Sarah Cresswell, a little over 30, from UK's life looks very different from that of many other young adults. While most people sit down to enjoy meals with friends and family, Sarah’s nutrition comes not from a plate, but from a bag of sterile fluid connected to her bloodstream. She jokes about it: "When you spent 5 years doing a nutrition degree only to end up being fed through your bloodstream".

Sarah relies on Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), a life-sustaining method of intravenous feeding, which she calls being “fed through the heart.” Her story has captured attention online, as she uses social media to educate and empower others living with chronic illness.

A Life-Changing Diagnosis

Sarah, who lives in England, has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a rare connective tissue disorder that affects the skin, joints, and blood vessel walls, leaving her physically disabled. She also suffers from gastroparesis, a condition that paralyzes the stomach, preventing it from digesting food properly.

Initially, Sarah was fed through a nasojejunal (NJ) tube, a thin tube passed through the nose into the small intestine, allowing her to receive liquid nutrition. However, in July 2022, Sarah contracted COVID-19, which worsened her condition and caused intestinal failure.

That’s when doctors switched her to TPN. “It saved my life,” she told Newsweek.

What is Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN)?

Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) is a way of providing nutrition intravenously, meaning directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system entirely.

It is typically used when a person’s gastrointestinal tract cannot process food or absorb nutrients properly. The TPN solution contains a carefully balanced mixture of:

• Water: to keep the body hydrated
• Proteins: to support muscle repair and tissue growth
• Carbohydrates (glucose): to provide energy
• Fats: to supply essential fatty acids
• Vitamins and minerals: to maintain overall health

TPN is delivered through a central line, most commonly a PICC line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) placed into a large vein near the heart. This is why Sarah says she “eats through her heart.”

How TPN Works in Daily Life

Patients on TPN are often trained to manage the process themselves at home. The sterile bag of nutrition hangs from an IV pole and is infused slowly, usually overnight, using a pump, similar to how other IV medications are given.

For Sarah, this means setting up her line carefully every day, sanitizing her hands, and following a strict routine to avoid infection. Most patients have their TPN changed every 24 to 48 hours, depending on their condition.

Despite the complexity, TPN gives Sarah the freedom to live a fuller life. “I eat through my heart and I’m absolutely thriving!” she captioned one of her viral TikTok videos, which has been viewed over 1.7 million times.

The Risks and Challenges of TPN

While TPN is lifesaving, it is not without risks. Some of the potential complications include:

Line infection or blood clots: Because the catheter leads directly to a vein near the heart, infections can become serious very quickly.

Refeeding syndrome: Dangerous shifts in electrolytes can occur when restarting nutrition after prolonged malnutrition.

Liver function changes: Prolonged use of TPN can sometimes stress the liver.

To minimize these risks, Sarah’s progress is carefully monitored by her medical team through regular blood tests, weight checks, and glucose monitoring.

Raising Awareness Through Social Media

Sarah has turned her medical journey into a platform for advocacy. On her TikTok account, @nauseatedsarah, she documents what life is like on TPN , from setting up her line to answering questions from curious followers.

Her transparency has inspired many people living with chronic illnesses or feeding tubes. “I have never seen anything like this,” wrote one commenter. Another said: “This is genuinely so fascinating, thank you for sharing!”

For Sarah, the goal is to normalize artificial nutrition and show that it doesn’t have to be scary. “I want to help those in similar situations not to be afraid, and provide a safe place for them to ask questions about what life looks like on TPN,” she said.

Sarah’s experience is just one example of how artificial nutrition can transform lives. Research shows that in the U.S. alone, over 250,000 hospital stays involve tube feeding, and around 600,000 patients receive some form of tube or intravenous feeding therapy at home.

For many, it’s the difference between life and death, and between being tied to a hospital bed and living independently.

Thriving, Not Just Surviving

Today, Sarah sees her TPN routine as just another part of her life. Rather than focusing on what she has lost, she highlights what TPN has given her, energy, stability, and the ability to engage with the world.

