In the News

AARP Bulletin quoted Carin Kreutzer in an article on how age-related loss of appetite can affect health in older adults and tips to address it. Kreutzer said a decreasing appetite can start a “domino effect” of health issues: “Loss of appetite leads to loss of weight. That leads to loss of muscle mass, which increases your risk of frailty, disease and loss of energy.”

Daily Trojan quoted Paul Nash in an article on the 2026 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event hosted by the National Center on Elda Abuse.Nash said the issue of ageism is compounded by the fact that people are often unaware that ageism is a serious issue or how to recognize it.

“If I ran down the street and I started saying something sexist or racist, somebody would challenge me. But if I said something ageist, people might just laugh,” Nash said. “How many birthday cards do you see that make racist jokes, as opposed to how many do you see that make ageist jokes?”

Medscape spoke to Pinchas Cohen about the popularity of peptide supplementation despite the lack of rigorous evidence supporting the practice. He noted that he has testified before the FDA multiple times as an expert on other drugs, including human growth hormone, but no one has asked him to present on MOTS-c so far. If they did, he would advise against FDA deregulation at this time and instead appeal for research funding and accelerated clinical trials, he added.

MDLinx quoted Sean Curran regarding a non-USC study investigating how the drugs rapamycin, dapagliflozin, and semaglutide affect aging. “In non-human studies, medications have been used to extend longevity across organisms, from simple yeast cells to more complex mammals,” Curran said. “Although this is the question everyone wants the answer to, perhaps the more important question we should be asking is, ‘To what extent can a medication influence health across the lifespan, including in older adults?’ Maximizing the health, especially at older ages, is far more important than extending longevity.”

Los Angeles Times quoted Susan Enguidanos in a column on hospice fraud. “The biggest complaint,” she said of consumer reviews of hospice organizations on Google and Yelp was that hospice staff didn’t show up as much as expected. “They said they would come,” Enguidanos said, paraphrasing a typical response, “and they just didn’t show up.” The column was widely republished, including in Yahoo, AOL, and MSN.

PsyPost featured a study by Roberto Vicinanza and Pinchas Cohen on how adhering to a Mediterranean Diet can increase the amount of mitochondrial microproteins humanin and SHMOOSE.

U.S. News & World Report (via HealthDay) featured a clinical trial led by Francesca Falzarano and collaborators at Weill Cornell Medicine evaluating how a web app could promote reminiscence therapy between dementia patients and their caregivers. “The idea is that getting them talking about those memories will promote the relationship between the person with dementia and the caregiver, which can improve numerous outcomes,” Falzarano said. News Medical, Cornell Chronicle, and others also featured the study.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency featured Pinchas Cohen, his research discovering mitochondrial peptides, and how his team gave many of them Yiddish-sounding names. The article noted Cohen’s Jewish and Israeli heritage and mentioned the microproteins SHLP (pronounced “schlep”), SHMOOSE, and MENTSH, as well as unpublished peptides NOSH and PUTZ. Each is a legitimate scientific acronym, carefully reverse-engineered to land on a Yiddish word. “I always give the students and postdocs the chance to name the project they’re working on,” Cohen said. “But I get veto power. They’ve already learned that the best way to get me to say yes is to come up with something really cute.”

Cohen also discussed the therapeutic potential of mitochondrial microproteins and the need for further research, especially as peptides gain popularity as off-label supplements. “These are potent biological molecules,” he said. “They should be used under the supervision of a physician, and when they’re being produced in reliable manufacturing facilities — most of which is not happening right now.” The article also appeared in the Times of Israel, Forward, Jewish Post & News (Canada), Cleveland Jewish News, Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and others.

Medical Xpress featured a study coauthored by Berenice Benayoun on how a misdirected immune response may be the culprit behind disorders involving rapid aging. The article also appeared in MSN.