Until law, GLP-1 drugs were used to treat diabetes, obesity and even the recent evidences suggest that it could as well be used to treat chronic kidney problems. There is yet another research, published in JAMA Psychiatry on February 25, titled Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial that explores if GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide reduce alcohol consumption and cravings in adults with alcohol use disorder.

What Do Studies Say?

The research was conducted over a period of 9 weeks, where in the randomized clinical trial, the participants who were administered semaglutide, it led to reductions in some but not all measures of weekly consumptions. It also reduced weekly alcohol and craving related to placebo, and also led to a greater relative reduction in cigarettes per day.

The research also found that weekly injections of semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in weight loss drugs like Wegovy also helped reduce cravings in people with alcohol use disorder.

The lead author Christian Hendershot said that these findings will help in developing new approaches to treat alcoholism. "Two drugs currently approved to reduce alcohol consumption aren't widely used. The popularity of Ozempic and other GLP-1 receptor agonists increases the chances of broad adoption of these treatments for alcohol use disorder," said Hendershot in news release by the University of Southern California's Institute for Addiction Research, where he is the director.

The study is government-funded research and was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health.

How Was The Study Conducted?

The study was small, and took in account for only 48 adults over two months, thus experts say that it is not yet clear how safe these drugs are for people who do not need to lose weight. Though the results do add up with the evidence form animal studies on drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy on how it helps manage cravings, not just for food, but also for tobacco and alcohol. Scientists are also studying these drugs on smokers, people with opioid addiction and cocaine users.

Co-author Dr Klara Klein of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who treats people with obesity and diabetes said, "This is such promising data. And we need more of it. We frequently will hear that once people start these medications that their desire to drink is very reduced, if not completely abolished."

Why Does It Work So Well Against Alcoholism?

The GLP-1 receptor agonists work by mimicking hormones GLP-1 in the gut and brain that regulates appetite and feelings of fullness. This response is what helps one lose weight, and what helps one curb their craving for alcohol. These drugs that mimic the functioning of your brain, which is responsible to tell your body when to stop consuming, are the same hormones that tell your body about other kinds of consumptions, including alcohol. Therefore by consuming the weight loss drugs one can treat alcohol use disorder.

However, the researchers have pointed out on the limited data on the research and have suggested to continue using the three approved drugs by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, namely, Disulfiram, Naltrexone, and Acamprosate to treat alcohol use disorder until large studies confirm these findings.

Russia today claimed that its scientists have developed a novel vaccine against a new Ebola strain.

According to Russian Health Minister Murashko, "the vaccine may also protect against the rare Bundibugyo strain linked to the current outbreak in the DR Congo".

It is because the "genetic similarity between this virus variant and the vaccine strain is about 60-70%," Alexander Gintsburg, scientific director of the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, was quoted as saying GxP News.

The vaccine, for which "clinical trials would take place, as per Anne Ancia, the WHO’s representative in the DRC, comes as a hope against the Bundibugyo strain, with no vaccine or antiviral available.

The strain has so far caused over 900 cases and more than 200 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Earlier this week, Russia’s consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor announced it would send specialists to Africa to help fight the Ebola outbreak, GxP News reported.

The country noted that it will also supply Russian-developed diagnostic tests.

Health Minister Murashko said he and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had discussed the supply of Russian vaccines to the DRC and Uganda in the context of the Ebola outbreak.

“Specialists are already deploying to provide assistance. We discussed this with Dr Tedros, the head of the World Health Organisation,” Murashko said.

Gintsburg believes that "medical workers in outbreak zones should be vaccinated with the existing vaccine, even though no targeted efficacy tests against this strain have been conducted".

He also stressed the need to develop a separate vaccine against Bundibugyo. However, the institute does not yet have a sample of this pathogen.

“I believe the existing vaccine may confer immunity against this pathogen, though we have not tested it. In the absence of other means, it should be used,” he told Izvestia, a Russian Newspaper.

Ebola Vaccine From Developers Of COVID Shot

Scientists at Oxford University are also developing a new vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within two to three months to help tackle the Ebola emergency.

The vaccine uses the same technology the team developed during the COVID pandemic. It is a highly adjustable technology - known as ChAdOx1 - that can be quickly tweaked so it works against different infections.

Another separate experimental Bundibugyo vaccine is also in development, but it is expected to take six to nine months for any dose of that to be ready for testing, BBC reported.

Ebola: An Antiviral On The Anvil

The WHO has also recommended prioritizing two monoclonal antibodies for clinical trials.

"We are also recommending the evaluation of the antiviral obeldesivir in a clinical trial as post-exposure prophylaxis for people who are high-risk contacts," the WHO chief said.

This clinical trial is now being developed jointly with Africa CDC and the Collaborative Open Research Consortium on filoviruses, he noted.

How Ebola Spreads

Ebola disease is a severe viral hemorrhagic fever with a high mortality rate.

Ebola spreads through:

• Direct contact with infected blood or bodily fluids

• Contact with contaminated surfaces or medical equipment

• Unsafe caregiving exposure

• Traditional burial practices involving direct contact

• Certain zoonotic animal exposures.

Symptoms to watch for includes:

• fever,

• weakness,

• headache,

• muscle pain,

• vomiting,

• diarrhea,

• sore throat,

• unexplained bleeding.

India's southern state of Karnataka has reported a suspected case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in a 28-year-old woman who returned from Uganda, which is currently experiencing an Ebola outbreak.

