Dementia is the fifth leading cause of death across the globe. In the absence of curative treatments, the primary prevention of dementia through the reduction of risk factors has become a public health priority. However, definitive evidence supporting BP reduction for the primary prevention of dementia in hypertensive patients remains insufficient. Researchers from multiple universities have come together to form the China Rural Hypertension Control Project Phase-3 (CRHCP-3),which is one of the largest randomized effectiveness trials. Reducing high blood pressure substantially lowers the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment without dementia ，according to the 48-month results .These findings highlight the potential importance of widespread adoption of more intensive blood pressure control among patients with hypertension to reduce the global disease burden of dementia.

Mass General Brigham researchers are shining a powerful new light into the viral darkness with the development of Luminescence CAscade-based Sensor (LUCAS), a rapid, portable, highly-sensitive diagnostic tool for processing complex biological samples. Compared to its diagnostic predecessors, LUCAS creates 500-fold stronger and 8-fold longer-lasting bioluminescence signals, overcoming longstanding challenges faced by point-of-care diagnostics. Their study published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Self-employed women have fewer risk factors for cardiovascular disease compared to non-self-employed women, suggesting that the work environment may play a role in the development of risk factors that can lead to heart attacks.

General service in the US military may lower, rather than heighten, the risk of depression, despite the relatively high prevalence of the condition among active duty and veteran personnel, finds a large observational study published online in BMJ Military Health. The potentially protective effects of military service challenge some previous assumptions about its overall effects on mental health, suggest the researchers.