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.

North London Measles Outbreak: 34 children have been infected by a "fast spreading" measles outbreak in several north London schools, confirmed health officials. The cases were first confirmed from Enfield in laboratory tests in January, as is reported by the UK Health Security Agency or the UKHSA.

A local GP, as reported by the BBC said that one in fiver children who contracted the illness had been admitted to hospital. The doctor also said that these children "had not been fully immunized".

Families are now asked to ensure that their children are up to date with their immunizations and vaccinations against this highly contagious disease. Measles could cause serious health complications.

North London Measles Outbreak: Who Can Get The Vaccines?

Measles vaccinations for children are available at the school, however, if they missed it, they can also get it at a number of catch-up clinics around the UK. The vaccinations are for free.

Enfield's NHS Ordnance Unity Centre For Health on its website noted that there is a "fast spreading measles outbreak in several schools" across the borough. The infections were confirmed in "at least" seven schools in Enfield, which means there could be more. Some reports also came from neighboring Haringey.

Enfield Councillor Alev Cazimoglu said that current outbreak had "mainly affected children and some have required additional care with a short stay in hospital". She also said, "Vaccination is the most effective way to protect yourself and your family. We urge everyone who is not fully vaccinated to act now."

The 34 cases of Enfield represent over a third of the 96 total cases which were confirmed in England in the first month of this year as per the UKHSA data.

As per the Enfield Council, it is working closely with UKHSA, the NHS and local partners to limit any further spread.

Read: UK Loses Measles Elimination Status: Why Is This Disease Making A Comeback?

North London Measles Outbreak: Who Are At Most Risk?

As per a UKHSA medical practitioner, Dr Vanessa Saliba, as also reported by the BBC, the "big" outbreak is "mostly affecting unvaccinated children under 10 in schools and nurseries". She also added, "Measles is a nasty illness for any child, but for some it can lead to long term complications and tragically death, but is so easily preventable with two doses of the MMRV [measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox] vaccine."

Dr Saliba also suggested children to catch-up with their vaccine schedule in case they have missed it and also urged those travelling abroad over the Easter holidays to check their vaccination status.

North London Measles Outbreak: What Is It And What Are The Symptoms?

Measles is a highly contagious disease. It spreads by coughs or sneezes or by touching things that someone with measles has coughed or sneezed on.

Measles, also known as rubeola, is an extremely contagious viral illness that typically causes high fever, cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, and a characteristic rash that begins on the face and spreads downward across the body. It spreads through respiratory droplets and can lead to severe and sometimes fatal complications, including pneumonia and inflammation of the brain known as encephalitis.

Symptoms include high fever, sore or red and watery eyes, coughing, sneezing, and small white spots in the mouth.

Two strains of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) have combined with each other to create a new version of the disease, prompting the World Health Organisation to raise an alarm.

According to scientists, the Ib and IIb of MPXV have mutated together, and a case has been found in the UK and India, respectively. The first case was detected in the UK with travel history to a country in South-East Asia, and the second in India, with travel history to a country in the Arabian Peninsula.

Further analysis of each case shows that the two individuals fell ill several weeks apart with the same combined strain. Both cases had similar reported signs and symptoms of the disease and neither experienced severe outcomes.

As of now, these are the only known cases of this version of the virus.

What Is Mpox?

Mpox (formerly monkeypox) is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus. Symptoms usually appear 1-21 days after exposure, and the illness lasts 2–4 weeks. People are considered to be contagious until all scabs have fallen off.

Mostly based in Africa, it was discovered by captive monkeys in 1958, after whom the disease was named in 1970. However, the name attracted many racist comments, especially on social media, where people wrote “the disease of monkeys” and associated it with Africans.

Under WHO guidelines, the naming of diseases must not drive any unnecessary negative impact on trade, travel, tourism or animal welfare, and avoid offending any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups. Thus, the name monkeypox became the ‘m-pox’.

How Can You Detect Mpox?

There are signs and symptoms of M-pox. They start to show within seven to 14 days of being infected. Therefore, for about a week, a person may not know they have m-pox, and they can spread it by travelling.

