Students use AI technology to find new brain tumor therapy targets — with a goal of fighting disease faster

Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest types of brain cancer, with the average patient living only eight months after diagnosis, according to the National Brain Tumor Society, a nonprofit. 

Two ambitious high school students — Andrea Olsen, 18, from Oslo, Norway, and Zachary Harpaz, 16, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida — are looking to change that. 

The teens partnered with Insilico Medicine, a Hong Kong-based medical technology company, to identify three new target genes linked to glioblastoma and aging. 

They used Insilico’s artificial intelligence platform, PandaOmics, to make the discovery — and now, they plan to continue researching ways to fight the disease with new drugs. 

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Their findings about target genes were published on April 26 in Aging, a peer-reviewed biomedical academic journal. 

A third high school student, Christopher Ren from Shanghai, China, also contributed to the research.

Olsen, who attends Sevenoaks School in the U.K., has been studying neuroscience since 2020.

She began an internship in 2021 with Insilico, where she learned to use AI to uncover new genetic targets to treat aging and cancer.

"It was there that I started this big investigation into glioblastoma and using AI to research it," she told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Meanwhile, at Pine Crest High School in Fort Lauderdale, Harpaz — who had been focusing on computer science and biology — was looking to get into medical research. 

He chose to study glioblastoma in part because a childhood friend of his had the disease.

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"I saw how long studies like these take — in the lab, target discoveries can take five years — and I thought to myself, 'There's definitely a way to use artificial intelligence to speed up the study and also make an impact as a high schooler,'" he told Fox News Digital. 

Harpaz came across Insilico Medicine and reached out to the CEO, Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, in Dubai — who connected him with Olsen.

The two students began collaborating on the glioblastoma project. Ultimately, they discovered the three new target brain tumor genes — CNGA3, GLUD1 and SIRT1. 

"Basically, a target is some driving factor for a cancer or a different disease, where if you can inhibit it or turn it on or off, you can stop the cancer growth and cure the disease," Harpaz said.

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"That’s really awesome compared to a normal chemotherapy, where it attacks every fast-growing cell and is really damaging to other parts of the body other than the cancer."

The teens presented their findings at the Aging Research and Drug Discovery (ARDD) conference in Copenhagen last fall.

(They’re not actually targeting brain tumors, but are locating things inside the tumors called "targets," which are basically areas that the drugs would hone in on.) The students now plan to build on their findings with continued research into new drugs to fight the disease. 

Zhavoronkov, Insilico Medicine's CEO, explained to Fox News Digital how the PandaOmics system uses generative AI to identify therapeutic targets associated with any given disease.

"It finds these new disease targets by analyzing trillions of data points, including human biological data and data from scientific publications, clinical trials and grant applications," he said.

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"It scores the targets on factors like novelty (how unique is it?), druggability (can it be easily drugged?) and safety — so scientists know immediately which targets are best to pursue."

Insilico has used the AI system to identify new targets for cancer, fibrosis, chronic kidney disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), among other diseases, Zhavoronkov said. 

The company also has 31 AI-designed drugs in the pipeline, including one for COVID-19 and another for pulmonary fibrosis.

To find the new therapeutic targets, the students used Insilico’s AI platform to screen data from the Gene Expression Omnibus, a repository of data that the National Center for Biotechnology Information in Bethesda, Maryland, maintains.

"It’s all about data," Harpaz told Fox News Digital. "And I think that's one of the most important uses for data — sharing diseases and making people's lives better." 

Glioblastoma is one of the diseases for which researchers have the least amount of data, said Olsen.

"That’s why it's so hard to analyze and come up with new therapies," she said. 

"Therefore, a really good call to action would be to get more patients to submit their medical information so that their genetic sequences can be analyzed to help prevent such diseases in the future."

Cancer disproportionately affects older people. 

More than 50% of people who have cancer are 65 or older, according to data from the World Health Organization. 

That link inspired Olsen and Harpaz to focus their efforts on target genes for both aging and glioblastoma.

"Aging is the leading cause for tons of diseases like cancer," Harpaz said. 

"As you age, your risk for cancer grows, along with many different diseases. So if we can figure out a way to prevent all the negative effects of aging and keep you in your prime as you age, that could prevent a lot of diseases and increase the quality of life in general."

Insilico founder Zhavoronkov said he is optimistic that AI can transform nearly every facet of health care and medicine. 

That includes disease prediction, disease identification, target discovery and the development of new drugs, he said.

"In traditional drug discovery, it takes over 10 years and costs around $2 billion to bring one drug to market — and 90% of drug candidates fail during human trials," he told Fox News Digital. 

"This high cost and slow speed is preventing new life-saving medications from reaching patients."

AI is already used to help screen patients to identify diseases, to make predictions and to monitor progress, the doctor said. 

"Eventually, I expect AI to play a major role in advancing personalized medicine, in which treatments are tailored to a specific patient based on their individual profile," he added.

Although he is optimistic about AI’s potential to improve the speed and quality of health care, Zhavoronkov recognizes that technology cannot replace humans’ contributions.

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"Even as AI can take on more tedious and repetitive work, allowing us to accelerate the pace of discovery, human scientists are essential," he told Fox News Digital. 

"Humans are the real brains behind the machines."

He also said, "There is a lot of fear and speculation about AI and robots replacing humans, but in reality, humans are harnessing the power of technology to do specific tasks more quickly and efficiently, just as we always have."

"The only difference is that with AI, the level of complexity of the tasks it can accomplish has increased exponentially," said Zhavoronkov.

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Nevada children have experienced rare brain infections and abscesses as CDC investigates

After cases of brain abscesses in children reportedly tripled last year in southern Nevada, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating potential reasons for the spike.

Dr. Taryn Bragg, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, reported the unexpected number of cases to the Southern Nevada Health District, which issued a public health advisory in January 2023.

"We started noticing the infections in March 2022," Dr. Bragg told "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday morning. "The vast majority of children presented with sinus infections that fairly rapidly progressed to abscesses forming in the brain."

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A majority of the kids also showed the presence of the bacteria Streptococcus intermedius, which is commonly found in the oral and respiratory cavity, she said.

"It often doesn’t result in infections, but it certainly can — and it’s the most common organism that will result in brain abscesses," Dr. Bragg said.

The doctor hasn’t seen evidence that the infections are caused by environmental factors in southern Nevada.

"We didn’t find anything local to our community that would help us mitigate and try to reduce infection rates," she told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.

As Dr. Bragg explained on "Fox & Friends Weekend," the children who came to the hospital with brain infections were already "incredibly sick" when they arrived.

"It’s very different from your common cold," she said. 

"Most of the children had significant fevers, severe headaches, lethargy, perhaps even neurologic deficits, like speech or language difficulties or weakness."

There have not been any fatalities from these pediatric brain abscesses in southern Nevada, and the vast majority of the children have "fully recovered without neurologic deficit," Dr. Bragg said.

