A new study published in the journal BMJ, titled Projections for prevalence of Parkinson’s disease and its driving factors in 195 countries and territories to 2050: modelling study of Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, estimated that by 2050, 25.2 million people will be living with Parkinson’s disease worldwide, marking a staggering 112 percent increase from 2021.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 8.5 million people worldwide were living with Parkinson's disease in 2019. This rise has called in for urgent need for better research for its treatment options and public health strategies to manage the disease's growing impact.

Why Is There An Increase?

The reasons are based on their findings on the data from 2021 Global Burden of Disease Study. This has been analyzed from 195 countries and territories. It found that aging and population growth were identified as the primary reasons to be projected in the rise of Parkinson's disease. There are of course other regional and national variations in the growth rates.

“By 2050, Parkinson’s disease will have become a greater public health challenge for patients, their families, caregivers, communities, and society,” the study states.

What Are The Regional Differences?

The study projects that East Asia will have the highest number of Parkinson’s disease cases in 2050, with an estimated 10.9 million people affected. South Asia follows closely with 6.8 million projected cases. Meanwhile, Western sub-Saharan Africa is expected to experience the largest percentage increase in cases—rising by an astonishing 292 percent from 2021. In contrast, Central and Eastern Europe will see the smallest increase, at 28 percent.

The authors also noted that Parkinson’s disease prevalence is rising more sharply in men and in moderately developed countries, particularly in East Asia. The exact reasons for this disparity are still being explored, but potential factors include environmental exposures, lifestyle changes, and genetic predisposition.

ALSO READ: Common Parkinson's Drug Tied to Risky Sexual Behavior, Say Patients

What Is Parkinson's Disease?

It is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects movements and causes symptoms such as tremors, muscle stiffness, slow movements, and balance difficulties. This happens when nerve cells in the brain stop producing dopamine, which is a chemical important for coordinating movement.

While the exact cause of Parkinson’s remains unknown, researchers have identified several risk factors, including genetic mutations, exposure to toxins, and head injuries. Age remains the most significant risk factor, with most cases occurring in individuals over 60.

Parkinson's Disease affects various brain regions but the primary symptoms arise from the degeneration of neurons in the substantia nigra, a region near the brain's base. This area is crucial for producing dopamine, a chemical messenger essential for smooth and purposeful movement. Research indicates that by the time Parkinson's symptoms become evident, patients have typically lost 60 to 80% or more of these dopamine-producing neurons.

Additionally, individuals with Parkinson’s disease experience a reduction in nerve endings that produce norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter responsible for regulating many involuntary bodily functions, such as heart rate and blood pressure. This loss may account for some non-movement-related symptoms of Parkinson’s, such as fatigue and fluctuations in blood pressure.

Parkinson’s disease also involves the presence of Lewy bodies—abnormal deposits of the protein alpha-synuclein within affected brain cells. While the exact role of Lewy bodies in Parkinson’s is still unclear, some research suggests that disruptions in the cell’s protein disposal system may lead to the accumulation of harmful protein levels, eventually causing cell death. Other studies propose that these protein clumps could contribute to the degeneration of neurons in the disease.

The terrifying crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad killing 241 people with just one British passenger surviving has sent shockwaves around the world. Although flying is statistically one of the safest ways to travel, such traumatic incidents can revive old terrors in even the most experienced of travelers. To the 25 million Americans who already suffer from aerophobia, the technical name for the fear of flying, this awful news might be more than just upsetting. It might be debilitating.

Mental health experts caution that such events can amplify already-existing anxiety, fueling catastrophic thinking and resulting in severe avoidance of travel. And yet, despite the fear, there are ways to deal with flight anxiety that are evidence-based—and even get over it.

What is Aerophobia?

Aerophobia refers to a severe, irrational fear of flight. While some may equate it with fear of a plane crash, most individuals afflicted by the condition actually fear more the sense of intense panic that grips them before or in transit. This encompasses fear of confinement in an airplane, losing control of one's flight, or experiencing a panic attack at altitude.

