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.

Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) has recalled of 87,360 tablets of a blood pressure medication after a specific batch failed a quality test. Health officials raised concerns, saying that the drug may not work as effectively as expected.

The recall involves Beniel F.C. Tablets 8 mg, manufactured by Synmosa Biopharma Corp. The affected batch is 2KA31, and the medicine contains benidipine hydrochloride, a drug used to treat high blood pressure.

Why Has The Blood Pressure Medicine Been Recalled?

The problem was first identified during a stability test of the drug, which found that the tablets failed to meet the required dissolution standards.

In simple terms, a dissolution test is conducted to check how a tablet breaks down and releases its active ingredient under controlled conditions.

This is an important test as a tablet has to release the medicine in the proper way for the body to absorb it and for the drug to produce its intended effect.

Also read: Blood Pressure, Heart Medicines May Boost Effectiveness Of Antidepressants, AIIMS Study Finds

What Is Benidipine And How Does It Work?

Benidipine hydrochloride belongs to a group of drugs called calcium channel blockers. These medicines help lower blood pressure by relaxing and widening blood vessels. This enables the blood to flow more easily and reduces the pressure against artery walls.

That is why a problem affecting how a tablet dissolves can matter. If the active ingredient is not released into the body as expected, the medicine may not deliver its intended therapeutic effect.

Also read: Why Are More Women Under 35 Reporting Heart-Related Symptoms?

Is There A Risk Of Medicine Shortage?

According to the TFDA, there is no immediate concern of medication shortage. Other batches of Beniel F.C. Tablets 8 mg are not affected, and the manufacturer has sufficient inventory.

Production of the drug will also not been stopped. Taiwan News reported that two other products containing the same active ingredient are also authorised for sale.

The manufacturer has been ordered to complete the recall by August 24 and submit an investigation report along with corrective and preventive measures for future production.

Also read: Smoking, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure May Fuel the Most Dangerous Type of Artery Plaque, Study Finds

What Should Patients Taking Medicine From Recalled Batch Do?

Patients should not stop their blood pressure medication on their own. The TFDA advised people who are concerned about their prescription to speak with their doctor about whether an alternative medicine is necessary.

The recall highlights an often overlooked part of medication safety: a medicine can contain the correct active ingredient but still fail a quality test if its physical properties affect how the drug is released. For now, the concern is focused on one specific batch, rather than the entire Beniel F.C. product line.

The ongoing Ebola virus disease epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is moving faster than any previous outbreak, said WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

According to official data, confirmed cases have reached 4,449, with the death toll climbing to 2,061 across five provinces and 53 health zones in the country. However, the number of uncounted cases may be far higher than the reported figure.

“It is already the second-biggest Ebola epidemic on record, and it is moving faster than any previous Ebola outbreak. At its current pace, it is on track to eclipse the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014 to 2016,” Tedros said in a briefing.

The 2014-2016 outbreak reported at least 28,000 cases and took about eight months to reach 1,000 deaths.

Ebola 2026: Big Head Start, Likely to Peak in 6 Months

Tedros noted that the current “outbreak had a big head start, it is still way ahead of us, and we are playing catch-up.”

He said this even as reports showed that the disease caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus had been circulating since February and went undetected for months. The WHO declared the outbreak on May 15.

Dr Abdirahman Mahamud, WHO’s director for health emergency alert and response operations, said the agency expects the outbreak to reach its peak within six months, AP News reported.

“But ... that’s the moderate scenario,” Mahamud said. “There is a one-case scenario where this outbreak may last nine months to 12 months.”

Also read: Ebola Death Toll Tops 2,000 In DRC: New Study Reveals Likely Source Of Bundibugyo Virus Outbreak

Unknown Chains of Transmission

Tedros said about 90% of all cases and 80% of deaths are in the province of Ituri, with sustained transmission in the towns of Bunia, Rwampara, Nizi and Lita.

“Most concerningly, we see a high proportion of deaths in communities instead of treatment units, outside of known contact lists,” Tedros said.

“That tells us there are chains of transmission we don’t know about, and until we know about – and break – every chain of transmission, we will not stop the outbreak.”