Many of them have required long-term antibiotics and multiple surgeries, however.

Brain abscesses are rare among children, according to the advisory. 

Between 2015 and 2021, Clark County in southern Nevada only saw about five cases per year among those age 18 and younger, the Southern Nevada Health District stated. 

In 2022, there were 17 cases, an increase of 240%.

The average age of the patients was 12 years old — and 76% of them were male.

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Dr. Jessica Penney, an epidemic intelligence officer with the CDC, presented the increase of pediatric brain abscesses at the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference, held last week in Atlanta, Georgia, according to the program's agenda.

The CDC first discussed the increase in pediatric brain abscesses in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report in September 2022. 

After three children in California were hospitalized with the condition in May 2022, the agency began investigating.

"Discussions with clinicians in multiple states raised concerns about a possible increase in pediatric intracranial infections, particularly those caused by Streptococcus intermedius, during the past year and the possible contributing role of SARS-CoV-2 infection," the CDC stated in the report.

A brain abscess, or cerebral abscess, occurs when an infection causes a pus-filled pocket to form in the brain, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The most common cause is the presence of bacteria or fungi in the brain, which can enter from the ears, sinuses or bloodstream. 

Those who experience a head injury or have surgery in that area could also develop an abscess.
 

Some people are at a higher risk, such as those who have HIV/AIDS, a heart defect, a history of intravenous drug use or a condition that weakens the immune system, Johns Hopkins states.

In the cases reported in southern Nevada, 64% of the children reported symptoms including nasal congestion and runny nose, according to the public health advisory.

Another 50% experienced headache, headache with fever and head injuries with the risk of concussion. 

Other common symptoms include visual disturbances, weakness, seizures, nausea, vomiting, confusion, changes in consciousness, neck or back stiffness, and difficulty talking or moving, per Johns Hopkins.

The condition can be diagnosed by MRI or CT scans, blood tests and/or samples from the abscess.

In the southern Nevada cases, 79% of the children’s parents sought medical care that eventually led to hospitalization, with 50% of them going straight to the emergency room.

The infections are usually treated with strong antibiotics, steroids, antifungal drugs and/or anti-seizure medication, per Johns Hopkins.

In severe cases, surgery may be required to drain or remove the abscess.

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"A brain abscess is a medical emergency," Dr. MarkAlain Déry, an infectious disease physician practicing at Access Health Louisiana, said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

"It needs to be drained immediately. The patient should be in the hospital, being watched by an infectious disease doctor."

Some of the more severe risks associated with brain abscesses include neurologic deficits and seizures, the doctor added.

Brain abscesses in children decreased when the COVID-19 pandemic began, then rose in the summer of 2021 — around the same time that pandemic-related restrictions started to lift, the CDC stated in its report. 

Cases peaked in March 2022 before declining to baseline levels.

The timing has led some to suggest that the spike is caused by "immunity debt," in which pandemic restrictions such as masking and lockdowns could have led to weakened immune systems. 

Dr. Déry said he believes in the concept of immunity debt, but doubts that it’s a factor in the brain infections spike.

"I think immunity debt applies more to the respiratory viruses, like RSV and influenza," he told Fox News Digital. "With a brain abscess, it’s caused by bacteria or parasites, often in cases where people have had dental work or an ENT (ear, nose and throat) procedure."

He added, "You don't just get a brain abscess out of nowhere."

Other physicians are also uncertain about whether there’s a link to the pandemic.

"We don't know yet if this is just a cluster of cases or a national trend, so we can't say whether a pause in the immune system response due to COVID lockdowns or closures is playing a role, where the response to basic bugs like strep, which our kids hadn't seen in a while, is delayed," Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, told Fox News Digital.

The doctor does believe, however, that the surge in brain infections could stem from people failing to recognize sinus and ear infections due to the "hyperfocus" on COVID.

"We have seen a surge in sinus and ear infections recently — many undetected — which can spread to brain abscesses in a small number of cases," he said. 

"It’s a numbers game — increased sinus and ear infections in healthy young teens lead to a corresponding increase in the number of abscesses."

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About a third of the children’s parents said they had stopped masking prior to the onset of the infection, Dr. Bragg told Fox News Digital.

Until more information is received from other states across the country, Dr. Bragg said it will be difficult to make any "definitive determination" as to what is causing the infections.

"Despite the three- or fourfold increase in numbers, it’s still a relatively small sample size," she noted.

The doctor expects to see more evidence that the infections are widespread. Already, she has heard about cases in Phoenix, Seattle, California, New York and Michigan.

"We might see more information coming out of other subspecialties, such as pediatric ENT and general surgery cases," Dr. Bragg said.

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Melatonin gummies found to contain potentially dangerous levels of the hormone: study

Melatonin has soared in popularity as a treatment for insomnia and jet lag, with adults five times likelier to use it in 2018 compared to 2000, per the nonprofit National Sleep Foundation, based in Washington, D.C. 

More than 60% of surveyed adults who take melatonin use the gummy form — but a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggested that the contents of those gummies might not exactly match what’s noted on the bottle.

Researchers from the Cambridge Health Alliance in Somerville, Massachusetts and the University of Mississippi evaluated 25 unique brands of gummies that were purchased online and included "melatonin" as an ingredient on their labels. 

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Twenty-two of the 25 gummy brands test (88%) were inaccurately labeled, the study found.

Only three of the products contained within 10% of the amount of melatonin that was indicated on the label, with the actual amounts of the hormone ranging from 74% to 347%. One contained CBD (cannabidiol) — but no melatonin at all.

Of the five products that declared CBD as an ingredient, the actual amount was more than 100% in excess of the amount listed on the label.

"Non-prescription forms of CBD can contain trace amounts of THC (less than 3% by weight)," Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor, a medical toxicologist at the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital. 

"When people consume large amounts of CBD, they may also ingest significant amounts of THC that can potentially cause positive results on drug tests, unexpected signs or symptoms or even toxicity."

Johnson-Arbor was not involved in the new study.

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All of the gummies tested were included in the National Institutes of Health’s Dietary Supplement Label Database, which is considered the most comprehensive database of dietary supplements available in the U.S.

"We know from prior studies that manufacturing standards can be poor when it comes to supplements, but I was particularly surprised that there was too much melatonin in many of the products," lead study author Dr. Pieter Cohen, associate professor of medicine at the Cambridge Health Alliance at Harvard Medical School in Somerville, Massachusetts, told Fox News Digital via email this week.

"I was also surprised that CBD was found in the products listed in the NIH's dietary supplement website, as the FDA has been clear that CBD is not a legal supplement ingredient," he added.

"While melatonin is not highly toxic in pure form, the presence of contaminants greatly increases the risk of unexpected toxic effects from use of the product," said Johnson-Arbor.

The gummy version of melatonin supplements may appeal to kids, but Cohen said it’s important to remember that it’s a medication — "just like Benadryl or Tylenol."

