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.

US President Donald Trump is hopeful that the deadly hantavirus outbreak is very much under control. However, questions are mounting as his administration cut funding to study the rat-borne virus last year.

According to the World Health Organization, eight people onboard the cruise ship MV Hondius have been infected with hantavirus. Of these, three have died, and five have been confirmed to have the virus. However, more people are likely to be infected, as the disease can take a long time to show symptoms.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Donald Trump sought to reassure Americans that the situation appeared contained.

“It’s very much, we hope, under control,” Trump said during an impromptu appearance near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC. The President added that the administration planned to release “a full report” on the incident and said health officials were continuing to study the outbreak closely.

“We’re doing the best we can,” Trump told reporters when asked whether Americans should worry about the wider spread of the virus.

Notably, at least 23 passengers from the hantavirus-affected MV Hondius cruise ship returned home, including several to the United States — and one of them has already fallen ill.

Hantavirus Cases In The US?

The travelers reportedly did not know they had been exposed to the deadly virus when they disembarked during the ship’s stop at Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic, on April 23.

People in at least five US states — Georgia, Arizona, California, Texas, and Virginia — are reportedly being monitored for possible hantavirus exposure, though none have shown symptoms.

According to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Hantavirus is not spread by people without symptoms, transmission requires close contact, and the risk to the American public is very low.”

CDC Cuts On Hantavirus Research

Behind the public reassurance, however, health authorities are confronting a situation that remains poorly understood — particularly because the Trump administration last year cut funding to study the virus behind the deadly cruise ship outbreak, and also fired scientists in key positions who were tracking viruses.

The Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases were designed to study viruses that could jump from animals to people, including hantavirus, but in 2025, the National Institutes of Health said the work would not continue.

Further, in its 2026 budget request, on one hand, the Trump administration said it planned to refocus the CDC on outbreak investigations and preparedness; on the other hand, it proposed eliminating about $750 million in preparedness grants that states rely on to cope with natural and man-made disasters, including outbreaks.

It also zeroed funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program, which strengthens healthcare systems to respond to emergencies, saying the program “has been wasteful and unfocused”, the New York Times reported.

Notably, the effects of the Trump administration’s cuts to infectious disease research are also being felt globally. South Africa has the capacity to sequence the hantavirus partly because of investments made by previous US administrations through the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University, told reporters.

However, the Trump administration has significantly reduced support for South Africa’s research system and is pulling back funding for PEPFAR.

“I worry that as we disinvest in global health, we’re losing our capacity — our global capacity — to deal with diseases,” Dr. Del Rio said.

The six-week-long incubation period of Hantavirus is a matter of concern, but the rat-borne disease is certainly not a large epidemic, said the World Health Organization today.

At a media briefing, the WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed concerns about the time taken for the symptoms of the disease to appear.

He noted that so far the disease has been limited to the 150 people who traveled on board the MV Hondius ship. Of these, only 8 people have been infected - 3 have died, and 5 have been confirmed.

A case has been reported in a person who disembarked from the ship, without having the symptoms, and some have self-isolated to prevent the risk of spreading.

Among those on board the ship, now travelling to the Canary Islands, "currently no one is symptomatic".

However, "with a six-week incubation period, more cases are expected to be reported".

Countries involved in the contact tracing efforts of people who disembarked at St. Helena Islands include Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore, Turkey, the UK, and the US, the WHO chief said.

WHO infectious disease epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove reiterated that the disease spreads only among close, prolonged contacts or those providing care, as seen in the case of the doctor who got infected on board.

The WHO also noted that the disease is unlikely to become a large epidemic, as it's an isolated case occurring in a closed environment. However, public health measures like contact tracing and testing are key to preventing any further spread.

According to the WHO, the outbreak of the rat-borne disease among people aboard the MV Hondius ship after it left Argentina on April 1 was caused by the Andes strain.

Speaking to HealthandMe, Dr. Gautam Menon, Epidemiologist and Professor of Physics and Biology, Ashoka University, Delhi-NCR, said that the long incubation period is likely to complicate the spread of the hantavirus.

"What complicates matters is that incubation periods - the time between getting infected and symptoms showing - are large, up to several weeks, so passengers and their contacts will have to be quarantined for a long period before they can be declared safe." The expert said.

Is Hantavirus Similar To COVID-19?

Ven Kerkhove said that hantavirus causes severe respiratory issues, but it is still not the same as SARS-CoV-2.

This is not a new virus and is completely different from SARS-COV-2. It has caused similar outbreaks in Argentina in 2018, where contact tracing and other public health measures contained the spread.