The earliest signs are getting a fever, sweating and having chills through your body. Other signs involve rashes, which start from a distant rash on the face and spread throughout the body. These rashes can be in different forms, sometimes a flat lesion, bumps, boils or scabs.

Symptoms can also include swollen lymph nodes, migraine, muscle aches, fatigue, weakness and back pain.

How Do You Prevent Mpox?

• Restrict your movement by avoiding going out in public, meeting people and interacting with animals.
• Wear clothes that will prevent skin-to-skin infections.
• Hydrate yourself to get rid of the toxins from your body
• Check if you have received your smallpox vaccination

Doctors also prescribe medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen to treat the pain and fever one may experience after being infected

The World Health Organization (WHO) has prequalified an additional novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to strengthen the global supply of the vaccine, stop poliovirus type 2 outbreaks more sustainably and accelerate progress towards polio eradication.

The newly approved vaccine was manufactured by Biological E. Limited (BioE), Hyderabad, India, using in-house bulk vaccine following a technology transfer from PT Bio Farma (Persero), Indonesia.

The prequalification status means that the vaccine meets international standards of quality, safety, and efficacy for global immunization programmes.

It also allows the vaccine to be purchased and supplied through United Nations procurement agencies, including UNICEF, across the world and helps governments prevent and control poliovirus transmission.

With the new WHO recommendation, BioE is expected to produce 600 million doses per year of the nOPV2, increasing India's global leadership in vaccine manufacturing and its contributions to expanding access to affordable life‑saving vaccines across the Global South.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the impact of vaccination efforts on global polio eradication and said: “Vaccines are also bringing us closer to the eradication of polio, with 41 cases of wild polio reported last year from just 24 districts in Pakistan and Afghanistan, down from 99 cases in 49 districts in 2024."

What Is nOPV2?

Novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) is a genetically modified, more stable vaccine designed to stop circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreaks. It provides comparable protection to the old type 2 vaccine (mOPV2) but is less likely to cause new vaccine-derived outbreaks.

Studies show nOPV2 is safe, well-tolerated and produces similar immunity to mOPV2, with over 500 million doses administered across 23 countries as of early 2024. The vaccine is typically used in targeted, large-scale vaccination campaigns, often for children under five years of age.

The oral vaccine is supplied in 20-dose and 50-dose vial presentations. It has a shelf-life of 24 months when stored at temperatures not exceeding –20 °C and can also be stored for up to six months at +2 °C to +8 °C, providing important flexibility for immunization programmes in diverse situations.

Mike McGovern, Chair of the International PolioPlus Committee, Rotary International and Chair of the Polio Oversight Board, GPEI, said of the new prequalification: "Expanding nOPV2 manufacturing is essential to ensuring countries can respond quickly to variant poliovirus outbreaks. Biological E’s prequalification status strengthens the global supply and brings us closer to ending these outbreaks for good."

Why Is The New Polio Vaccine Useful?

Once a global scourge paralysing hundreds of thousands of children globally, polio is now close to eradication as wild poliovirus cases have fallen by more than 99 percent since the 1980s.

However, given rising vaccine hesitancy and gaps in immunisation, cVDPV2 can re-emerge in under-immunised communities, triggering outbreaks as seen recently in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. But nOPV2's genetic stability and increased protection help limit that risk and reduce the chances of a mass outbreak.

While India achieved its polio-free certification in 2014, the risk of importations or vaccine-derived outbreaks increases if coverage drops. With the nOPV2's WHO prequalification, officials can safeguard public health by ensuring access to the most advanced tools available.

As of August 2022, 18 out of 21 countries had successfully stopped cVDPV2 transmission following two rounds of mass vaccination activity and a further two countries did so after a third round.

Data has shown that nOPV2 effectiveness is on par with that of mOPV2, and while evidence of the vaccine’s immunogenicity has already been well established, additional studies continue to be conducted throughout the EUL period to confirm protection against type 2 poliovirus in vaccinated individuals.