"With that in mind, we should keep it secure from children and not give extra if the first dose is not working," he said. 

"If consumers decide to try melatonin — particularly if giving it to children — they should seek out a product that is certified by either USP (United States Pharmacopeia) or NSF (formerly the National Sanitation Foundation, now NSF International), as that is the only way to be certain that the product is accurately labeled."

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Adults are giving an increasing amount of melatonin to children. Between 2012 and 2021, the number of "pediatric ingestions" of melatonin each year rose 530%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Too much melatonin can be dangerous for children — and reports of overdoses are on the rise.

Medical emergencies and hospitalizations have increased, the CDC stated, largely due to a rise in "unintentional melatonin ingestions" by children aged 5 years and younger.

"If young children take too much melatonin, it can lead to serious consequences, as we saw in a U.S. Poison Control study from last year," Cohen told Fox News Digital. 

"That study showed that 27,795 kids required medical evaluation, 4,097 were hospitalized and two died after taking too much melatonin."

Because it is considered a dietary supplement in the U.S., melatonin is not approved by or regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for safety or effectiveness, the FDA said in a statement to Fox News Digital. (In several other countries, melatonin is considered a drug and is only available by prescription.) 

"The FDA collects and tests dietary supplements as part of the agency’s routine monitoring of the marketplace and investigations of suspected problems; however, the FDA does not test dietary supplements before they are sold to consumers due to limited resources," the agency said in its statement.

"Firms have the primary responsibility to make sure their products are not adulterated or misbranded before they are distributed," the FDA continued. 

"The dietary supplement good manufacturing practices requires that firms establish both specifications for ingredients in dietary supplements as well as specifications for finished products and to verify that those specifications are met."

Although there is not an "official" recommended dosage, the Mayo Clinic has stated the "typically recommended maximum dose" as 5 or fewer milligrams for adults.

When it comes to children, there are some conflicting recommendations in the absence of an FDA recommendation.

"We use a maximum dose of 3 mg for children less than 88 lbs and 5 mg for children more than 88 lbs," Dr. Craig Canapari, a pediatric sleep physician at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, wrote on his website.

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"With more than 1% of U.S. children using melatonin supplements, I expect these results to be of immediate importance to parents of all children using — or considering using — melatonin," said study author Cohen.

He emphasized the need for accurately labeled supplements on store shelves. 

"We will need to ask Congress to make some changes to the law to ensure that American consumers can have ready access to high-quality supplements," Cohen added.

This is the first U.S. study to evaluate the quantity of melatonin in over-the-counter melatonin products, the researchers wrote in a discussion of the findings.

But Cohen said they cannot predict the outcome from bottle to bottle.

"We also only looked at gummies — we don't yet know if other forms of melatonin (tablets or capsules) have the same problems," he added.

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"Even if a melatonin product is labeled as ‘organic’ or ‘safe,’ it may still contain undeclared contaminants or higher concentrations of ingredients than listed on the package label, due to lack of stringent federal oversight," warned Johnson-Arbor. 

"Consumers must be aware of the potential for dietary supplements to contain contaminants or have variable potency, and should use all dietary supplements with care," she added.

"Because children may be more susceptible than adults to the effects of undeclared contaminants, parents and caregivers should speak with a pediatrician before giving their children dietary supplements — including melatonin."

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Mild winter could mean an uptick in ticks, Lyme disease across the US

After a mild winter in the U.S., will there be an uptick in ticks this year?

Researchers say it is hard to predict how the tick season will play out. This year’s mild winter and early snow melt, though, could mean more ticks earlier than usual and a wider spread of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, scientists said.

In Connecticut, ticks are showing up in greater numbers this year, according to Goudarz Molaei, a tick expert for the state. So far, more than 700 ticks have been sent in for a testing program that normally would have gotten 200 to 300 by now. The state typically sees a lot of Lyme disease, which got its name from a Connecticut town.

"It’s going to be an above average year for tick activity and abundance," Molaei said.

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What Diseases Do Ticks Spread?

Infected ticks spread bacteria, viruses and parasites that make people sick. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infection in the U.S., mostly in the Northeast and Midwest. An estimated 476,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Black-legged ticks, also called deer ticks, can carry more than Lyme-causing bacteria. They can also spread babesiosis, anaplasmosis and Powassan virus disease. The lone star tick, mainly located in southern, eastern and midwestern states, can carry ehrlichiosis and Heartland virus disease. American dog ticks can spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Ticks pick up disease-causing germs by biting infected wildlife, usually rodents.

When is Tick Season?

It varies by region, but tick season generally stretches from April to October. Ticks are mostly dormant during the cold winter months, and emerge as temperatures rise, but can be active on warm winter days, too. Memorial Day is often considered the start of the season but that’s largely because that’s when people in cold-weather states start spending more time outdoors, said Sam Telford of Tufts University’s school of veterinary medicine in North Grafton, Massachusetts. Lyme disease cases typically peak in June, July and August. April and May are typically lighter months, but not always.

Tiny ticks at the nymph stage — about the size of poppy seed — could be active early this year, said Dr. Bobbi Pritt, who studies tick-borne diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. "When we have mild winters, we do anticipate that the ticks are going to be out earlier, and biting humans," Pritt said.

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What Makes for a Bad Season?

Government disease trackers say predicting how tick-borne diseases will trend is complicated. The number of ticks can vary from region to region, and diagnoses can be affected by how well different doctors test and report cases. The changing climate has both positive and negative implications for ticks, as warm, wet weather is beneficial to them, but especially hot weather is not, Telford said. Tiny ticks could indeed be active early, but a dry, hot summer could also kill ticks, he said. The best approach is to assume ticks will be very active. "Every year should be considered a bad tick year," he said.

How Can People Protect Against Ticks?

Thankfully, there are numerous ways to prevent tick bites. The CDC recommends treating clothing with products containing 0.5% permethrin. It’s also important to be especially cautious in areas where ticks live, such as grassy and wooded areas. Using repellents and doing thorough checks afterward is also key, the CDC says. Limiting exposed skin also helps avoid bites.

The disease can cause a fever, chills, fatigue and muscle and joint pain. It is treated with antibiotics, and most people recover. Left untreated, it can worsen, causing symptoms such as heart problems and debilitating pain. There is no Lyme vaccine on the market in the U.S. for people but one is being tested.

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With Biden as oldest US president in reelection bid, health experts call for ‘complete transparency’

When President Joe Biden announced his plans to run for a second term this week, he reignited the debate about his advanced age and the capacity of individuals of that age to serve in the highest office in the land.

"We — you and I — together we’re turning things around and we’re doing it in a big way," Biden said. 

"It’s time to finish the job. Finish the job," he said.

Biden — who turned 80 last fall, on Nov. 20, 2022 — surpassed former President Reagan as the nation’s oldest serving president. 

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His reelection campaign has many people wondering: Is there an age that is too old for someone to be president?