"Aviophobia or aerophobia is very prevalent," states Clinical Psychologist Akansha Tayal. "Prevalence rates are 10% to 35%, and most people feel very uncomfortable, particularly when faced with reports of aviation accidents. The fear itself is usually irrational and disproportionate to the real danger posed."

Symptoms tend to occur across three areas:

Physical: Palpitations of the heart, sweating, dizziness, nausea.

Emotional: Irritability, restlessness, overwhelming fear.

Cognitive: Catastrophic thinking, obsessive worry, avoidance activities.

Even as frightening as crashes might appear, aviation safety has only enhanced. According to a 2023 analysis by MIT scientists, the probability of being killed in a commercial airline accident around the world is approximately 1 in 13.7 million. Even so, the public eye and emotional intensity of aviation disasters often overshadow their statistical infrequency when it comes to those suffering with aerophobia.

This psychological effect—availability bias—is the reason why tragic headlines seem so close to home and threateningly personal. "Our brains are hardwired to respond to threat cues," says Tayal. "Even an unlikely event will feel like a personal risk when it's sensationalized or emotionally jarring."

How to Recognize the Signs of Flight Anxiety?

If you're avoiding travel, unwilling to get on airplanes, or preoccupied with air safety, you might have clinical aerophobia. In addition to discomfort, you might experience:

• Panic attacks during or prior to flying
• Flight avoidance media
• Overresearching crash records or airline safety
• Repetitive behaviors (reviewing weather forecasts, switching seats)
• Interference with sleep prior to departure or illness due to tension

Expert-Backed Strategies to Overcome Aerophobia

While aerophobia can feel paralyzing, it’s highly treatable. Experts recommend a mix of self-help techniques and professional interventions.

1. Cognitive Restructuring

Challenge irrational fears by learning facts about flight safety. Avoid sensational news and instead focus on what you’re looking forward to. Keep a mental list of safe flight experiences.

2. Relaxation Techniques

Practice slow breathing with a soothing word such as "peace." It reduces the heart rate and quenches stress hormone activity. Mindfulness techniques and progressive muscle relaxation can also keep your body connected.

3. Cope Ahead Visualization

Rehearse a peaceful flight experience in your mind—from getting on the plane to arrival. Visualization can get your brain thinking about flying as an ordinary, safe thing.

4. Use Distraction Tools

Crossword puzzles, backward counting, reading, or soothing videos can break the worry loop mid-flight.

5. Support System

Travel with a supportive friend and inform them of your triggers. Advance briefing with sympathetic airline personnel can also smooth pre-flight anxiety.

6. Gradual Exposure Therapy

Begin with short flights or utilize flight simulators to rewire gradually, exposing yourself to incrementally longer flights. Safe repetition is shown to decrease sensitivity over time.

7. Professional Assistance is Effective

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure Therapy are gold-standard treatments. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Virtual Reality Therapy are increasingly proving to be effective treatments.

"Any psychologist can walk the person through CBT in order to neutralize irrational thoughts," Tayal says. "For full avoidance, we do graded exposure, EMDR, or virtual reality. Relaxation training, mindfulness, and grounding are all important too."

Coping Tools to Practice on the Ground

Grounding Techniques: Utilize the 5 senses to remain engaged in the moment.

Mindfulness: Practice non-judgmental attention to your thoughts and bodily sensations.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Release tension to decrease physiological arousal.

Professional Monitoring: When anxiety arises from underlying trauma or generalized anxiety disorder, a psychiatrist may assist in regulating underlying causes.

Can Aerophobia Come Back After Treatment?

Yes—but long-term results are promising. Research indicates that individuals treated with CBT tend to sustain outcomes for three years or longer. Occasional therapy "booster shots" or regular practice of coping techniques can ward off relapse.

How to Prevent and Manage Aerophobia?

