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.

Paul Alexander woke up inside a 600-pound giant metal tube and never left until he died. Paul depended on an iron lung for every breath, a machine that had largely disappeared from modern medicine.

Known as "the man in the iron lung," Alexander spent more than seven decades living inside the metal cylinder after contracting polio as a child. Paul became a symbol of resilience, determination, and the life-saving power of vaccines. His remarkable story is recalled even after his death in March 2024 at the age of 78.

Who Was Paul Alexander?

The doctors placed him inside an iron lung, a mechanical ventilator that kept him alive by helping his lungs expand and contract.

Although everyone initially believed he might not survive, Alexander defied expectations. He went on to graduate from college, earn a law degree, become a practicing attorney, publish a memoir, and inspire millions through interviews and social media.

Also read: Who Was Martha Lillard? Last U.S. Polio Survivor To Depend On An Iron Lung Who Breathed Her Last At 78

Life Beyond The Iron Lung

Paul Alexander refused to let the machine define him. Doctors taught him a technique called "frog breathing" or glossopharyngeal breathing. By using the muscles of his mouth and throat, he learned to gulp air into his lungs in small amounts.

This helped him to leave the iron lung for short durations, attend school, pursue higher education, and eventually work as a lawyer. Still, he depended on the iron lung for most of his life, especially while sleeping.

Despite his conditions, Alexander earned a bachelor's degree, graduated from law school, practiced as a lawyer in Texas, and wrote his memoir - Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung.

His determination challenged and defied assumptions about disability and demonstrated that severe physical limitations need not prevent education, work, or meaningful relationships.

Also read: Even Light Exercise Could Help People With COPD Live Longer, Study Finds

Iron Lung Is An Obsolete Technology In Medicine

An iron lung, also called a negative-pressure ventilator, is a large cylindrical machine that helps people breathe when the muscles controlling respiration become paralyzed.

Unlike today's ventilators, which push air directly into the lungs through a tube or mask using positive pressure, an iron lung works by changing air pressure around the patient's body. The patient lies inside an airtight metal chamber with only the head remaining outside.

The machine then repeatedly lowers the air pressure inside the chamber. This causes the chest to expand naturally, drawing air into the lungs. The pressure then returns to normal. The chest relaxes, allowing air to flow back out. This cycle mimics normal breathing and can continue around the clock.

Iron lungs became obsolete eventually after polio vaccines and modern ventilators were developed.

The introduction of effective polio vaccines in the 1950s and 1960s dramatically reduced cases of paralytic polio worldwide.

The positive-pressure ventilators we use today are smaller, more portable, and better suited to intensive care. They deliver oxygen directly into the lungs, replacing bulky iron lungs.

Paul Alexander's life is more than a remarkable survival story. It serves as a reminder of the devastating impact infectious diseases once had before vaccines transformed public health.

Amid earthquake rescue efforts, Venezuela has reported an outbreak of rat-borne hantavirus that has claimed three lives so far, according to the country's health ministry.

Three people with confirmed hantavirus infection died in the eastern state of Anzoátegui. Two other deaths—both involving health professionals in the state of Barinas—are still under investigation and are not linked to the Anzoátegui cases, the ministry said.

"We report the regrettable deaths of three patients in Anzoátegui with confirmed diagnoses of hantavirus," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that there is "no scientific evidence of person-to-person transmission in our country," noting that the virus is primarily spread by rodents in rural and agricultural areas.

The fresh cases are reported barely two weeks after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius luxury expedition ship, which infected 11 people and claimed three lives earlier this year.

What Is Hantavirus?

According to the WHO, hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses that naturally infect rodents and are occasionally transmitted to humans. In humans, the infection can cause severe illness and may be fatal, although symptoms vary depending on the virus strain and geographic region.

The virus is primarily transmitted through contact with infected rodents or their urine, droppings, saliva, and, less commonly, through scratches or bites.

According to the CDC, symptoms can appear one to eight weeks after exposure, initially presenting fatigue, fever, and muscle aches. As the disease progresses, it can cause coughing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness as fluid accumulates in the lungs.

Also read: Can Hantavirus Spread Through Semen And Breast Milk? What Experts Say

What The Virus Does To The Brain

A recent review published in JAMA Neurology highlights the often-overlooked neurologic complications of hantavirus infection. Hantaviruses cause two major clinical syndromes:

• Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), seen mainly in the Americas, primarily affects the lungs and cardiovascular system and has a mortality rate of 35% to 50%. Neurologic complications can include headache, delirium, seizures, and, in rare cases, brain hemorrhage or post-viral encephalitis.

• Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), which is endemic to Asia and Eastern Russia, presents with fever and kidney involvement and is more commonly associated with direct neurologic complications.

Headaches, Vision Problems, and Hormonal Disorders

Read More: Immunotherapy Shows Early Promise Against Severe Hantavirus Lung Disease: Study

Researchers from the US National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke reviewed data from 811 patients infected with the Puumala strain of HFRS.

They found that 97% experienced headaches, 40% reported blurred vision, and 31% experienced vomiting. About 1% developed severe complications such as meningitis or encephalitis, while rare cases involved peripheral neuropathy or stroke.

Pituitary damage was identified as a significant complication of HFRS. It can lead to hormonal disorders weeks or even months after infection. These may include fatigue, adrenal insufficiency, diabetes insipidus, sexual dysfunction, amenorrhea, and symptoms of hypothyroidism.

The studies also reported cerebrospinal fluid abnormalities, sudden vision loss among hantavirus patients.

Long-Term Effects and Treatment

The long-term neurologic consequences of hantavirus remain poorly understood, according to Avindra Nath of the NIH. However, one study found that 20 years after Puumala infection, 78% of patients had persistent hypertension and 8% had chronic kidney disease.

Currently, there are no US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antiviral treatments or licensed vaccines for hantavirus infection, although several vaccine candidates are in preclinical trials. Several antiviral drugs—including favipiravir, molnupiravir, griffithsin, and ribavirin—have shown promise in early studies, but more research is needed, Nath said.

Nearly all countries are overusing antibiotics—particularly those meant for specific conditions—fueling the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), according to a study published in The Lancet Public Health.

The study, led by researchers from the Universities of London and Oxford, found that 99% of countries overuse "Watch" antibiotics, while 60% continue to use antibiotics that the World Health Organization (WHO) advises should no longer be prescribed.

"Our findings show the world faces a double challenge – while some antibiotics are being overused, millions of people may still lack access to the medicines they need to treat their infections," said Aislinn Cook, lead author and Senior Research Fellow in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology at City St George's, University of London.

Understanding WHO's AWaRe Classification

Also read: Shigella Driving Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Diarrhea Among Gay Men in UK, Lancet Study Finds

The WHO groups antibiotics into three categories under its AWaRe framework:

• Access antibiotics: First-line medicines, such as amoxicillin, recommended for most common bacterial infections.
• Watch antibiotics: Broader-spectrum drugs that should be reserved for specific infections when Access antibiotics are ineffective.
• Reserve antibiotics: Last-resort treatments for severe drug-resistant infections.

In 2024, UN member states agreed that at least 70% of global antibiotic use should come from the Access group by 2030.

What the Study Found

Researchers estimated that around 43 billion antibiotic courses were needed globally in 2019—roughly one course per person per year to treat bacterial infections. About 77% of these should have been Access antibiotics, suggesting the UN's 70% target is achievable.

However, analysis of antibiotic use across 67 countries revealed widespread inappropriate prescribing:

• Nearly three-quarters of countries used more antibiotics overall than required.
• 99% of countries overused Watch antibiotics, increasing the risk of antimicrobial resistance.
• More than half of countries and territories underused Reserve antibiotics, potentially limiting treatment options for patients with life-threatening drug-resistant infections.
• 60% of countries continued using antibiotics that WHO recommends should no longer be prescribed.

Read More: 645 Million People Went Hungry in 2025; Middle East Conflict Driving Food Prices: UN

Global Inequality in Antibiotic Access

The study also highlighted major disparities in antibiotic access. Researchers noted that low- and middle-income countries, which bear a higher burden of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, often need greater access to specialized Watch and Reserve antibiotics.

Yet these medicines are used more frequently in high-income countries, pointing to unequal access rather than clinical need.

Antibiotic Resistance Rising Among Children

A separate study found that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are increasingly leaving children vulnerable to common infections.

The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and covering 82 countries, found that antibiotic resistance increased across every region between 2004 and 2022, making many life-saving drugs used to treat common childhood infections less effective.

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found that babies, children in intensive care, and those living in countries with limited healthcare resources are the most affected.

What Can Be Done?

Researchers called for stronger national policies to curb unnecessary antibiotic prescribing while ensuring patients who genuinely need specialized antibiotics can access them.

They stressed that improving access will require coordinated action at both local and national levels. This includes:

• ensuring quality-assured antibiotics are available and affordable in frontline healthcare settings,
• procuring the right antibiotics in adequate quantities,
• strengthening surveillance of antibiotic use,
• setting country-specific prescribing targets based on local disease burden and public health needs.