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.

A recent AI analysis of more than 400,000 Reddit posts about popular GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound revealed several side effects that researchers may not have fully recorded in clinical trials.

The study, published in Nature Health, analysed 410,198 Reddit posts from May 2019 through June 2025. Researchers identified 67,008 people who self-reported using semaglutide or tirzepatide, with 43.5% reporting at least one side effect.

The findings do not prove that the drugs caused the symptoms. Instead, they did identify patterns in patients' own accounts that may need further investigation.

What Side Effects Did The AI Find?

As expected, the analysis found gastrointestinal symptoms in majority. Among GLP-1 users who reported side effects, the most common were:

• Nausea: 36.9%
• Fatigue: 16.7%
• Vomiting: 16.3%
• Constipation: 15.3%
• Diarrhoea: 12.6%

Researchers also found abdominal pain, reduced appetite, acid reflux, bloating, headache and dizziness among commonly reported symptoms.

But two groups of symptoms stood out as they may be less represented in existing clinical-trial data and drug information. They are reproductive symptoms and complaints associated with temperature.

Nearly 4% of people who reported side effects described reproductive symptoms, including irregular menstrual cycles, bleeding between periods and heavy bleeding.

GLP-1 drug users also described chills, feeling unusually cold, hot flashes and fever-like sensations.

Also read: GLP-1 Drugs Mounjaro, Zepbound Show Promise For 1 Billion With Sleep Apnea

Effects Of Ozempic Or Mounjaro On Menstrual Cycles

The study was based on self-reported social-media posts, so researchers cannot establish whether semaglutide or tirzepatide directly caused menstrual changes, chills or hot flashes.

Other factors may also influence these symptoms. People taking GLP-1 drugs may experience substantial weight loss, changes in food intake, metabolic changes or other health changes that could effect these symptoms.

The researchers therefore describe these findings as safety signals, rather than confirmed adverse effects.

Also read: Are GLP-1 Drugs Actually Changing Asthma Biology, Or Are People Simply Having Fewer Attack Due To Weight Loss?

Reliability Of Reddit Analysis

Clinical trials help in determining whether a medication is effective. They also help in identifying its potential side-effects. But once millions of people begin using a drug, patients may describe symptoms in everyday settings that were uncommon or not specifically investigated during trials.

Reddit provides researchers with a huge data collection of real-world experiences. AI can quickly scan hundreds of thousands of posts for recurring symptom patterns that would be extremely difficult to identify manually.

However, Reddit users are not representative of all people taking GLP-1 drugs. The researchers noted that the population studied was younger, more likely to be male and disproportionately based in the US.

The study does not provide evidence that people should stop Ozempic, Mounjaro or other GLP-1 medications. Instead, it shows how AI-assisted analysis of patient experiences could help in addition to traditional drug-safety trials and monitoring.

Common symptoms of GLP-1 medications remain nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation as they are backed by extensive research and clinical trials.

The newly highlighted symptoms, particularly menstrual and temperature-related changes, need clinical research to determine whether they are genuinely caused by the drugs.

Globally renowned beauty and haircare brand L’Oréal is in the midst of a new legal battle in the US over allegations that it did not warn consumers possible potential cancer risks linked with its chemical hair-relaxer products.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against L’Oréal USA, its parent company and SoftSheen, accusing the companies of selling chemical hair relaxers without disclosing alleged links to ovarian and uterine cancers. Arizona is the first US state to bring such a lawsuit against L’Oréal over the products.

The lawsuit alleges that the products were primarily marketed to African American women and, in some cases, children.

The state is seeking damages and penalties, including warnings if the brand wants to keep selling the products.

What Is The Concern With Hair Relaxers?

Chemical hair relaxers are highly alkaline products designed to permanently straighten textured hair. They work by breaking and reforming the disulfide bonds in keratin, which gives hair its natural shape.

According to the Arizona lawsuit, some chemical relaxer products contain substances including phthalates, parabens, and other chemicals classified as probable carcinogens.

The complaint states that repeated use can increase exposure as these products are applied directly onto the scalp.

However, the presence of a potentially hazardous chemical does not establish that using a particular product will cause cancer. Cancer risk depends on factors including the substance, dose, duration, and route of exposure.

Also read: Prostate Cancer: What's Fact, What's Fiction

Earlier Study Flags Same Concerns

The legal action follows years of scientific research that examined links between chemical hair relaxers and cancers related to hormones.

A 2022 study from the US National Institutes of Health found that women who reported frequent use of chemical hair-straightening products had more than twice the risk of developing uterine cancer compared with women who did not use them frequently.

The researchers, however, found an association, not proof that hair relaxers directly caused these cancers.

