FDA Expert Panel on Menopause

Big News on Menopause & Hormone Therapy—FDA Panel Recommends Major Changes

This week, a panel of top medical experts convened by the FDA made headlines by calling for major changes to how hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is labeled and understood—especially for women going through menopause.

The panel urged the FDA to revise or remove the long-standing black-box warnings on estrogen therapies that have scared many women and doctors away from safe and effective treatment. In particular, low-dose vaginal estrogen was declared “categorically safe” for all women, with no evidence of systemic risk.

They also highlighted that when started near the time of menopause, systemic HRT may actually reduce heart disease, osteoporosis, and even mortality in some women. The panel called out the urgent need for better menopause education for doctors and advocated for FDA-approved testosterone options for women, too.

This could be a huge step forward in modern, evidence-based menopause care.

👉 Read more and watch the expert panel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2ZRlOivC5M

🧠 What if we could detect Alzheimer's risk years before symptoms start?

We actually can—and we’re getting better at it every day.

There are now brain health tests that look at early warning signs, like:
✔️ Abnormal tau protein
✔️ Changes in amyloid levels (Aβ42/40)
✔️ Markers of brain inflammation (like GFAP)

But what’s really exciting? Scientists are also looking at lipid markers—yes, the way our brain processes cholesterol might tell us even more.

One of these markers is called desmosterol. Lower levels of it may show up early in people at risk—especially those with a gene called APOE4, which affects how the brain handles fats and increases Alzheimer’s risk.

🧪 Not yet ready for routine clinical use, but definitely one to watch as we move toward precision neurology and earlier, more personalized interventions.

💡The takeaway? Brain changes can begin long before memory loss. The earlier we know, the more we can do.

https://lnkd.in/erThgh7f

Build and Repair

One of the most fascinating balancing acts in health and longevity is between growth and repair — between building and cleaning up.

In science speak, it’s the dance between mTOR (think muscle building, strength, growth) and AMPK (think fasting, repair, fat burning, and cellular cleanup).

We need both.

If you’re always stimulating mTOR (high-protein diets, heavy lifting, no breaks), you grow—but may miss out on longevity-promoting repair.

If you’re always activating AMPK (fasting, under-eating, lots of cardio), you clean up—but risk losing strength, muscle, and metabolic resilience.

The real magic happens when we cycle between them intentionally:

Strength train? Eat enough, recover, and let mTOR do its thing.

Rest day? Use fasting, walking, and maybe AMPK activators to encourage cellular cleanup.

This isn’t about extremes—it’s about rhythm.

Feed, fast.

Train, recover.

Build, repair.

Longevity and performance aren’t in conflict when you understand how to time the signals.

Cholesterol impacts on Brain Health

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the overlap between heart health and brain health—especially when it comes to cholesterol.

We often hear about LDL, ApoB, or Lp(a) in the context of heart disease, but not enough people are talking about their impact on cognitive decline, memory loss, or dementia risk.

What’s interesting is that elevated ApoB and Lp(a) can damage small blood vessels in the brain—long before any heart symptoms show up. And in people with genetic risk factors like APOE4 (which many don’t even know they carry), this may matter even more.

Some lipid-lowering strategies like statins and Zetia are known for heart protection, but we’re now seeing early evidence they might help preserve brain health too—especially when used wisely and paired with nutrients like DHA, CoQ10, and a diet that supports both vascular and cognitive resilience.

So if you’ve been told “your cholesterol is a little high but otherwise you’re fine,” it might be worth asking:
Is this number just a heart risk—or could it be a brain risk too?