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.

Amid the ongoing Cyclospora parasite outbreak linked to lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, the produce company has recalled shredded iceberg lettuce distributed across 27 US states over possible contamination concerns.

The outbreak, which has been under investigation for more than a month, has sickened over 5,000 people across at least 34 states, causing widespread cases of diarrhea.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initially linked the outbreak to lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms to Taco Bell restaurants in five states earlier this week. However, a recall notice issued by the company late last week indicated that the potentially contaminated lettuce had a much wider distribution.

Taylor Farms said it is "actively removing" the affected products, has suspended distribution of iceberg lettuce imported from Central Mexico to the United States, and is no longer receiving products from the implicated lot.

"Consumers who have purchased the recalled iceberg lettuce should discard it immediately and not consume it," the company said.

States Where Taylor Farms Recalled Lettuce

Also read: Cyclospora Parasite Outbreak: Why You Should Avoid Packaged Salads and Go For Loose Greens

According to Taylor Farms, the recalled shredded iceberg lettuce was distributed between June 29 and July 16 in:

Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The recall notice includes product descriptions, brand abbreviations and use-by dates but does not identify specific retailers, restaurants or product names.

"At this time, Taylor Fresh Foods has not publicly provided distribution information or a list of customers who received the product that was voluntarily removed from the market," the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

The FDA also noted that an earlier lettuce sample from Taylor Farms initially tested positive for Cyclospora but later determined the result "should be considered a false positive."

"FDA and state partners continue to collect and analyze product samples," the agency said, adding that no confirmed positive samples have been identified so far.

Taylor Farms also said on social media that none of its Taylor Farms-branded salad kits are associated with the outbreak. Most of the recalled lettuce was sold in large bags to food-service operations, including restaurants, with many products blended with romaine lettuce.

Further, media reports stated that several companies have begun removing affected products from stores and supply chains.

The list includes

• Walmart,
• Sysco,
• US Foods,
• Jack in the Box,
• Taco Bell.

Food Safety Concerns

Food safety experts said that additional distributors and restaurants may also have received the recalled lettuce, even if they have not publicly disclosed it.

The FDA said Taylor Farms "has not publicly provided distribution information or a list of customers who received the product that was voluntarily removed from the market." Current FDA regulations do not require companies to disclose that information.

Sandra B. Eskin, chief executive of Stop Foodborne Illness, said the lack of transparency can limit the effectiveness of recalls. She added, "The whole point is to quickly identify the product and make sure no one else eats it."

How To Reduce Your Risk?

Health officials recommend:

• Avoid eating shredded iceberg lettuce
• Wash all fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly under clean running water, even if they are labeled pre-washed.
• Follow safe food-handling practices.
• Stay updated on food recalls and outbreak alerts.
• Contact a healthcare provider if symptoms develop.

Experts also recommend choosing whole heads of lettuce instead of bagged greens. Remove the outer leaves, wash the inner leaves thoroughly under running water, and cook produce whenever possible, as heat is the most effective way to kill Cyclospora.

Watching television for long hours can do more than contributing to a sedentary lifestyle. It could also leave a significant impact on the brain.

According to a new study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, people who watched television very often during midlife later showed smaller brain volumes in regions involved in memory and thinking, along with greater signs of damage linked to dementia and stroke.

Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) found that the negative brain changes were unique to passive television viewing and were not simply the result of spending long hours sitting.

Passive TV Watching Could Negatively Alter Brain Structures

The researchers studied data from approximately 1,700 adults enrolled in the long-running Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Participants, whose average age was 53 when their television habits were assessed between 1987 and 1989, reported how frequently they watched television and how much of their workday they spent sitting.

More than two decades later, participants underwent MRI brain scans.

Compared with people who said they "never" or "seldom" watched television, those who watched TV "very often" had:

• Smaller brain volumes in regions associated with memory formation and early Alzheimer's disease.
• Reduced frontal and occipital lobe volumes.
• Greater white matter hyperintensity volumes, a marker of small blood vessel disease in the brain that is linked to cognitive decline, stroke and dementia.

These findings were observed even after researchers accounted for physical activity levels, body mass index, diabetes, smoking and alcohol consumption.