There is no guaranteed way to prevent aerophobia, but there are some habits of daily living that can definitely minimize its effect. Steering clear of such stimulants as alcohol or caffeine prior to a flight will keep anxiety under control. Open discussion of your apprehension with intimate family members, friends, or a support group is also crucial, as it helps lessen the emotional load. Shying away from solitary confinement is equally crucial—sharing space with people who are going through the same thing can provide reassurance and confirmation. Finally, remaining attuned to your own mental health and being proactive in seeking assistance early, particularly if symptoms persist or intensify, can make a tangible difference in dealing with flight-related anxiety.

Flight anxiety exists, and tragedies such as the Air India crash can be daunting but you are not alone, and your fear is not something to be ashamed of. With appropriate tools, techniques, and support, the skies don't have to be so frightening.

Ananda Lewis, celebrated TV host known for her authenticity and warmth, passed away at 52 after a long and brave battle with breast cancer. Once a beloved face on BET’s Teen Summit and MTV’s Total Request Live, she used her platform to engage young audiences with pressing social issues and celebrity interviews that left a mark.

A Powerful Presence on Screen

Lewis first came into the spotlight through BET’s Teen Summit, where she led candid conversations on challenges facing Black youth. Her interviews with figures like Kobe Bryant, Tupac Shakur, and Hillary Clinton earned her critical acclaim, including an NAACP Image Award.

In 1997, she joined MTV, becoming a key voice on MTV Live, Hot Zone, and TRL. Though her move sparked criticism, she remained unapologetic. “Growth is necessary,” she told the Associated Press. “You’ve got to get out there and live your life.”

She later launched The Ananda Lewis Show in 2001, a daytime talk show aimed at real conversations, even if it followed a familiar format. The show lasted one season, but Lewis remained a powerful presence, later joining The Insider as a correspondent.

Breast Cancer Journey That She Shared With The World

In 2020, Lewis revealed that she had been living with stage 3 breast cancer since 2018—later advancing to stage 4. Her diagnosis came after years of ignoring persistent inflammation linked to mastitis from breastfeeding. A lump discovered in her right breast led to a biopsy, confirming it was invasive carcinoma.

Instead of following a conventional medical path, Lewis chose alternative treatments. “I wanted to understand why my body created cancer and how to change the terrain,” she explained. She focused on diet changes, stress management, detoxing, and holistic therapies like high-dose vitamin C, acupuncture, and cryoablation.

A Different Kind of Battle

Lewis moved to Arizona in 2020 for 16 weeks of intensive integrative treatment. Her cancer reduced from stage 3 to 2 and was no longer in her lymph nodes. But the journey wasn’t without hardship—financial struggles and insurance lapses made consistent treatment difficult.

In early 2023, a scan showed the tumor had grown slightly, but it had not spread. She underwent electrical ablation in Mexico, which unfortunately didn’t succeed. By October 2023, a PET scan confirmed the cancer had advanced to stage 4. Still, Lewis continued treatment and saw significant improvement by January 2024.

Lewis was candid about her journey, using her story to raise awareness about early detection and holistic health. “Stage 4 doesn’t mean the end,” she said. “It means I have to do more.”

Her message to women was clear: be proactive. Prioritize mammograms, manage stress, sleep well, and adopt a clean lifestyle. “If I had known what I know now ten years ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up here,” she said.

“I want to look back and say—I did that exactly how I wanted to,” Lewis reflected. Her legacy is one of resilience, wisdom, and an enduring belief in the right to choose one’s own path—even through cancer.

In a revolutionary medical breakthrough, scientists have identified that a five-minute phone test will soon be able to detect early onset of Huntington's disease—a rare, genetic brain disorder—long before symptoms become visibly apparent. With digital health technologies revolutionizing the future of diagnosis, the new app test offers promise of quicker, more convenient, and highly accurate tracking, all from the comfort of the patient's own home. Wondering how your phone could be part of the future of neurology? Here's what a new study says.