"I think it’s a legitimate thing to be concerned about anyone’s age, including mine," Biden himself told MSNBC back in October.

He added, "But I think the best way to make the judgment is to watch me."

When the Founding Fathers, who were mostly in their early 40s, were discussing and deciding the age of the president in 1787, they were more concerned with someone appearing "too youthful" than too old, according to History.com.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution specifies a minimum age — 35 — for someone to be president of the United States without setting a maximum age limit, the same website also notes. 

President Biden received a clean bill of health in February from White House physician Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor, who concluded that Biden is "a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male."

President Biden has a past medical history significant for non-valvular atrial fibrillation, gastroesophageal reflux, seasonal allergies and mild sensory peripheral neuropathy of his feet, according to his February 16, 2023, health summary.

The heart is composed of two upper chambers, called the atria, that pumps blood into its two lower chambers, known as ventricles, per the American Heart Association. 

It normally contracts and relaxes to a regular beat. But in atrial fibrillation — or aFib — the atria beat irregularly so that blood does not flow into the ventricles efficiently, the association added. 

This can lead to blood clots.

"If a clot breaks off, enters the bloodstream and lodges in an artery leading to the brain, a stroke results," the cardiology association noted on its website.

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Depending on people's risk factors, including advanced age, some are prescribed blood thinners to prevent this complication — including Biden, who is on the blood thinner called Eliquis, as of February 2023.

The medical report addressed his stiffened gait, noting that the condition has not worsened since last year. 

A team of specialists concluded the gait is the result of degenerative or "wear-and-tear" arthritic changes in his spine. 

A detailed neurological exam was "reassuring" in that there were no findings to suggest a neurological disorder, such as a stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or ascending lateral sclerosis. 

The report also attributed his persistent coughing and throat-clearing due to his acid reflux.

A comprehensive neurologic exam reconfirmed the mild peripheral neuropathy in his feet.

Biden also had a suspicious skin lesion removed on his chest during his physical in February, with the final biopsy result revealing basal cell carcinoma.

Basel cell cancer is the most common cancer in the world, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD).

Because it tends to grow slowly and rarely spreads to other parts of the body, it is not life-threatening for most people, the association added.

"You have a greater risk of developing this skin cancer if you’ve seldom protected your skin from the sun throughout your life or used tanning beds," the AAD noted on its website.

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Biden spent a lot of time in the sun during this youth, the health summary noted. All cancerous tissue was removed, the biopsy site healed appropriately, and Biden continues to undergo "dermatological surveillance."

Former President Ronald Reagan, the nation’s 40th president, was almost 78 years old at the end of his second term in January 1989, according to the History.com website. 

While in office, he survived an assassination attempt as well as surgery to remove a cancerous polyp in the colon — proving resilience is a quality not reserved for only the youth, History added.

Reagan famously deflected attention away from his age with humor during the 1984 debate with Democratic opponent Walter Mondale, joking, "I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience."

Biden’s predecessor, former President Donald J. Trump, was 74 years and 200 days old when he left office, according to History. In an exclusive interview with Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel in July 2020, Trump said he could successfully recall a sequence of five words on a cognitive screening test. 

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James Buchanan left office after only one term, at 69 years and 315 days old.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was 70 years and 98 days old when he left office in January 1961. 

He survived a massive heart attack scare the year before he won reelection, per the History.com site. 

But James Buchanan, our nation’s 15th president, had his health deteriorate while in office because of the stress of the job. He left office after only one term, at 69 years and 315 days old, the same source noted.

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A 2011 study on the aging of U.S. presidents found that the men in the White House tended to live longer once inaugurated compared to men of the same age — "even if they hypothetically aged at twice the normal rate while in office."

The study noted, "All living presidents have either already exceeded the estimated life span of all U.S. men at their age of inauguration or are likely to do so." 

Not all experts, however, agree that the medical report in February 2023 adequately assessed Biden’s functional and mental status. 

"Dr. Kevin O’Connor, his physician, has asserted repeatedly in reports on yearly physicals that the president is fit, mentally and physically, and he has included reference to examinations by neurologists and orthopedists," Dr. Siegel, professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, wrote not long ago in The New York Post. 

"What is missing is any MRI report and full cognitive testing."

Siegel argued that Dr. O’Connor hadn't "addressed directly a possible link between a worsening gait and a neurodegenerative process involving the frontal lobe of the brain or spinal cord or the possible buildup of fluid (normal pressure hydrocephalus), which could cause both a gait and a cognitive problem."

He advocated for Biden to have a comprehensive cognitive neuropsychiatric test — as Trump did with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment while in office — and to release it publicly, as his predecessor did. 

Other experts suggest Biden will continue to function well despite being in his golden years. 

"I see many [80-year-olds] who are healthier and have better physical and cognitive function than others in their 60s and 70s," Dr. R. Sean Morrison, chair of the department of geriatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, told Fox News Digital.

"What I can say is that age alone is not a factor in determining a person’s ability or job performance," added Morrison, who emphasized he couldn't comment on any individual person. 

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"Throughout our lifespan we experience normal age-related changes in our physiology," Morrison explained.

"As such, for anyone over the age of 70, there should be a focus on four key components in a health care evaluation." This includes: 1) mobility; 2) evaluating for chronic conditions; 3) mental fitness; and 4) what is most important to the individual at that stage in life, Morrison said.

When reviewing the patient’s history for mobility issues, Morrison said he would ask, "Is there a gait or balance disorder that could lead to a fall due to normal [age-related] changes in walking?"

As people age, the risk of developing specific diseases and chronic conditions increases, so these diseases, such as arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes and osteoporosis, need to be appropriately identified and treated, Morrison said.

A person’s "mentation" should be assessed — as "Alzheimer’s and other related dementias increase in prevalence with aging and should be screened for the same way we screen for high blood pressure or diabetes," he added.

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But the health care exam should be personalized to "what is important to you [and] what matters most for your health care."

Dr. Siegel acknowledged that experts who don’t personally examine President Biden "are not in a position to assess presidential fitness via a video clip or past the smokescreen of a president’s handlers."

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He said, "All we can ask for is complete transparency — especially when it comes to an aged president with multiple medical problems that could interfere with function — transparency that we clearly aren’t getting."

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Florida medical tech company launches novel AI test for prostate cancer therapy

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the U.S., with an expected 288,000 cases and 34,700 deaths expected in 2023, per the American Cancer Society.

As artificial intelligence-based health technologies continue to advance, a growing number of medical tech firms are looking to use AI to improve patient outcomes. One of these is ArteraAI, a firm in Jacksonville, Florida, that develops medical AI tests that help personalize therapy for cancer patients.

Among the company’s solutions is the ArteraAI Prostate Test, described as the first of its kind for patients with localized prostate cancer.

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For each patient, the test looks at two pieces of information: a biopsy of the cancerous tumor and certain clinical data, explained Dr. Andre Esteva, a California-based medical AI researcher who is the CEO of ArteraAI.