Her message is one of resilience and hope: that even when life takes an unexpected turn, there are ways to adapt, survive, and even thrive.

“I eat through my heart,” she says proudly, “and I’m here to tell others that they can too.”

Cancer remains one of the deadliest diseases worldwide, despite decades of progress in treatment. Early detection remains critical, as survival rates drop significantly when tumors are caught late. But a groundbreaking discovery from Japan could soon offer a new way to treat even advanced cancers, and without the severe immune-related side effects that often accompany modern therapies.

AUN - A New Hope

A research team led by Professor Eijiro Miyako at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), in collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. and the University of Tsukuba, has unveiled a pioneering bacterial therapy that could transform the way we treat cancer.

Their innovation, known as AUN, is described as a microbial consortium, a combination of two natural bacterial strains with complementary properties that target tumors directly.

“To accelerate the social implementation of this research, we are preparing to launch a startup with the goal of starting clinical trials within six years,” said Professor Miyako, adding that “a new chapter in bacteria-based cancer therapy, presented more than 150 years ago, is finally beginning.”

What Is AUN Therapy?

AUN stands for a unique combination of two bacteria:

Proteus mirabilis (a-gyo), a bacterium that thrives in the tumor microenvironment and infiltrates cancerous tissue.

Rhodopseudomonas palustris (un-gyo), a photosynthetic bacterium with the ability to survive in diverse conditions and deliver therapeutic effects.

When combined, these bacteria work synergistically to attack and clear tumors. What makes AUN truly remarkable is that it operates independently of the immune system — a departure from most existing therapies such as immunotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors, which rely heavily on immune cell activation.

Effective Even in Weakened Immune Systems

One of the most challenging aspects of treating cancer is addressing cases where the patient’s immune system is compromised, such as those undergoing chemotherapy, those with autoimmune disorders, or the elderly.

According to the research team, AUN therapy successfully eliminated tumors in both mouse and human cancer models, even under immunocompromised conditions. This means that patients who might otherwise be too frail for aggressive treatments could still benefit.

Safety First: Minimal Side Effects

Unlike many cancer therapies that can trigger cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a potentially life-threatening immune overreaction, AUN was shown to be safe and highly biocompatible. The researchers observed very limited side effects during their trials.

This finding is significant because CRS has been one of the major barriers in immune-based cancer treatments such as CAR-T cell therapy. A therapy that avoids this risk could open the door to wider, safer use.

A Revival of an Old Idea

Bacteria-based cancer therapies are not new. More than 150 years ago, doctors experimented with using bacteria to shrink tumors, though early methods lacked precision and often caused dangerous infections. Modern advances in synthetic biology and microbiology, however, now allow scientists to engineer and control bacteria safely, reviving interest in this approach.

Professor Miyako highlighted the historical significance of this breakthrough, calling it “a new chapter” in the field. This combination therapy could mark the first time bacteria are deliberately harnessed in a clinically safe and targeted way to fight cancer.

Clinical Trials on the Horizon

The research team is now preparing to launch a startup dedicated to translating this innovation from the laboratory to the clinic. Their goal is to begin human clinical trials within six years, pending regulatory approvals and further preclinical safety testing.

If successful, AUN therapy could offer a new line of treatment for patients with cancers resistant to conventional therapies, and potentially work in combination with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or immunotherapy for even better outcomes.

Why This Matters

Cancer treatment has traditionally relied on three pillars, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation — with newer approaches like immunotherapy expanding the arsenal. Yet, many patients relapse, develop resistance, or cannot tolerate the side effects of existing drugs.

A therapy that:

• works without depending on immune cells
• clears tumors effectively
• carries very limited side effects

All of them could represent a paradigm shift. It may also reduce the economic burden of cancer care by lowering hospitalization rates related to treatment toxicity.

