New research has shown opt-out organ donation policies may reduce living organ donors, leaving systems overall no better supplied with lifesaving organs.

Opt-out organ donation policies which enrol everyone into post-mortem donation programmes by default unless people choose to opt out are being adopted by an increasing number of countries as a way to increase the supply of desperately needed organs.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham were part of an international team that analysed data from 24 countries from 2000 to 2023 and found that although opt-out policies did increase deceased organ donors by a small, non-significant amount of 7%, the number of living donors dropped significantly by 29%. Overall, the opposite effects of deceased and living donors on the supply of organs result in no additional benefit in donor numbers from moving to an opt-out policy.  

Nursing Professor Kyeung Mi Oh is testing how a “reminiscence therapy” app can strengthen emotional health and connection for people living with memory loss.

UT Health San Antonio’s Mays Cancer Center has been named among the nation’s leading hospitals and health systems for excellence in oncology programs, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS), represent a growing global health burden, particularly in aging populations. While traditional research has focused on neuronal mechanisms like protein misfolding and oxidative stress, recent evidence underscores the critical role of the gut-brain-immune axis in disease pathogenesis. This review synthesizes current knowledge on how gut microbiota dysbiosis influences neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity, and immune homeostasis through microbial-derived metabolites, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and bacterial amyloids. We explore the communication pathways linking the gut, immune system, and central nervous system (CNS), and highlight disease-specific mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities. Despite promising preclinical findings, significant challenges remain in establishing causality and translating these insights into clinical practice.