Also read: 10,000 Brain Scans Reveal Why Memory Declines With Age, Challenging Long-Held Theory

More Harmful Than Just Sitting

One of the study's most striking findings was that just sitting for long periods did not produce the same harmful results.

People who spent long periods sitting at work actually showed larger frontal and occipital brain regions and lower white matter damage, suggesting that mentally engaging sedentary activities may affect the brain differently from passive leisure activities like television viewing.

Researchers also observed that the associations were observed more in men, although further studies are needed to understand the reason behind.

"For years we've focused on how much people sit. Our findings suggest we should also pay attention to what they're doing while they're sitting," said David Raichlen, professor of biological sciences and anthropology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and senior author of the study.

Study corresponding author Natan Feter, a postdoctoral scholar in USC Dornsife's Human and Evolutionary Biology program, said the findings could eventually reshape public health advice.

He said, "We frequently encourage the public not to spend too much time sitting down, but experts may want to expand that recommendation to encompass the activities done while sitting, since those seem to have distinct impacts on brain health."

The researchers cautioned that the study on television viewing was based on self-reported questionnaires, which may be less accurate than objective tracking. In addition, participants did not undergo brain scans at the beginning of the study, making it difficult to directly measure changes over time.

A recent massive study analysed more than 10,000 brain MRI scans and delivered fresh insights into why memory worsens as people age.

The study suggested that age-related memory decline is not caused by damage to a single brain region, as previously believed, but by widespread structural changes across the brain.

Researchers examined 10,343 MRI brain scans alongside 13,460 memory assessments from 3,737 cognitively healthy adults across 13 long-running international studies.

The findings, published in Nature Communications, are based on one of the largest investigations of healthy brain aging to date.

Age-Related Memory Loss Involves More Than Hippocampus

For decades, scientists have focused on the hippocampus, a brain region essential for learning and memory, and one of the earliest brain areas affected by Alzheimer's disease.

However, the new study found that although the hippocampus remains the strongest factor to consider memory decline, it is far from being the only region involved.

Researchers discovered that shrinking brain tissue in multiple interconnected regions, including areas linked to the hippocampus and several parts of the temporal lobe, collectively contributes to declining memory with age.

Brain Shrinkage Occurs Over Decades

Also read: Your Country May Influence Your Dementia Risk More Than You Think, Study Suggests

The researchers found that the link between brain shrinkage and memory loss becomes much stronger after the late 50s.

Rather than following a steady, gradual path, memory decline appears to accelerate as structural changes accumulate across multiple brain regions.

The study also showed that individuals with shrinkage affecting a greater number of brain regions experienced faster declines in memory, highlighting that brain aging varies considerably from person to person.

Alzheimer's Risk Gene Isn't The Only Factor

Also read: Healthy Lifestyle Changes Improve Memory, Thinking In Older Adults At Dementia Risk: The Lancet

The team also evaluated the role of APOE ε4, the best-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

While carriers of the gene generally showed faster brain volume loss and memory decline, researchers found that genetics alone could not explain the observed changes.

Instead, widespread structural changes throughout the brain played a much larger role in determining memory performance.

Senior author Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and senior scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, said, "By integrating data across dozens of research cohorts, we now have the most detailed picture yet of how structural changes in the brain unfold with age and how they relate to memory."

He added, "These results suggest that memory decline in aging is not just about one region or one gene. It reflects a broad biological vulnerability in brain structure that accumulates over decades. Understanding this can help researchers identify individuals at risk early and develop more precise and personalized interventions that support cognitive health across the lifespan and prevent cognitive disability."

The researchers say this could improve how scientists identify people at risk for future cognitive decline before symptoms become severe.

Instead of monitoring only the hippocampus or focusing primarily on genetic risk, future screening and interventions may need to evaluate the health of multiple interconnected brain networks.

Lifestyle Changes Can Help

While there is no cure for neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's, growing evidence suggests that healthy lifestyle changes can help improve brain health and preserve cognitive function in older adults at risk.

A major study published in The Lancet suggests that adopting healthy lifestyle habits can significantly improve memory and thinking skills in older adults at risk of dementia.

The study found that a culturally adapted, structured lifestyle program delivered across 11 Latin American countries produced meaningful improvements in cognitive function over two years. Participants in the intensive program showed 55 per cent greater improvement in overall cognition than those who received general health advice.