While promising, experts caution that much remains to be studied. Large-scale human trials will be essential to confirm both safety and effectiveness. The six-year timeline means that patients may need to wait until the early 2030s before this treatment becomes widely available.

Contributed by Prabhdeep Singh, Co-Founder & CEO, RED Health

During a medical emergency, the initial minutes tend to determine the patient's outcome in the long run. The "10-minute response" target is aimed at providing assured access to trained care to an individual in that timeframe. It can make a serious difference in survival rates and recovery. India currently stands at 49th position out of 89 nations in the 2025 Health Index, a reminder of the distance left to achieve in establishing responsive healthcare structures.

India has now surpassed China as the most populous country with over 1.44 billion people in our own country and this comes with pride and responsibility both. This milestone raises a pressing question. Do we have the medical infrastructure and response capability to match our demographic scale? The availability of only 15,283 BLS (Basic Life Support) ambulances, 3,918 Patient Transport Vehicles (PTVs) and 3,044 Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances should be a national concern. For a country of over 1.4 billion, this is a call to action.

Our country's vast geography as well as diverse terrains and gaps in infrastructure are also adding on to the challenges, especially in rural and hilly regions where road connectivity is constrained. Ambulances cannot consistently reach these areas, making deployment patchy and, at times, unreliable. In a nation as diverse as ours, it takes a lot including discipline, strategic foresight, planning and dedication to provide equal and widespread access to healthcare services.

Creating a Unified Emergency Response Framework

Fragmented services cause delays in the most critical moments. A connected framework can bring public and private emergency providers onto a single network that operates with clarity and speed. This further means linking regional control rooms, ensuring GPS navigation in every ambulance, and creating standard communication protocols between field teams and hospitals. The result is a smooth line from the first call to hospital admission. With advanced dispatch and location tracking, the closest ambulance can be sent immediately, saving precious minutes. Our long-term vision must be to establish a nationwide command grid where no emergency call goes unanswered and every location is within a 10-minute reach, regardless of geography. However, achieving this in India will require connectivity backed by a strategic placement of vehicles in high-priority zones identified through rigorous data analysis.

Strategic Deployment of Advanced Life Support Units

Ambulances with essential life-saving equipment can make the difference between life and loss. Advanced Life Support (ALS) units equipped with ventilators, defibrillators, and monitoring devices enable paramedics to stabilize patients on the way to the hospital. Placing these units in high-demand areas such as accident-prone roads, crowded markets, and industrial clusters ensures they are close to likely emergencies.

In a nation with heavy traffic, narrow roads, and rough terrain, response speeds are inevitably challenged. That is why identifying and continuously updating operational “hotspots” for ALS deployment must be a national priority. This involves mapping zones by emergency call density, accident history, and population concentration and in the future, moving towards predictive deployment based on live traffic, weather, and large public gatherings.

Data-Driven Planning & Bolstering Human Response Layer

Data, apart from being a record of past incidents, is a tool to direct the future of emergency care. By examining trends in past incidents, it is easier to know where emergencies happen most often. This can inform the placement of ambulances, training for local responders, and supplies that need to be stocked. It can also identify the time of day or season when a particular emergency happens most often so that staffing schedules can be planned accordingly. By monitoring performance metrics like average response time, patient outcomes, and equipment availability, adjustments can be made in real time. For India, data-led decision-making is essential to overcome geographical and infrastructural constraints, and every minute saved translates directly into lives saved.

Equipment delivers its value only when handled by trained professionals. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and paramedics are the first medical contact for many patients, making their expertise essential. Their training should follow global standards such as those set by the American Heart Association (AHA) for life support and resuscitation. Regular updates, certification renewals, simulation drills and scenario-based learning can ensure readiness all times. Clear career pathways and recognition programs can also help retain experienced personnel. The ultimate goal must be for every paramedic in India to match the skill and confidence of the best emergency networks globally so that care quality is never dictated by geography.

