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.

A shortage of prescription-strength co-codamol is set to continue until at least June, leaving thousands of chronic pain patients across the UK uncertain about how they will manage daily symptoms. The Scottish government has confirmed limited availability of the strongest 30/500mg tablets, while health boards warn alternative medicines may not fully cover demand.

The shortage is linked to delays in authorization by the Indian government for exporting key codeine-based ingredients needed to manufacture the drug.

Patients Told To Taper Use

Many patients say they first learned of the disruption through calls from local health services. Some have already been advised to slowly reduce their dose to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Jocelin Harrison, who has relied on the medication for more than three decades after five spinal surgeries, said she was contacted by NHS Lanarkshire and instructed to cut down gradually.

“The only advice I’ve been given so far was to reduce the tablets and try to manage my withdrawal symptoms,” she said, as reported by the BBC.

“I was not offered any other advice or possible replacement pain killers and it’s a great worry for me and other chronic pain sufferers throughout Scotland and the UK.”

Doctors warn that abruptly stopping co-codamol can trigger headaches, nausea, sweating and a sudden increase in pain, particularly for long-term users.

Why Does This Drug Matter So Much?

Co-codamol combines paracetamol with the opioid codeine and is commonly prescribed after surgery or for persistent musculoskeletal conditions. It comes in three strengths: 8mg, 15mg and 30mg of codeine with 500mg paracetamol.

The lowest strength is available over the counter, but the stronger forms require a prescription and are widely used by patients with chronic pain. Because codeine can cause dependence, tapering rather than stopping suddenly is considered essential.

Health boards say supplies of alternative strengths are also limited, making it difficult to simply switch everyone onto another version.

Guidance issued locally states patients, except those undergoing cancer treatment, should gradually reduce usage until stopping completely. No new patients will be started on the medication until supplies stabilize.

What Are The Alternatives?

NHS Grampian has urged pharmacists to prioritize existing stock carefully. However, it stopped short of telling patients to immediately begin cutting back, highlighting variation in local guidance.

Officials acknowledge substitutes exist, but warn they cannot meet the expected rise in demand from patients switching medicines.

Authorities Now Work On Solution

Scotland’s chief pharmaceutical officer Alison Strath said the issue ultimately sits with UK-wide medicine supply systems but confirmed discussions are ongoing.

“Supply issues are expected until June 2026 and we are in regular contact with the UK government to seek assurances they are doing all they can to resolve this,” she said, adding that affected patients will be contacted directly about alternative treatment options.

The UK Department of Health and Social Care said most medicines remain readily available and manufacturers are working to restore production.

The shortage highlights the global nature of generic drug manufacturing. Medicines such as co-codamol 30/500mg are typically produced using ingredients sourced from India and China, meaning regulatory or production delays overseas can quickly affect patients at home.

For now, patients are being urged not to contact GP practices unless advised and to wait for further instructions from their health providers.

Measles Outbreak In UK: A measles outbreak has been confirmed in London's north east area, noted the BMJ. As per the medical journal, the outbreak is among the unvaccinated children. The medical journal also noted that there have been 96 laboratory confirmed cases of measles in England between January 1 to February 9, 2026 and more than a third, which is 34 cases are from Enfield. BMJ also noted that Enfield is also the area with lowest vaccination rates.

As per the data by the UK Health Security Agency or the UKHSA, only 64.3% of 5 year-olds Enfield received both doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella or the MMR vaccine in 2024 and 2025. The majority (74 of 96, 77%) of measles cases confirmed in the UK so far this year were in children aged 10 and under. Some 64% of cases have been in London, 26% in the West Midlands, and 4% in the East Midlands.

Read: Unique Symptoms Of Measles In 2026 And How Long Does The Infection Last?

Measles Outbreak In UK: Previous Cases And How It Made A Comeback

Last month, the World Health Organization revoked the United Kingdom’s measles elimination status after the virus was found to be circulating continuously for over a year.