The woman who arrived in Bengaluru from Kampala, Uganda, on May 23, was suspected of infection after developing mild symptoms, including body ache, health officials said..

She was shifted from a hotel to the state-run Epidemic Diseases Hospital on May 26, 2026, according to The Hindu. Her test results are awaited.

Her blood samples and other required specimens were collected today and sent to a specialized laboratory in Pune for detailed testing. Health department officials are currently awaiting the medical report, which is expected by Wednesday.

Authorities said only after the laboratory results arrive can it be officially confirmed whether the woman is infected with the Ebola virus.

Ebola Virus Disease has caused over 900 cases and more than 200 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, as per the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The global health agency has also determined that the deadly outbreak is a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)”.

“With air travel being common and the outbreak already having spread to multiple countries in Africa, it is entirely possible for someone who had contact with a person with Ebola virus disease to get on a flight to another country,” Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Co-Chairman of the National IMA COVID Task Force and Past President of the Indian Medical Association, Cochin, told HealthandMe.

“All patients with Ebola disease may not know they have it — as the initial symptoms are nonspecific such as fever and body ache. In addition, scarcity of the exact PCR test to diagnose the latest Bundibugyo Ebola virus in Africa makes it possible to miss it entirely,” he added.

India’s Preparedness

The suspected case comes as India has been ramping up screening and surveillance measures across the country, especially at airports and seaports.

Recently, the Karnataka government also issued guidelines for passengers arriving from Ebola-affected countries. As part of the precautionary measures, travelers entering Bengaluru from such nations are required to undergo a 21-day quarantine period.

People showing symptoms have been advised to immediately report to the nearest hospital. The Health Department has also directed strict surveillance and monitoring of suspected cases under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

Also read: WHO Chief Warns Ebola Epidemic ‘Outpacing Us’; India Intensifies Screening At Airports

Officials have strengthened coordination at airports and other entry points to monitor international passengers. Separate quarantine and isolation facilities, along with referral ambulance services, have also been kept ready.

The Health Department has additionally instructed hospitals to enhance infection-control measures and provide special training to healthcare workers to handle any possible emergency situation.

The country has also issued a travel advisory for citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan.

How Ebola Spreads

Ebola spreads through:

• Direct contact with infected blood or bodily fluids
• Contact with contaminated surfaces or medical equipment
• Unsafe caregiving exposure
• Traditional burial practices involving direct contact
• Certain zoonotic animal exposures.

• fever,
• weakness,
• headache,
• muscle pain,
• vomiting,
• diarrhea,
• sore throat,
• unexplained bleeding.

People suffering from shingles after COVID-19 infection may be at a higher risk of neurological conditions such as Bell’s palsy, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), as well as Myasthenia gravis (MG), according to a large study.

Shingles (also known as herpes zoster) is a painful condition caused by the varicella zoster virus that lives in the nervous system of people who have had chicken pox.

The study, led by researchers from Taiwan and Australia, showed that Bell’s palsy risk increased early after shingles. At the same time, GBS and MG showed delayed increases emerging more than a year later.

GBS, Bell’s palsy, and MG are all neurological conditions that cause muscle weakness, but they affect different parts of the nervous system. While GBS and MG cause widespread muscle weakness, Bell’s palsy is strictly localized to the face.

The findings, published in International Journal of Medical Sciences, highlighted “the need for symptom-based neurological awareness during both early and delayed post-infectious periods,” the researchers said.

What Did The Study Find?

Also read: ‘Heat Dome’ Triggering Record-Breaking May Temperatures In France, UK, Spain

During the COVID-19 pandemic, shingles was reported to occur in people with COVID-19 and in COVID-19 vaccine recipients; shingles vaccination programs were also disrupted.

The increased incidence of shingles following COVID-19 suggests a period of immune dysregulation, but the associated long-term neuro-immunological risks remain unclear.

To better understand this, researchers from Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital and Queensland University of Technology used electronic health records and compared COVID-19 survivors with individuals with and without shingles reactivation over a three-year follow-up period.

The results showed that shingles reactivation after COVID-19 was associated with a significantly increased three-year risk of several neurological disorders.

• The risk of Bell’s palsy increased early and remained consistently elevated throughout the study period.
• Patients showed more than three times the risk compared to those without herpes reactivation.
• The risks of GBS and MG also increased, although these associations appeared later, emerging after the first year of follow-up.

The study suggests that post-COVID shingles "may serve as a clinically relevant marker of neuro-immunological vulnerability, particularly among individuals with metabolic comorbidities", the team said.

Importantly, the researchers noted that "COVID-19 vaccination was not linked to an increased risk of these neurological outcomes".

US FDA Blocked Study Showing COVID And Shingles Vaccines Are Safe

Read More: Donald Trump To Undergo 3rd Annual Medical Check-up Today

Meanwhile, in recent news, officials at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) blocked the publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against COVID-19 and shingles in recent months, according to a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

While the studies found serious side effects to be very rare, the HHS said they were pulled over concerns about their conclusions. These withdrawals aim to limit access to vaccines, reflecting broader policy changes under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a staunch critic of vaccines.

“The studies were withdrawn because the authors drew broad conclusions that were not supported by the underlying data. The FDA acted to protect the integrity of its scientific process and ensure that any work associated with the agency meets its high standards,” said Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the HHS, which oversees the FDA, in an email to Reuters.

“The design of that study fell outside the agency’s purview,” Nixon said on rejecting the shingles vaccine.