The new holy grail in the fight against Alzheimer’s, the most common neurodegenerative disease, is the ability to detect it earlier and earlier, even before symptoms appear. Two studies published this week are steps toward that possibility, and raise controversial questions as to whether early screening should be made available to the general population to look for the disease’s first molecular signs. That would allow for the identification of individuals who are at the highest risk. But it would also generate a large number of false positives that could overwhelm healthcare services.

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The death, attributed to grief, of the cartoonist and filmmaker Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis, has brought back a recurring and widely studied question in the public imagination: is it possible to die of grief? Regardless of Satrapi’s personal circumstances — which remain unknown for now — science points to yes, while reframing the romantic idea within a biological explanation. For example, intense bereavement can worsen mental health, trigger cardiovascular problems and, ultimately, raise the risk of death. Satrapi’s family said on Tuesday that she died “of sadness a little more than a year after the death of Mattias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life.” They gave no further details.

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Experiencing premature menopause can significantly increase women’s risk of cardiovascular events. Such is the conclusion of a study recently published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health, in which over 111,000 women from 26 countries participated. Backed by more than 30 academic and medical institutions, it is considered the biggest international study of the subject to date.

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Global mental health has eroded. A study published this Thursday in the journal The Lancet estimates that about 1.2 billion people — 14% of the planet — suffer from mental health problems. That is, in absolute terms, nearly double the number recorded in 1990. Experts attribute the rise in part to improved detection, but also say entrenched poverty, wars, the impact of natural disasters and disruptive events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have driven up the incidence of some disorders. Adolescents aged 15 to 19 and women of all ages are the hardest hit: they bear the highest levels, especially of anxiety and depression. According to the study, mental disorders are already the leading cause of disability worldwide, surpassing cardiovascular disease, cancer and musculoskeletal conditions.

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