pill.

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  • study
  • aging
  • nutrition

Hebrew SeniorLife / The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging · 29 Sept 2026 · Nutrition

In a pilot of older sedentary adults, daily blueberry powder shifted gut-enzyme markers; the mood difference was not significant

Study (pilot). Courtney L. Millar of Hebrew SeniorLife, Beth Israel Deaconess, and Harvard Medical School and colleagues report in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging (MedicalXpress 29 September 2026). Older sedentary adults with mild depressive symptoms took 48 grams (about 1.7 ounces) of blueberry powder a day, roughly two cups of fresh berries, or a matched placebo powder for three months. Depressive-symptom scores fell more consistently with blueberries, but the difference versus placebo was not statistically significant. Metagenomic sequencing showed small shifts in gut microbial enzyme markers. The release does not give the headcount. Educational notes. This is not a mood treatment and not a reason to treat depression with berry powder.

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  • 60+
  • study
  • gut
  • aging

VitaLonga is an educational longevity resource, not a pharmacy, clinic, or doctor. Content is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease (DSHEA). Supplements can interact with medications and are not appropriate in every pregnancy or health condition. Consult a licensed clinician, especially if you take medications, are pregnant or nursing, or have a diagnosed condition.