Building Digital Readiness & Taking Early Action

Speed in emergencies is also about information flow. Digital tools can connect ambulances to hospitals in real time, so doctors are ready before the patient arrives. With 5G-enabled communication, vital signs can be shared instantly. This ensures hospitals prepare equipment, specialist teams, and treatment plans without delay. When combined with hotspot-based deployment, digital tracking can ensure ambulances are positioned to respond within the 10-minute target, even in high-traffic cities or remote rural belts.

Preparedness starts prior to ambulance response. If the public is aware of the warning signs of a heart attack, stroke, or serious injury, they can call for assistance earlier. Training citizens not only in CPR but also in the correct use of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and bleeding control enables them to act within the first few minutes. AEDs are appearing in more public spaces, but without citizen training, their potential remains untapped. Public medical kits located in transportation centres, stadiums, and shopping malls can have life-saving equipment available until professional rescue arrives.

Takeaway

The 10-minute response is not an aspiration, it must be our standard. India’s unique operational challenges demand a layered approach, strategic vehicle placement in mapped hotspots, data-led decision-making, global-standard training, and active citizen participation. As a nation, we must treat the 10-minute target as a non-negotiable benchmark for readiness. Policymakers, healthcare leaders and citizens must unite to create a system where every emergency receives a rapid, capable, and coordinated response. Every life saved in those first 10 minutes is proof that preparedness is the best investment we can make.

One of the first impressions we make is from a person’s oral hygiene. How clean their teeth look, if they have any mouth odor, how they eat etc. However, did you know, that your mouth health could also make your heart diseases worse? Could they be the actual reason behind what triggered your heart disease?

New research suggests that the health of your mouth might be connected to the health of your heart. A study found that the fatty clogs in our arteries, known as plaques, often contain bacteria. This hints that a slow, ongoing inflammation caused by these bacteria and our body's reaction to them could be a major factor in heart disease.

According to the American Heart Association, the germs from your mouth can affect your heart? The same bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease can travel to other parts of your body, including your heart, potentially leading to serious health problems.

What Is The Connection Between Bacteria and Clogged Arteries?

Plaques are a buildup of fatty stuff inside your arteries, and this is a long-term problem caused by inflammation. For a long time, doctors have wondered if infections play a role in this process. While early studies were promising, giving antibiotics to people with heart disease didn't seem to help much.

This new study proposes a different idea: maybe certain bacteria form a protective "biofilm" inside the plaques, where they sit quietly and cause a low-level inflammation. This biofilm might hide the bacteria from our immune system and make them resistant to antibiotics. Over time, this quiet infection could turn a stable plaque into a dangerous one that could rupture and cause a heart attack.

How Does Oral Bacteria Affect Heart Health?

A type of bacteria called viridans streptococci has been found in these plaques. These bacteria normally live in our mouths and are involved in forming dental plaque. They often get into the bloodstream during dental procedures. The study found that:

• Over half of the plaques from the people studied contained bacteria.
• The most common type of bacteria was the one from the mouth, found in about 42% of the samples.
• The presence of these mouth bacteria was directly linked to severe artery problems and death from heart disease.

The research showed that these bacteria weren't just passing through the arteries; they were setting up a little community—a biofilm—inside the plaques. This biofilm acted like a shield, protecting the bacteria from our immune system.

But when a plaque breaks open, which is what causes a heart attack, the bacteria inside the biofilm get out. This triggers a huge immune response that can weaken the plaque's outer layer, leading to a blood clot that blocks blood flow to the heart.

Is This a New Way To Fight Heart Diseases?

The study concludes that these mouth bacteria are not harmless. Instead, a hidden, long-term bacterial infection in the form of a dormant biofilm may be what turns a stable plaque into a dangerous one. This finding highlights how important inflammation is in heart disease and could lead to new ways to diagnose and prevent it in the future.