"From that, it will predict the likely outcomes for the patient and help the physician to determine the optimal therapy," he told Fox News Digital in an interview. (SEE the video just below for more of Dr. Esteva's on-camera comments.) 

The process is simple, he said. The clinician orders a test from ArteraAI’s website, then ships a biopsy sample to the company’s lab. 

After the AI analysis, ArteraAI sends back a report. 

"We are the first-ever predictive test in localized prostate cancer that can help a clinician identify the best treatment for a patient," Esteva said.

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The test focuses on both prognostic and predictive elements. The prognostic side helps the physician determine the long-term outcomes of the patient, Esteva explained. The predictive part is what helps to personalize the individual therapy for the patient.

"Let's say that you’re a clinician and your patient has been diagnosed, and you’re considering whether or not you should intensify their therapy," he said. 

"And you're wondering, ‘Is this therapy intensification actually going to benefit my patient or is it simply going to lead to additional toxicities?’ Our tests can help you determine that."

The ArteraAI Prostate Test also offers the advantage of fast turnaround times, he added.

"From the time the sample is received, it is a one- or two-day turnaround for the clinician to get a test report back," Esteva said. "Most conventional technologies take weeks to process."

Dr. Dan Spratt, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, began using ArteraAI’s Prostate Test last year.

After his patients are diagnosed — typically by scans, biopsies and/or PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels — he sends samples with the test to determine which treatments will be most effective based on the patient’s data and the aggressiveness of the cancer.

"The ArteraAI test takes the tissue from a man's biopsy and digitizes it, then runs a highly sophisticated algorithm using artificial intelligence to tell you how best to personalize therapy," Spratt explained to Fox News Digital in an interview. 

There are other tests available that take the tissue and extract some genetic material from it, but ArteraAI’s test uses a "non-destructive method," so the tissue is still intact and can be used for other things, the doctor said.

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"One of the things we struggle with in prostate cancer, when a man is sitting in front of me, is how do I know if he's a patient that I don't even need to treat or a patient who might die of this disease?" Spratt said. 

"And so that's a big struggle, to have these conversations with patients with the tools we use today, which are moderately accurate."

He said that "having a tool that's highly accurate really makes it easier to recommend treatment … there's this extra confidence now."

ArteraAI’s CEO said he believes that "artificial intelligence is going to revolutionize health care for the better."

Said Esteva, "I think it will help make health care far more ubiquitous — and really enhance our providers and be scalable in a way that conventional techniques haven't been."

He does not expect the technology to replace medical providers’ jobs.

"What ArteraAI does in no way affects anyone's livelihood or job," he said. "Our test fits into the clinician’s workflow, so after a patient has been diagnosed by a pathologist and a physician, when an oncologist or urologist is trying to determine how to best treat that patient, our tests will help them make that decision."

He added, "We are strictly complementary to their work."

Dr. Jennifer Bepple, a Maryland-based board-certified urologist and adviser to Verana Health, a digital health company in San Francisco, said she believes that AI offers a tremendous opportunity in health care.

"It allows us to gain insights into the large amount of data generated in health care by supporting real-world evidence," she told Fox News Digital.

"To assist with advancements in point of care for our patients, specifically those with prostate cancer, AI could be utilized to analyze images for indications of malignancy," she told Fox News Digital.

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Advancements in AI could also support pathologists in interpreting biopsies, Bepple added. 

"Furthermore, AI can help advance efforts in precision medicine, tailoring screening and management for cancer patients, by analyzing a wide range of variables from demographics and clinical factors to social determinants of health," she said.

There is, however, the need to protect patients’ privacy and security by keeping data sources anonymous, Bepple noted. 

Another potential concern is the presence of bias in any of the algorithms used in the AI models.

"In order to have reliable algorithms, we must ensure that the data represents the entire population that it’s intended to treat," she said.

It’s also important that a clinician confirms the accuracy of any output from AI models, Bepple said.

Added the doctor, "AI will serve as a useful clinical tool — but its true role will be to support the most sacred part of health care: the patient-physician relationship."

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Outbreak of Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria infects 31 patients at Seattle hospital

A bacterial outbreak at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle, Washington, has infected a total of 31 patients, according to a press release on the hospital’s website. 

Four of the 31 patients have died, it's been reported, but public health officials at Public Health - Seattle & King County have not yet confirmed that the infections were a factor in their deaths.

The bacteria has been identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae. The hospital first announced the outbreak in October 2022 and has posted multiple updates, most recently on April 25.

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"Beginning in October 2022, Virginia Mason Medical Center detected an increase in cases of Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria at our downtown campus," said Sydney Bersante, interim president of the Virginia Mason Medical Center, in a statement on the hospital’s website.

"We immediately implemented increased safety measures, notified patients who had tested positive for the bacteria and promptly provided treatment where necessary," he continued. 

"While the risk of transmission is extremely low for patients, we continue to take proactive steps to avoid additional transmission."

The hospital is working with public health officials to pinpoint the source of the outbreak, Bersante said.

"These types of outbreaks are complex, and despite thorough investigation, we may never know the source," said Dr. Eric Chow, chief of communicable disease epidemiology and immunization public health at Public Health - Seattle & King County, in a public statement. 

Klebsiella pneumonia is a rare cause of infection that is very uncommon in patients with normal immune systems who have not been in the hospital for extended periods of time, Dr. Ken Perry, an emergency physician in Charleston, South Carolina, told Fox News Digital. 

Symptoms of Klebsiella pneumonia are very similar to other common bacterial pneumonias, including fever, chest pain and difficulty breathing, the doctor said. 

"The infection will show up in an X-ray of the chest, and will grow worse the longer the patient remains on the ventilator," said Perry, who is an executive board member of the State Chapter of the College of Emergency Physicians.

The Klebsiella bacteria can cause infections of wounds and surgical sites, as well as pneumonia, bloodstream infections or meningitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"Most of the patients who get K. pneumonia infections have other underlying medical problems that limit their immune systems as well," Perry also said. 

"Although still rare in the general population, it is a common cause of infections in patients who have spent any time on ventilators."

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The infection most often affects sick patients in health care settings who are on ventilators, catheters or extended antibiotic treatments, the CDC stated. 

Healthy people are generally not at risk.

The bacteria is not airborne, the CDC stated.

The infection can also happen in other at-risk patients who are not hospitalized. 

"For these patients, they will have similar symptoms such as chest pain, cough, fever and the textbook answer of ‘currant jelly sputum,’" said Perry. 

"This is a characterization of phlegm that is thick and bloody from the necrosis, or damage, to the lung tissue from the bacteria."

One of the most dangerous aspects of the infection is that some forms of the bacteria are resistant to some antibiotics, which makes it difficult to treat, the doctor warned. 

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This can make it a "life-changing if not fatal infection" for some patients, he said — particularly those who do not have robust immune systems.

"For any hospital that has an increase in this bacteria, the first thing that is necessary is to ensure the eradication of the bacteria from their environment," Dr. Perry said. 