In 2025, a child in Liverpool died after contracting measles, prompting renewed pressure on the NHS and government to address its return. England recorded 959 laboratory-confirmed cases that year. Although lower than the 2,911 cases in 2024, it still marked the highest annual total since 2012.

Vaccine uptake has steadily declined over the past 12 years. Only 84.4% of children in the UK receive both doses of the MMR vaccine by age five, far below the 95% coverage needed for herd immunity.

Why Has Measles Return To The UK?

In late 2023, measles outbreaks were reported in the UK, which led to a surge in cases in 2024. Vaccination uptake at the end of 2024 was 92% for the first dose, however, for the second dose, it was below 82%.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA said, "Infections can return quickly when childhood vaccine uptake falls - measles elimination is only possible if all eligible children receive two MMRV doses before school. The NHS is making vaccination easier, including offering the second MMRV dose earlier at a new 18-month appointment to boost uptake and support elimination goals."

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

She also noted that children and adults must get vaccinated as NHS also offers catch-up jabs.

Dr Baharat Pankhania, from the University of Exeter, as reported by the BBC said, "Measles is an infection that can be prevented by vaccine - and it's extremely concerning that in the UK we now have pockets of low or no vaccine uptake. We urgently need to remedy this situation." Pankhania also noted that there is a need to make the access to GPs easier, and for an effort that could immunize babies in their homes and counter wrong information around vaccine safety.

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, JP Nadda, today launched two key national initiatives -- the Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India (SAHI) and the Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI (BODH) to boost the role of AI in the country's healthcare ecosystem.

The initiatives, launched at the India AI Summit at Bharat Mandapam, in the national capital, are aimed at promoting safe, transparent, and accountable AI in healthcare. It will also help strengthen the digital health ecosystem for equitable healthcare access.

What is SAHI and BODH?

SAHI is a national guidance framework to enable the safe, ethical, evidence-based, and inclusive adoption of AI across India’s healthcare system.

It aims to provide strategic direction on governance, data stewardship, validation, deployment, and monitoring of AI solutions, while supporting States and institutions in responsible adoption aligned with public health priorities.

"SAHI is not merely a technology strategy but a governance framework, policy compass, and national roadmap for the responsible use of AI in healthcare,” said Nadda.

He stated that SAHI will guide India in leveraging AI in a manner that is ethical, transparent, accountable, and people-centric. Nadda also emphasized that SAHI provides a structured framework for collaboration, ensuring that innovation flourishes while public interest remains paramount.

The second initiative, BODH, was developed by the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in collaboration with the National Health Authority. It is a privacy-preserving benchmarking platform that enables rigorous evaluation of AI models using diverse, real-world health data without sharing underlying datasets.

As a digital public good under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, it is designed to strengthen trust, transparency, and quality assurance in Health AI deployment.

"The collaboration between Government and academia has led to the development of BODH -- the Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI -- which provides a structured mechanism for testing and validating AI solutions before deployment at scale,” said Nadda.

Nadda reiterated that AI solutions must be rigorously evaluated for performance, reliability, and real-world readiness. Together, SAHI and BODH represent India’s commitment to building a trustworthy, inclusive, and globally competitive health AI ecosystem grounded in innovation, responsibility, and public trust.

AI An Indispensable Enabler to Viksit Bharat

Earlier, delivering the keynote address at a session themed “Innovation to Impact: AI as a Public Health Game-Changer”, at the Summit, Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, highlighted AI as an "All-Inclusive Intelligence".

She also emphasized AI's potential in addressing "health inequities across the country".

Patel called technology -- particularly AI "an indispensable enabler" in India's race towards the vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.

She highlighted the potential role of AI on India’s vast and diverse population, the rural–urban divide, and the dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, which present unique challenges.

She also noted that AI has been integrated across the entire continuum of healthcare -- from disease surveillance and prevention to diagnosis and treatment.