Ireland and the US have a special relationship going back generations. How nice to celebrate St Patrick's day with the publication of a joint paper involving @tilda_tcd @hrsisr and @NICOLA_QUB. academic.oup.com/biomedgeron…

Good luck @CathalMcCrory1! Brilliant collaborative project between @NICOLA_QUB @CPH_QUB, @tilda_tcd and @hrsisr on a novel DNAm based measure of Physiological age 🧬

Looking forward to presenting our new epigenetic clock work @tilda_tcd @hrsisr @ce_potter at the Centre for Ageing Resilience in a Changing Environment (CARICE) conference in Kings College London. Thanks @DrClaireSteves for the invitation

The randomized trial results are in for the GLP-1 drug Exenatide for Parkinson's disease. Spoiler: NO symptomatic or disease modifying effect. Tom @foltynie @DavidStandaert and I interviewed in the @nytimes @ginakolata on the latest paper just published in @TheLancet by Tom and his colleagues. Key Points: - 'Rigorous' study randomly assigned Parkinson’s folks to take exenatide (a relative of Ozempic). - 194 folks enrolled in the UK. - "No benefit or slowing of the course of Parkinson's after 96 weeks." - "No effect on patient symptoms, no effect on brain scans, no subgroup that showed any benefit. No matter how the researchers sliced the data the results were the same." My take: “This is a sobering moment. This is a really well done study, and it came up empty-handed.” Animal studies and small human studies previously suggested benefit. Another recent smaller study of a similar drug, lixisenatide, in the @NEJM was positive. “Researchers started digging into claims databases...and asked if patients who had taken GLP-1s might be less likely to get Parkinson’s or, if they had it, would have a disease that progressed more slowly...the results were promising." "They looked at epidemiological studies. They found that people with diabetes who took GLP-1s were less likely to have Parkinson’s." When the first study came out Gina quoted me as saying we were “nibbling at the edges of disease modification.” We were however all humbled and this reminds us how important it is to do the science, and not to rush to market or judgement. Dave commented that “he wouldn’t do another study like this unless you learn what is the target...what is the biochemistry you are trying to change in the brain? How do these drugs work, anyway?” Good science means replication. Good science protects the public and in the case of GLP-1s, there can be associated weight loss and loss of muscle mass, and that is something we probably want to avoid in Parkinson's. Ab uno disce omnes – from this one example we learn (all the rest). Let's stay humble, but keep learning and advancing the science for the benefit of those w/ Parkinson's and beyond. thelancet.com/journals/lance… NYTimes article: nytimes.com/2025/02/04/healt… #Parkinsons #GLP1 #ozempic #diabetes

A privilege to listen to Sir Michael Marmot talk on inequality in the UK. Some very stark data, but a message of hope for change if the social and political will is there. @rcpsychNI @drjulespsych

Delighted to have contributed to this paper w/ @SeoyounKimPhD @calhalvorsen & Jessica Faul @umisr examining potential benefits of social participation on bio ageing. Productive summer during my @Fulbright_Eire and further replication between @NICOLA_QUB & @hrsisr coming soon 👀

The social and physical determinants of healthy ageing in rural and coastal areas point to health inequalities that are deeply connected to where we live. Something needs to change: #LetsChangeHowWeAge @spacequb @ESRCFestivalNI @ce_potter @okaneniamh @PaulHogarthCo @JamesEHennessey @Ruth_HunterQUB @HealthyAgeingUK @agenipolicy

How we plan our areas and infrastructure could impact risk of loneliness and isolation, major challenges to health and wellbeing in older age @ESRCFestivalNI @spacequb @PaulHogarthCo @Age_NI

Five main themes came out of conversations during focus groups: 1. Getting around 2. Access to health and social care 3. Activities for healthy ageing 4. Public spaces 5. Loneliness and isolation #LetsChangeHowWeAge @ce_potter @okaneniamh

Great to contribute to this morning's session at the @ESRCFestivalNI @spacequb @Age_NI @PaulHogarthCo Healthy Ageing in Rural and Coastal areas in NI report launch. Really looking forward to discussions this afternoon @CPH_QUB @QUB_ARF

How can two people have the same genetic build up, but face different health issues as we age? 🧬 It's like baking - we might have the same ingredients, but the way we prepare them will impact the outcome 🎂 How we live our lives impacts how we age @ce_potter

Researcher @ce_potter gives context for the @spacequb piece of work. “Studies have shown that rural ageing can be associated with less age acceleration. There are measurable differences between health behaviors and health outcomes based on whether a participant lives in an urban or rural area.”

We’re thrilled to be at @FermanaghHouse in Enniskillen today to launch the @spacequb report “Healthy Ageing in Rural and Coastal Areas of Northern Ireland”, which aims to answer the question of how does where we live affect how we age. #LetsChangeHowWeAge @ce_potter @okaneniamh

How does living in a rural or coastal area impact our ability to age healthily? 🌊 Sneak peek of findings from our report with @Age_NI and @PaulHogarthCo in @SluggerOToole 🔗 bit.ly/4fdGB9l

Are you a doctor, vet, or dentist in training & passionate about research and patient care? Unlock your potential with ICAT @UniOfGalway @ucddublin @tcddublin @UCC @RCSI_Irl @QUBelfast @ucdvetmed @DentalSchoolTcd @dental_cork @hrbireland @agriculture_ie @COAIrl @NDTP_HSE @_NIMDTA

My amazing friend and colleague, Dr Isabelle Scott, has just published this fantastic viewpoint in @JAMAPsych, discussing the limitations of current psychiatric nosologies for the development of clinical prediction models: tinyurl.com/2vj7jmsh

Nationwide Danish study shows that continuing electroconvulsive therapy as maintenance treatment is associated with a better outcome and lower treatment costs in patients with severe psychiatric illness. ja.ma/4dfzF9I