Most transmission happens when people have late-stage disease and are not in treatment, or when their bodies are handled after death.

Early clinical care and safe and dignified burials are therefore critical for interrupting transmission. Both depend on the trust of affected communities, making community engagement and ownership essential.

“There is no other way,” Tedros said, adding that the response is now being scaled up, with the primary goal of interrupting transmission.

With partners, WHO is mapping and pooling resources to strengthen community-based surveillance, bring every suspected case into care and reach the 95% contact-tracing target needed to interrupt transmission. Currently, the rate is around 80%.

Read More: Ebola Outbreak: Officials To Probe Whether Bundibugyo Virus Is Mutating

Progress Made

• More than 21,000 community health workers have been trained.
• Treatment centres, safe burial teams, laboratories and community engagement teams are operating across the affected provinces, reaching hundreds of thousands of people.
• A total of 886 patients have recovered, even without specific therapeutics and vaccines, which are progressing through trials.
• For the first time, two vaccines specifically designed against Bundibugyo virus have entered Phase 1 safety trials in humans.
• Two new animal studies of a vaccine against Zaire ebolavirus — the more common species — have shown promising evidence of cross-protection in animals, Tedros said.

American drugmaker Eli Lilly has sued six companies in the US over the alleged illegal sale of its experimental weight-loss drug retatrutide.

In a statement, Lilly said that the lawsuits target US entities allegedly selling illegal retatrutide products, claiming that their products are for “research use only” while allegedly marketing them for human use. These include

• compounding pharmacies,
• medical spas
• online sellers.

“Retatrutide is being rigorously studied as part of a comprehensive clinical trial development program,” said David A. Hyman, Lilly’s chief medical officer.

“We take the responsibility of evaluating the safety and efficacy of our investigational medicines seriously. What is being sold on the black market is not a medicine – it is entirely unverified, unapproved and not worth the risk,” he added.

Which Six Companies Is Lilly Suing?

Lilly has filed lawsuits against:

• Aesthetic Envy Cosmetic Centers LLC, doing business as Aesthetic Envy
• Astra LLC, doing business as Astra Peptides
• Legendary Peptides, LLC
• Striker Pharmacy, LLC
• Texas Peptides Inc
• Lone Star Peptide Co

Black-Market Retatrutide

Lilly said it has referred more than 200 individuals and entities to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US Department of Justice, state attorneys general, law enforcement agencies and professional licensing boards.

The company is also working with regulators, law enforcement and customs authorities worldwide to address the illegal market.

Lilly urged social media and e-commerce platforms, credit card companies, payment processors, and shipping and logistics companies used by sellers to help protect patients and tackle the illicit activity.

The drugmaker noted that it has reported more than 14,000 websites, advertisements, social media posts and product listings that allegedly market retatrutide unlawfully across more than 100 countries to internet service providers, social media platforms and e-commerce companies.

FDA Says Unapproved Retatrutide Is Illegal

The US FDA has made clear that selling unapproved retatrutide directly to consumers is illegal. Retatrutide also cannot be lawfully compounded.

The FDA has warned that so-called “research-use only” products are of unknown quality and may pose risks to consumers’ health.

Black-market sellers and businesses posing as legitimate medical providers have openly marketed retatrutide as a weight-loss “hack.”

According to Lilly, such products are frequently made by unregulated foreign manufacturers. Regulators, customs agencies and law enforcement authorities worldwide have warned about these products and have taken actions including raiding clandestine manufacturing sites, seizing shipments and making arrests.

What Is Retatrutide?

Retatrutide is one of Eli Lilly’s next-generation obesity treatments and is currently under development. Unlike Lilly’s currently approved GLP-1 drugs, retatrutide activates three hormone receptors: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon.

Researchers believe this triple-action approach could help people lose excess weight by reducing appetite while also increasing energy expenditure.

Retatrutide Shows Promise in Trials

Retatrutide has attracted significant interest after late-stage clinical trials showed some of the highest weight-loss outcomes reported with an obesity medication. In Phase 3 studies, adults without diabetes who received the highest dose lost more than 28% of their body weight over 80 weeks.

Lilly plans to submit retatrutide for approval to the US FDA in the first quarter of 2027.