"This means that it will be necessary to deep-clean devices such as air vents, where the bacteria may be able to survive even normal adequate decontamination."

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FDA approves first fecal transplant pill made from healthy bacteria found in human waste

U.S. health officials on Wednesday approved the first pill made from healthy bacteria found in human waste to fight dangerous gut infections — an easier way of performing so-called fecal transplants.

The new treatment from Seres Therapeutics provides a simpler, rigorously tested version of stool-based procedures that some medical specialists have used for more than a decade to help patients.

The Food and Drug Administration cleared the capsules for adults 18 and older who face risks from repeat infections with Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that can cause severe nausea, cramping and diarrhea.

C. diff is particularly dangerous when it reoccurs, leading to between 15,000 and 30,000 deaths per year. It can be killed with antibiotics but they also destroy good bacteria that live in the gut, leaving it more susceptible to future infections. The new capsules are approved for patients who have already received antibiotic treatment.

More than 10 years ago, some doctors began reporting success with fecal transplants — using stool from a healthy donor — to restore the gut’s healthy balance and prevent reinfections.

The FDA approved the first pharmaceutical-grade version of the treatment last year from a rival drugmaker, Ferring Pharmaceuticals. But that company's product — like most of the original procedures — must be delivered via the rectum.

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Cambridge Massachusetts-based Seres will market its drug as a less invasive option. The treatment will be sold under the brand name Vowst and comes as a regimen of four daily capsules taken for three consecutive days.

Both of the recent FDA approvals are the product of years of pharmaceutical industry research into the microbiome, the community of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in the gut.

Currently most fecal transplants are provided by a network of stool banks that have popped up at medical institutions and hospitals across the country.

While the availability of new FDA-approved options is expected to decrease demand for donations from stool banks, some plan to stay open.

OpenBiome, the largest stool bank in the U.S., said it will keep serving patients who aren't eligible for the FDA-approved products, such as children and adults with treatment-resistant cases. It has supplied more than 65,000 stool samples for C. diff patients since 2013.

"OpenBiome is committed to maintaining safe access to ‘fecal transplantation’ for these patients as a vital last line of defense," said Dr. Majdi Osman, the group's medical chief.

OpenBiome's standard stool treatment costs less than $1,700 and is typically delivered as a frozen solution within days of ordering. Seres did not disclose the price it will charge for its capsules in a statement Wednesday evening.

"We want to make the commercial experience for physicians and patients as easy as possible," said Eric Shaff, the company’s chief executive officer, in an interview ahead of the announcement. "Ease of administration — in our view — is one of the aspects of the value we’re delivering."

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Seres will co-market the treatment with Swiss food giant Nestle, which will also split the profits. Seres will receive a $125 million milestone payment from Nestle in connection with the FDA approval.

Overseeing the fledgling industry of U.S. stool banks has created regulatory headaches for the FDA, which doesn’t traditionally police homemade products and procedures used in doctor's offices. In the early days of the trend, the FDA warned consumers about the risks of potential infections from the fecal transplants, as some people sought out questionable "do it yourself" methods from videos and websites.

Seres executives say their manufacturing process relies on the same techniques and equipment used to purify blood products and other biologic therapies.

The company starts with stool provided by a small group of donors who are screened for various health risks and conditions. Their stool is likewise tested for dozens of potential viruses, infections and parasites.

The company then processes the samples to remove the waste, isolate the healthy bacteria and kill any other lingering organisms. Thousands of capsules can be made from each stool sample, making it a more efficient process than current fecal transplants, according to the company.

The FDA warned in its approval announcement that the drug "may carry a risk of transmitting infectious agents. It is also possible for Vowst to contain food allergens," the agency noted.

The FDA approved the treatment based on a 180-patient study in which nearly 88% of patients taking the capsules did not experience reinfection after 8 weeks, compared with 60% of those who received dummy pills.

Common side effects included abdominal swelling, constipation and diarrhea.

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AI-powered mental health diagnostic tool could be the first of its kind to predict, treat depression

As the world of artificial intelligence blooms, some players in the health care industry are looking to make a major difference in public health.

HMNC Brain Health — a Munich, Germany-based health tech company — is one of those. It's attempting to use novel AI-powered technologies to address mental health issues.

The company has developed what's described as a "precision psychiatry" diagnostic tool that uses artificial intelligence to predict, diagnose and even treat depression.

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While the technology is still in development, HMNC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hans Eriksson told Fox News Digital that the tool could be the first of its kind in generative AI.

"We expect to be probably the first to bring a functioning companion diagnostic together with a new treatment for depression," he said.

Eriksson, who is also a psychiatrist, said HMNC began by attempting to find the link between stress and depression.

One of HMNC’s objectives, he added, is to eradicate the "trial and error" of mental health treatments.

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"We know that the available antidepressants, for instance, are generally safe and well-tolerated," he said. 

"But they don’t lead to a substantial improvement in all patients."

"Until now, there has been no really good way to decide what treatment should be chosen for a particular patient," he said.

HMNC, he emphasized, is attempting to bring the "precision medicine angle to psychiatry" through novel medicines and AI-powered tools.

Dr. Daniel Gehrlach, HMNC's associate director of biomarkers, added that depression diagnoses are "subjective."

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"We have many people who are diagnosed as having a major depressive disorder, but there might be completely different underlying biologies leading to this depression," he said.

The new technology can identify niche subsets that may lead to depression, such as stress, he said.

"We were lucky to obtain large datasets, clinical data from patients — and this allowed us to train an algorithm using machine learning tools to classify a patient into either highly likely to respond or not," Gehrlach said.

"We as humans would not be able to make any sense out of that, but by using AI and machine learning tools, we are able to train this algorithm to predict which patient will respond best."

Eriksson said HMNC is running three different programs, two of which are currently in phase two of development.

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"In one of the programs, we are aiming for treatment-resistant depression; in the other program, we are looking at the broader patient population with depression," he said.

Since many depression treatments have helped with other disorders such as anxiety, the psychiatrist said it is "very likely" that HMNC will branch out to other mental illnesses in the future.

"Our vision is that there will be a number of medications with companion diagnostics," he said. "Some of them will be coming from HMNC Brain Health; some may come from other places." 

He added, "But this will give the psychiatrists of the future a much more versatile toolbox to really be able to select the most appropriate treatment for the patient early on, instead of having this trial-and-error process that is the common practice today."

While they’re not alone in bringing precision medicine into psychiatry, Eriksson said HMNC stands apart from competitors with its two-pronged approach, including identification capabilities and medication already in development.

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It will take several years for HMNC’s solution to come to market. Even so, Eriksson said the company's model has the potential to improve early response and detection in the mental health industry.

"Psychiatric treatment will probably become much more streamlined," he said. He also said he hopes there will be "a shorter duration from diagnosis to cure for patients."

Gehrlach compared the method to what is practiced in oncology today with treating cancers.