Scientists have created a smartphone application that can identify early signs of motor symptoms of Huntington's disease within five minutes. The research, published in the journal Brain, is presented here with the explanation of how simple devices used on a daily basis can become big medical devices to analyze a subject's neurological well-being in real time from the comfort of his or her home. This innovation is especially valuable considering the scarcity and intricacy of Huntington's disease (HD), a genetically inherited disease in which there is, as of yet, no cure.

How the Smartphone Test Works?

The test developed is composed of five smartphone tasks assessing factors like finger tapping, balance, and involuntary movements. These activities together create a Huntington's Disease Digital Motor Score (HDDMS), a sensitive measure that can identify minimal changes in motor function that could occur before more evident clinical signs. As Ed Wild, Professor of Neurology at University College London's Huntington's Disease Center, points out, the fact that motor impairment can be measured in only five minutes at home has the potential to change the way clinical trials are carried out and disease progression followed.

Huntington's disease is a genetically inherited condition that leads to progressive degeneration of nerve cells within the brain, particularly in areas responsible for movement, cognition, and emotion. The symptoms usually occur between ages 30 and 50 and gradually worsen. In the early stages, there can be involuntary jerking or contorting movements (chorea), clumsiness, imbalance, and mood swings. When the disease progresses, patients become severely disabled from a motor standpoint, develop loss of cognitive abilities, and have psychiatric disturbances.

Conventional diagnostic approaches such as neurological assessment and imaging studies can be costly, time-consuming, and not as sensitive when identifying early-stage symptoms. The HDDMS tool is a cost-friendly, easily accessible alternative that could result in improved disease management through earlier intervention.

What Sets the HDDMS Test Unique and Accurate?

In contrast to traditional clinical evaluations that entail patients visiting specialized clinics, the HDDMS may be taken on a smartphone in under five minutes. The measure was created using information from more than 1,000 participants in four independent studies and is among the most widely validated digital tests for HD to date.

The investigators discovered that the HDDMS was almost twice as effective as conventional techniques in detecting significant changes in motor function. Such accuracy is important in rare conditions such as HD, where clinical trials have often been hindered by limited sample sizes and heavy participant burden.

With a number of hopeful treatments for Huntington's disease being developed, the need to measure disease progression accurately has never been greater. Integrating the HDDMS into clinical trials could make the research process more efficient by cutting the number of participants needed and the time needed to determine the effectiveness of a drug.

Professor Wild highlighted that more sensitive equipment is essential in rare disease investigation, where the limited patient base means it is challenging to set large-scale trials. He added the HDDMS provides a "more meaningful and convenient" means of assessing motor function than standard in-clinic tests.

What is Huntington's Disease?

Huntington's disease is a hereditary, always fatal disease due to a mutation in the gene encoding a protein named huntingtin. The mutation results in an abnormal repetition of the DNA sequence CAG (cytosine, adenine, guanine), causing brain cells to degenerate over time. Every child of a parent with HD has a 50% possibility of inheriting the defective gene.

Symptoms are:

• Chorea (involuntary jerking motions)
• Cognitive impairment
• Personality and mood changes
• Trouble with walking, talking, and swallowing
• Insomnia and weight loss

With time, people with HD become unable to take care of themselves. The disease is eventually fatal, and no cure is available. Medications can be used to control chorea, depression, and anxiety, however.

Diagnosis is usually made through neurological examination, genetic testing, and imaging tests like MRIs or CT scans. Although these work well in establishing the disease, they are frequently unable to identify early signs, especially minor motor dysfunctions.

Treatment is mainly supportive. Medications like tetrabenazine and deuterabenazine are employed to manage movement disorders, and antipsychotic medications can be given for psychiatric abnormalities. Genetic counseling is highly advised for HD-affected families.

Although the HDDMS has been impressive in its accuracy in initial trials, scientists recognize that additional studies are necessary to assess its ability to forecast long-term functional decline. Additional research will also investigate how the tool can be introduced into standard clinical practice and patient follow-up.

If successful, smartphone-based HDDMS will be the cornerstone of the global battle against Huntington's disease, providing an affordable and scalable means of monitoring one of the most complicated neurological diseases in the arsenal of medicine.