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.

Former Indian cricketer Vinod Kambli is at risk of suffering from a brain stroke and is battling serious health challenges, says Marcus Couto, a friend of Kambli. In an interview with the Times of India, he revealed that Kambli had been hospitalised 18 months ago and has a clot in his brain. Because of this, his memory is impaired, Couto told TOI. He further added that Kambli remembers details briefly and then forgets them again. While Kambli has given up drinking alcohol, his friend revealed that he sometimes smokes despite it being forbidden. For Kambli’s fans, this news comes as an unfortunate update—not to forget the lingering risk of a brain stroke, given the current scenario.

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Vinod Kambli’s health has reportedly improved recently, but concerns linger regarding his neurological health and memory. The 54-year-old is reportedly able to walk, but his memory remains inconsistent. Reports suggest that he recalls only fragments from his life, despite the fact that his health has not deteriorated in recent months. While the clot in his brain cannot be removed, his friend Couto confirmed that doctors have recommended extra care due to the risk of a brain stroke. Reports suggest that Kambli’s friends in the cricketing community have come forward to offer financial support—Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and Kapil Dev, to name a few.

Vinod Kambli is recovering despite challenges

On the brighter side, reports suggest that Kambli’s mobility has improved. Earlier relying on furniture for movement, he now walks with the help of a support stick—efforts are underway to enroll him in physiotherapy. While daily challenges persist, Kambli spends most of his time at home undergoing health check-ups. While undergoing treatment at Breach Candy Hospital, he had recovered by 60 per cent.

Are blood clots always deadly?

Blood clots usually form as the body’s natural response to a physical injury. They help prevent excessive loss of blood due to uncontrolled bleeding. However, when these clots form inside blood vessels, they can obstruct blood flow and even rupture, thereby leading to severe complications such as a stroke, damage to brain cells, and even death. In some cases, blood clots in the brain can lead to mild episodes of seizures and paralysis. Therefore, it is important to ensure prompt medical treatment.

Symptoms of a blood clot in the brain

A blood clot in the brain is known as an embolism, and its symptoms often appear suddenly and require immediate medical attention. Some of the symptoms are:

1. Weakness or numbness in one part of the body
2. Dizziness
3. Severe headaches
4. Speech difficulties
5. Disorientation
6. Memory loss
7. Behavioural changes
8. Sudden, unexplained seizures
9. Double or blurred vision
10. Vertigo or loss of balance

While Ozempic and Wegovy are best known for treating diabetes and obesity, a new mouse study has shown promise for treating liver disease, particularly metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)—fatty liver disease.

MASH is a severe form of fatty liver disease in which fat buildup, inflammation, and tissue scarring can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure.

The benefits seen were independent of weight loss, revealed the study, which challenges long-held assumptions about how GLP-1 medicines work in the liver and could reshape how physicians treat metabolic liver disease.

Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital found that patients taking semaglutide—the active ingredient in the popular weight loss drugs—showed improvements in the fatty liver condition that went beyond what could be explained by blood sugar control and weight loss alone.

The finding, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, explained that semaglutide, which mimics the gut hormone GLP-1, acts directly on a subset of liver cells to improve organ function and does so independently of weight loss.

"We've seen in clinical trials that patients who lose very little weight see the same reductions in liver inflammation, scarring, and enzyme levels as those who lose a great deal of weight. Now we know why," said Dr. Daniel Drucker, a senior investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, who led the study.

"We're not saying weight loss isn't important, because many things improve when patients lose weight. But we now know that weight shouldn't be the only measure of success, because GLP1 medicines will improve liver health whether or not the patient loses weight," he added.

Semaglutide Could Reverse Fatty Liver Disease

There is a prevailing assumption that liver cells do not carry the receptor that semaglutide binds to, meaning the drug has no direct route to the organ.

To better understand, Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Maria Gonzalez-Rellan combined sophisticated mouse models of MASH with deep molecular analyses of liver cells.

The results identified two cell types carrying semaglutide receptors: liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) and immune T cells.

Although LSECs account for only about 3 per cent of liver cell volume, they proved to be the key driver of semaglutide's liver benefits.

LSECs line the tiniest blood vessels in the liver and are studded with pores that allow them to act as a molecular sieve, filtering substances passing between the liver and the bloodstream.