"When you take a biopsy, you measure, you see what kind of tumor it is and what it could respond to, and only then initiate treatment," he said.

"Of course, we shouldn't forget the fact that psychiatry also encompasses clinicians and health care providers meeting the patients on a psychological level," Eriksson said. 

"So, there will also be a need for that." 

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"But the biological tools that we are able to provide, we hope will be more specific and help the patients to overcome the symptoms earlier on," he added.

Gehrlach commented on the "fantastic" and recent development of generative AI, stating that he can envision a future with innovations such as "psychiatrist chatbots."

"Overall, [it is] very exciting and we hope to be spearheading this in the psychiatric space," he said.

Eriksson said he considers this the start of a "new golden era of neuropsychopharmacology."

"I'm quite fortunate to be able to live in this era where a large number of breakthroughs are coming in ... and that happens at the same time as this AI opportunity opens itself up," said Eriksson.

"[HMNC] are the pioneers in precision psychiatry," he added. 

"We are trying to really transform the way psychiatric drugs are being developed … to help patients to get better treatments and to get well faster."

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Most seniors in America can’t afford nursing homes or assisted living, study finds

As many as 80% of aging adults in America lack the financial resources to pay for two years of nursing home care or four years of an assisted living community.

That's according to a new study from the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the LeadingAge LTSS Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston. 

Additionally, 60% of older adults — or 24 million households — would not have the funds to pay for in-home long-term care, despite the fact that they would prefer to "age in place," per a report from NCOA.

Researchers analyzed 2018 data from the Health and Retirement Study, which was a joint effort by the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration that surveyed some 20,000 U.S. adults about their net wealth.

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When the researchers first began looking at the data several years ago, they were initially surprised to see that so many older adults were at significant risk of financial insecurity, Dr. Jane Tavares, a lead researcher at the LTSS Center at UMass Boston, told Fox News Digital.

"There is a common misconception that older adults are asset-rich, but we have found in our research that this is not generally true," she said. 

Dr. Tavares also noted, "We expect that there will probably be some worsening once we examine data for the time period covering the COVID pandemic."

The national average cost for assisted living is around $4,500 per month, according to the 2021 Cost of Care Survey from Genworth, a Virginia-based company that helps older adults with financial planning.

"The cost of assisted living can vary significantly depending on the location and level of care needed," said Dr. Steven Norris, a senior health and care expert who is also the medical director at Transitions Care in Chicago, Illinois. 

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"As the population continues to age and demand for these services grows, it is likely that the cost will continue to rise," he said. 

With the widespread shortage of qualified caretakers, facilities are having to pay more to secure the right people, the doctor explained. 

"Additionally, recent increases in minimum wage requirements and changes in overtime payment legislation are increasing assisted living costs," he said.

The cost could range from $3,000 in rural areas to $7,000 to $9,000 in urban locations, noted Bennett Kim, a senior housing expert and CEO of Las Vegas-based ZNest. It's an online platform designed to help older adults find places to live.

Upscale assisted living could be higher than $12,000 per month. 

"For decades, there has been a lack of awareness of how expensive assisted living really is," Kim told Fox News Digital. 

"Some people thought health insurance would cover long-term care costs, while other people optimistically believed that they would live a healthy life forever."

The pandemic hasn’t helped matters, as the industry saw a surge in operating expenses, Kim said. 

"Assisted living companies had to continually raise prices just to keep up with their costs, but retirees did not see the same growth in savings or investments," he added.

Middle-aged and older adults are now facing a very different financial landscape than the generations before them did, Tavares pointed out. 

"For starters, greater longevity comes with a higher cost, as well as a higher risk of facing serious chronic health conditions," she told Fox News Digital. 

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Additionally, the increases in household income and assets have not been large enough to keep up with the rising costs of living, health care and inflation, she added. 

And even when older adults do have assets, they are often tied up in property and not readily available to help them cover costs, Tavares explained.

The changing retirement model has also contributed to gaps in savings. 

While past generations had private, employer-sponsored pensions that provided predictable payments, many Americans now rely on 401(K) accounts, which leave individuals responsible for saving enough money to cover their retirement years, Tavares said.

"With all of this combined, few older adults have any kind of significant savings in retirement accounts — and most can't afford long-term care insurance that would help cover the expensive costs of assisted living or nursing home care," she explained. 

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"This means there is a greater reliance on Social Security income and social safety net programs like Medicaid."

There are over 2,500 public state and federal benefit programs designed to boost older adults’ economic security — but many of them are not being used to their full extent, according to Tavares.

"Many of these programs are under-enrolled, with individuals not realizing they exist or not knowing about their eligibility status and how to apply," she told Fox News Digital.

In 2020, an estimated $30 billion of public benefits went unused each year, per the National Council on Aging. 

"These programs are an important buffer for financial insecurity, and it's critical that they are properly utilized and maintained by state and federal governments," Tavares said.

Education is seen as another key component of improving seniors’ financial stability.

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"This means educating individuals about retirement savings and strategies for determining when to file for Social Security that take into consideration their sources of retirement income/savings, health and realistic retirement goals," Tavares said.

"Individuals need to be thinking about and preparing for how they will weather a likely financial shock as they age," she added, "and policymakers need to be prepared for the heavy financial burden that will likely fall on public state and federal benefit programs and begin crafting solutions for handling that burden."

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Some older adults may have the option to tap into their home equity to fund their retirement, but Tavares said they need resources that help them understand and navigate that process. 

There is also a clear need for policymakers to improve long-term care coverage, according to Tavares. 

"With private long-term care insurance being unaffordable for most older adults, it is key to begin considering combined public and private initiatives that can put the cost of coverage within reach and make it more appealing to consumers," she said.

The LTSS Center at UMass Boston and the National Council on Aging plan to continue updating these reports as new data becomes available. 

Researchers are already working on analyzing the impact of the COVID pandemic on these financial trends, Tavares said.

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Secret of keeping the brain young? Learn to play a musical instrument, says new study

A new study has found that learning to play a musical instrument could be the secret to keeping our brains young.

Scientists connected to the new study also shared a second benefit: They found that the ability to play music can make us better listeners as we get older.

The new research, which studied the brains of musicians and non-musicians both young and old, discovered that playing music can help keep brains "sharp, young and focused" as people age by exercising and preserving areas of the brain, reported SWNS, a British news agency.

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The Chinese study discovered that long-term musical training could delay and even counteract the natural and age-related decline in the ability to listen and keep the mind young.

The study was published in the journal Science Advances.

Older musicians can even match the brains of young non-musicians in identifying audiovisual syllables under noisy conditions.

Though the world's population is aging at an unprecedented rate, the study shows there are ways to age healthily and counteract the natural cognitive declines associated with growing older.

This is not the first study to demonstrate the benefits of music on the brain and especially the playing of a musical instrument.