Other research has also investigated possible links with ovarian and breast cancers, adding to concerns about repeated exposure to chemicals may cause serious health conditions.

Also read: Beyond Vaccines And Nutrition: Why Childhood Cancer Needs A Wider Conversation

What Does L’Oréal Say?

According to Reuters, L’Oréal has rejected the allegations. A spokesperson for L’Oréal USA said that the company is confident in the safety of its products and considers that the claims lack legal and scientific merit.

The company said, “L’Oréal’s highest priority is the health and well-being of all our consumers. Our products are subject to a rigorous scientific evaluation of their safety by experts who also ensure that we strictly follow all regulations in every market in which we operate. We are confident in the safety of SoftSheen-Carson’s products and believe the allegations made in this lawsuit have neither legal nor scientific merit.”

L’Oréal also disputes the research underlying the litigation, saying the study cited by plaintiffs did not establish a causal connection between hair-relaxer use and the alleged health conditions and called for further research.

The Arizona lawsuit comes amid more than 12,000 similar lawsuits consolidated in a federal multidistrict litigation in Chicago involving L’Oréal, Revlon and other manufacturers. Trials in that litigation may start in 2027.

The current evidence does not mean that everyone who has used a chemical hair relaxer will develop cancer.

But repeated use is an area of ongoing scientific investigation. People who use these products can reduce unnecessary exposure by following product instructions carefully, avoiding application to irritated or damaged skin, and considering less frequent use or non-chemical alternatives.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) says its worst-ever Ebola outbreak has passed its peak and is now under control. But the assessment comes as the virus continues to spread geographically, with the outbreak crossing 7,000 cases and 3,398 deaths and reaching a seventh province.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, was declared in May in northeastern Ituri province. As of September 10, DRC authorities had recorded 7,022 cases and 3,398 deaths, giving the outbreak a case-fatality rate of about 48%. Around 837 people remained in isolation or treatment.

DRC Says Ebola Has Passed Its Peak

DRC government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said the government believes transmission has already peaked. The DRC government says the decline in cases attributes to a number of developments.

They say that 10 health zones affected before the latest expansion of the outbreak reported no new cases for at least 21 days. According to Xinhua news agency, transmission has slowed in several regions in the eastern province of Ituri, the epicenter of the outbreak.

Despite the slowdown, authorities called for strict monitoring and contact tracing, saying close surveillance remains necessary in regions where recent flare-ups have been reported.

“The 17th Ebola outbreak is under control, and the peak was reached at the beginning of the third week of August 2026,” Muyaya said while presenting the findings of a cabinet meeting and citing Health Minister Roger Kamba.

The government’s assessment comes despite the detection of Ebola in South-Ubangi, a northwestern province that had not previously been affected during this outbreak. The first reported patient there was a 23-year-old man who later died.

He had traveled extensively before coming in Sud-Ubangi. He had travelled across several provinces neighboring Rwanda and Uganda, as well as both road and river routes.

Also read: Ebola Cases Cross 6,000, Death Toll Nears 3,000 In Congo; Mortality Rate Remains Close To 50%

WHO Warns The Outbreak Is Still Uncontrolled

The World Health Organization does not seem to agree with DRC’s claims. In its latest assessment, WHO said the outbreak “remains uncontrolled and increasingly heterogeneous,” with transmission declining in some areas while continuing to intensify or spread in others.

WHO's latest data, covering September 7, recorded 6,757 confirmed cases and 3,267 deaths in DRC.

The agency said transmission remained variable, with continued geographic expansion and sustained increases in some health zones.

It is important to understand that a fall in cases in some hotspots does not necessarily mean the outbreak is over if new transmission chains are appearing elsewhere.

Also read: Ebola Outbreak In DR Congo Surpasses 3,000 Deaths: WHO & UN Say Outbreak Is Outpacing Response

DRC’s Deadliest Ebola Outbreak

The current epidemic is DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak and it has spread through remote and conflict-affected areas where healthcare infrastructure is limited. The WHO has also warned about shortages of trained healthcare workers, response partners, and funding.

Nearly 1,400 isolation and treatment beds have been established across affected areas, but the response still needs thousands more healthcare workers and additional resources.

Other challenges include unregulated and unsafe burials, population displacement, and delayed diagnosis. WHO has warned that late detection increases the risk of transmission within households, communities, and healthcare facilities.

Unlike the Zaire species responsible for previous major Ebola outbreaks, the Bundibugyo strain currently driving the DRC epidemic has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Experimental vaccines and treatments are being evaluated. Vaccine for Zaire virus is also being tested to examine its efficacy on Bundibugyo Ebolavirus.

Ebola spreads primarily through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person or someone who has died from the disease. Symptoms can include fever, severe weakness, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in some cases, bleeding.