“Semaglutide reversed MASH in mice that lacked the brain receptors controlling appetite, demonstrating that weight loss is not required for liver benefits,” Dr. Gonzalez-Rellan said.

In a further test, mice lacking LSEC receptors showed no liver improvement on semaglutide even after losing 20 per cent of their body weight.

How This Will Impact Patients

The findings carry practical implications. GLP-1 medicines have become widely prescribed, yet their mechanism of action in the body, beyond appetite suppression and blood sugar control, is not well understood

Knowing that semaglutide improves liver health independently of weight loss could influence prescribing decisions.

Physicians may choose lower doses that avoid the side effects associated with the higher doses needed for significant weight loss, potentially also lowering costs for patients, said Dr. Drucker.

Cases of drug-resistant Shigella infections are increasing significantly in the US and pose a “public health threat,” warned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its latest report.

Shigella is a highly infectious bacterium that causes gastrointestinal illness, commonly known as shigellosis.

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According to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published on April 9, out of the 17,000 samples tested, the percentage found to have drug-resistant Shigella bacteria grew from 0 per cent in 2011 to 8.5 per cent in 2023.

The CDC noted that shigellosis is a nationally notifiable disease in the US.

Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Shigella is a Shigella species that is resistant to common antibiotics such as ampicillin, azithromycin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

“It is a public health concern because no Food and Drug Administration–approved oral antimicrobial agents are available; alternative oral treatment options are limited, and resistance genes can spread to other enteric bacteria,” the CDC said.

The antimicrobial resistance was characterized using whole-genome sequencing data and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The report also found that among patients with XDR shigellosis, the median patient age was 41 years, and 86.2 per cent were men.

“Whereas earlier US outbreaks involved drug-susceptible strains and primarily affected children, national surveillance data indicate that most [drug-resistant] cases occurred among men,” the CDC noted.

“Approximately one-third of patients were hospitalized.”

Among 116 persons with available HIV status, 46.6 per cent reported HIV co-infection.

The CDC called for “strengthened surveillance, timely reporting, and targeted prevention strategies to limit transmission of XDR Shigella strains”.

What Is Shigella And Why Is It Concerning?

Shigellosis is a highly infectious diarrheal illness caused by gram-negative bacteria. Symptoms typically include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps, which can range from mild to severe.

The disease onset occurs typically within 1 to 3 days of ingestion of the bacteria, with fever, diarrhea, body aches, and headache.

Globally, the burden is significant. Estimates suggest around 188 million cases occur each year, leading to over 1.6 lakh deaths.

The infection spreads easily through contact with contaminated food, water, or surfaces, and even through person-to-person transmission. This makes it particularly concerning in travel settings such as hotels and resorts, where shared facilities are common.

Houseflies can also spread the bacteria. Flies transmit the bacteria from human feces to food, water, and surfaces, contributing to up to 37 percent of cases in some regions, according to a study published in the PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Shigella: Are Young Children At High Risk?

Speaking to HealthandMe, Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Ex-President of IMA Cochin and Convener of the Research Cell, Kerala, explained that even a small number of bacteria—as few as 10 —is enough to cause infection.

It is because the Shigellosis bacteria “is able to withstand the hostile acidic environment of the human stomach. Outside the human body, it can stay alive in water for weeks together,” he said.

Shigella is most severe in children below the age of five, as their immune systems are less efficient at clearing the infection early.

“Adults also become ill, but acquired immunity from childhood keeps the infection mild in many instances,” the expert said.

“Shigella outbreaks can occur in crowded places such as anganwadis (creches), where children come into close physical contact with each other and share toys. Very young children also have the habit of putting their fingers in their mouths, which enables the bacteria to gain access to their gut,” Dr. Jayadevan added.

Shigella: How To Prevent

Dr. Jayadevan said. stressed the need for early recognition and treatment with appropriate antibiotics.

ORS can help prevent dehydration, while Zinc tablets can enhance recovery.

The CDC suggests several steps to avoid getting or spreading shigella, including:

• Wash your hands properly, especially after toilet use and before eating food.
• Avoid swallowing water while swimming.
• Follow safe food and water habits when traveling.
• If you or your partner is diagnosed with shigellosis, do not have sex for at least two weeks after symptoms end.