"While research has long suggested listening to an orchestra’s performance of such well-known pieces as Beethoven’s ‘5th Symphony’ and ‘Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro’ may boost the audience’s brain power — a hypothesis aptly named The Mozart Effect — Penn Medicine experts suggest those playing in the orchestra may derive the most benefits of all," Penn Medicine News reported several years ago. 

Playing an instrument "engages every major part of the central nervous system," John Dani, PhD, chair of Neuroscience at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, said in 2017 — tapping into both the right and left sides of the brain, as Penn Medicine News reported.

"For example, playing the violin — which, like many instruments, requires the right hand to do something different than the left — uses the peripheral nervous system, which controls movement of your fingers, as well as gross and fine motor skills," he also said.

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"The brain’s executive function, which plans and makes decisions, comes into play as a musician plays one part but keeps focus on what’s coming next, he said as well in 2017.

In the new research, the Chinese authors scrutinized the brains of older musicians, older non-musicians and young non-musicians in the neuroimaging study.

The analysis showed that older musicians outperformed their non-musician peers — and even equaled young people who don't play musical instruments in identifying audiovisual syllables under noisy conditions, SWNS reported of the study. 

As they looked at the participants' brain activity, the researchers revealed two mechanisms that older musicians use to counteract aging: functional preservation and functional compensation.

Older musicians were found to retain neural specificity of speech representations in sensory motor areas at a level similar to those seen in young non-musicians.

Older non-musicians, however, showed degraded neural representations — patterns of brain activity that stand for some environmental feature in the internal workings of the brain.

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In the same region of the brain, older musicians also showed a higher neural alignment (the degree to which someone's neural representations match those of experts) in comparison to non-musicians far younger than them.

The researchers put this down to the older musicians' training intensity.

Additionally, youth-like brain function predicted better audiovisual speech-in-noise perception performance — the ability to process audiovisual speech — in older adults.

The study also found that older musicians, compared with their nonmusical peers, showed greater activation in frontoparietal regions of the brain, which support multiple tasks across domains and greater inhibition in task-irrelevant, "default mode" regions that help avoid interference.

The research showed that greater default-mode deactivation predicted better audiovisual speech-in-noise performance.

Further, these two mechanisms are interdependent: Functional compensation further supported functional preservation in the brain.

Dr. DU Yi, from the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the lead author of the study, said the team's research was proof that playing music keeps brains young.

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"Playing music makes older adults better listeners by preserving youthful neural patterns as well as recruiting additional compensatory brain regions," Dr. Yi said, according to SWNS.

"Our study provides empirical evidence to support that playing music keeps your brain sharp, young and focused," Yi also said, as the same source reported.

The team's study provides invaluable insights into adaptive brain reorganization in aging populations — and how lifelong musical training can lead to "successful aging" in speech processing by preserving youthful brain characteristics and enhancing compensatory brain scaffolding.

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Richard Lewis diagnosed with late-onset Parkinson’s disease: 'Luckily, I got it late in life'

Comedian and actor Richard Lewis, 75, recently announced in a Twitter video that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease two years ago.

"I started walking a little stiffly, I was shuffling my feet, so I went to a neurologist and they gave me a brain scan, and I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease," he shared in the video.

The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star appeared optimistic about the fact that he was diagnosed with the central nervous system disorder later in life, at 73 years old.

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"Luckily, I got it late in life … I’m on the right meds — so I’m cool," the actor said.

While the majority of people with Parkinson’s disease are diagnosed after age 60, some develop it earlier in life.

When a person is diagnosed at 50 years old or younger, it is considered early-onset Parkinson’s disease, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.

When it afflicts someone older than 50, the disease is considered late-onset. 

What's relatively the same across all age groups are early motor symptoms such as tremors, stiffness, slowness of movement, fatigue, depression, anxiety, loss of smell and trouble sleeping, among others.

While it’s possible for someone to get early-onset Parkinson’s disease even if it doesn’t run in the family, the younger cases are more likely to be hereditary, according to Dr. Charalampos Tzoulis, professor of neurology and neurogenetics at the University of Bergen and Haukeland University Hospital in Norway.

"Such causes include mutations in genes such as PRKN (Parkin) and PINK1," the doctor told Fox News Digital. 

About 15% of those with Parkinson’s have a family history of the disease, per Johns Hopkins Medicine.

These cases are caused by genetic mutations in the genes LRRK2, PARK2, PARK7, PINK1 or SNCA.

Actor Michael J. Fox, who is now 61, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 at just 29 years old (he didn't share his diagnosis publicly until 1998). 

In 2000, he started the Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which is dedicated to finding a cure for the disease through funding and research of therapies. Fox has also written four memoirs since his diagnosis.

One advantage of getting Parkinson’s early in life is that it tends to progress more slowly, said Dr. Tzoulis, who also leads research on Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

"Early-onset Parkinson’s generally progresses slower and may have a better long-term prognosis," said the doctor. 

"But the prognosis depends on multiple factors, such as whether there is a genetic cause and what the individual's response is to dopaminergic therapy (medications that regulate dopamine levels in the brain) as well as comorbidity."

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Younger patients are also less likely to have dementia or cognitive problems, and they tend to live significantly longer than people with older-onset Parkinson’s, said Dr. Joel S. Perlmutter, a professor of neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, in a webinar for the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA).

There are, however, some drawbacks to getting Parkinson’s earlier in life.

"Younger patients are more prone to developing levodopa-induced dyskinesias (involuntary movements) during the course of the disease," Dr. Tzoulis told Fox News Digital. 

This effect is caused by the long-term use of levodopa, which is the most common medication for managing Parkinson's motor symptoms.

"This can often be effectively handled by advanced treatment options, such as deep brain stimulation," the doctor added.

Patients with early-onset Parkinson’s are also more likely to develop dystonia, which causes involuntary muscle contractions and changes in posture.

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Depression and anxiety can also be heightened with earlier diagnoses.

"People with young-onset Parkinson’s tend to have a higher rate of depression than older onset Parkinson’s," said Dr. Perlmutter.

Parkinson’s is not in itself a fatal disease, according to the APDA. 

"Most patients die with Parkinson’s disease and not from it," the foundation stated on its website. 

"The illnesses that kill most people are the same as those that kill people with PD. These are heart conditions, stroke and cancer."

As the disease progresses, however, it can make someone more susceptible to accidents and other conditions that could become fatal.

For example, those with Parkinson’s have a higher risk of falling. 

They could be up to three times more likely to experience falls, per a 2021 study in Journal of Movement Disorders.

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People with the disorder also face a higher danger of developing pneumonia (lung infections) due to difficulty swallowing. 

Aspiration pneumonia — which occurs when someone breathes food or liquid into the airways or lungs without swallowing — accounts for 70% of deaths in people with Parkinson’s disease, a 2021 study published in Scientific Reports found.

Overall, however, those with Parkinson’s can potentially live as long as they would without the disorder.

"Related complications" may reduce overall life expectancy by just one to two years, Healthline stated.

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