Disease X

This was the name given in 2018 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to a disease which, although not yet known (and perhaps not even in existence), could cause a serious epidemic or pandemic in the future. 

Barely two years later, what could be considered the first example of this so-called ‘Disease X’ arrived: COVID-19. 

Since then, the constant barrage of headlines about new pathogens, alerts and outbreaks (avian flu, monkeypox, Ebola, hantavirus, etc.) has once again fuelled fears in view of the inevitable question: ‘Are we on the brink of a new pandemic?’. This is followed by an attempt at reassurance: ‘But… after everything we’ve learned from COVID-19,

Lemon water; ginger, turmeric and cinnamon ‘shots’; a Mediterranean diet with matcha tea and kombucha; sleep routines and daily exercise; intermittent fasting; ice baths; even red light devices and walking barefoot to reconnect with the earth.

These are just a few from the long list of anti-inflammatory strategies that seems to be growing by the day. They promise to ward off not only cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer but also more everyday complaints such as tiredness, stress and general malaise. In recent years, inflammation has moved outside the laboratory to take its place in public discourse as one of the most recurring – and perhaps most promising – concepts in the health debate.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that progressively destroys the neurons responsible for movement. As it advances, patients gradually lose their ability to move, speak, eat and even breathe.

There’s currently no cure and the available treatments only manage to slow the progression of the disease slightly. Developing new therapies is therefore one of the major challenges facing biomedical research today.

With this aim in mind, the team led by Ana Martínez and Carmen Gil at CSIC’s Margarita Salas Biological Research Centre has spent years studying TDP-43, a protein that’s altered in over 97% of ALS patients and is closely linked to the disease’s progression.

Alcohol consumption has a considerable impact on health. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 2.6 million deaths worldwide can be attributed to alcohol consumption each year. Furthermore, an estimated 400 million people suffer from alcohol use disorders. Of these, 209 million live with alcohol dependence.

In Spain, alcohol is the second leading preventable cause of death, accounting for around 4% of annual deaths and with a particularly high impact among young people.

Alcohol consumption is associated with the development of a wide range of diseases affecting the liver, pancreas and gastrointestinal system, as well as cardiovascular and neurological disorders and various types of cancer including breast, throat and mouth.

There’s a misconception that poor sleep forms an inevitable part of ageing or of times such as pregnancy and perimenopause, or that we can cut back on sleep to boost productivity, without realising that chronic sleep deprivation compromises our health.

Sleeping well isn’t just about resting the body: it’s a basic, essential need that protects our brain. Through the expert insight of Dr. Ana Fernández Arcos, a neurologist and researcher at the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), we explore how the quality of our sleep today acts as a barrier against cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s.

Sleep: an active process of self-care

Far from being a passive state,