"The outbreak of Hantavirus on a cruise ship has generated significant anxiety around the world, evoking memories of cruise ships affected by COVID-19 in the first phase of the pandemic. However, this is a different virus that is not known to spread efficiently from person to person. Its characteristics are already well-documented, unlike the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which was an unknown organism until then," Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Ex-President of IMA Cochin and Convener of the Research Cell, Kerala, told HealthandMe.

"The current cases do not indicate a pandemic threat, but they underline the growing importance of surveillance of zoonotic diseases. Strengthening rodent control, environmental hygiene, and early detection systems remains essential to prevent localized outbreaks and public panic. There is neither a proven treatment for its cure nor is there any vaccine," added Dr.Ishwar Gilada, Mumbai-based infectious disease expert.

How does The Hantavirus Affect The Human Body?

Hantavirus infection is caused by the hantavirus, which belongs to the Hantaviridae family. It is is rare but can be life-threatening.

The infection presents with initial symptoms resembling the flu and has a relatively high mortality of about 40%.

Also read: Hantavirus Sparks Global Alert As Countries Race To Trace Contacts; WHO Says Risk Low

Even though this virus is not believed to spread very efficiently, it would have done so far more easily in the enclosed environment that the ship provided, the experts said.

Dr Neha Rastogi, Senior Consultant, Infectious Diseases, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, told HealthandMe that it can be contracted by coming into contact with rodent saliva, urine, and feces.

Hantavirus can cause infection - 2 syndromes: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and haemorrhagic fever that may quickly develop into severe respiratory illness, as flu-like symptoms (fever, muscle aches, and fatigue) occur before developing serious respiratory symptoms (dyspnea) that may require respiratory assistance.

"On rare occasions, it can also spread from person to person through close contact. Rapid diagnosis and intensive medical treatment are critical for a successful outcome," Dr Rastogi said.

"Preventative measures include proper personal hygiene, avoiding contact with rodents or rodent-inhabited areas; using PPE when cleaning; and ensuring the area is well-ventilated," she added.

Although hantavirus infections can cause severe respiratory illness with high mortality, confirmed human cases globally remain relatively uncommon, Dr Gilada told HealthandMe

"The pneumonia syndrome caused by the virus is due to excessive permeability of blood vessels, resulting in fluid accumulation. It is managed with expert supportive care while the lungs recover, as there are currently no known antivirals or vaccines available for the Andes virus. By carefully tracking contacts and isolating those who might be infected, the virus can be stopped in its tracks, bringing this outbreak under control," Dr Jaydevan said.

Most people often wrap up their day at work with a sense of stress and severe exhaustion. But if you are part of the group that experiences severe headaches after office hours, it could be because of one common habit that may be causing you discomfort — chronic stress. When the mind keeps racing all day long because of deadlines, tension, and pressure, even during breaks, it leaves behind a sense of urgency. And that sense of urgency does not mitigate or come to an end when the day ends.

Why does stress build up even after work?

Several times, there are difficult or unpleasant situations at work — it could be because of unfinished tasks and conversations that play and replay in the mind. The nervous system, therefore, gets overburdened, thereby leading to headaches. According to doctors, a lot of corporate employees experience this pain after a day at their high-pressure jobs. And while it may sound like something that is out of your control, there is something that you can do.

How to deal with chronic stress after work?

Stress inherently is not bad for you, but only if it occurs in short bursts. In that case, it can improve performance, focus, and may even prepare the body to handle challenges. Problems, however, arise when stress becomes chronic. As a result, the nervous system starts to process both pain and stress at the same time, and while one is built to be highly adaptable, stress starts to respond to external and internal factors. When the brain continues to receive signals without getting ample time for recovery, the body enters a state of prolonged alertness.

In a sensitised state, situations that would otherwise be interpreted as minor may even get ignored. This can increase heart rate and muscle tension, thereby putting the nervous system into a fight-or-flight mode. In cases of constant headaches, sensitisation can lower the pain threshold. Consequently, headaches begin and become much harder to stop. Over time, this constant activation can disrupt the body's natural balance and create an environment for headaches to worsen.

Chronic stress and migraines

Chronic stress acts as a trigger for migraines — it can even worsen the discomfort. The neurological system of people experiencing migraines is more responsive to changes in hormones, environmental factors, and sleep patterns. Constant exposure to a stressor, therefore, can drive the severity and frequency of migraines. To make matters worse, muscle tension in the shoulders, neck, and scalp can also trigger headaches. Extended periods of sustained concentration and sitting can cause headaches later in the day.

Can sleep help reduce stress headaches?

Chronic stress has a debilitating impact on sleep quality as well. People who feel persistently wired at the end of the workday struggle to fall or stay asleep. As a result, the brain fails to recover properly. Poor sleep can therefore worsen the stress cycle, leading to headaches the next day as well. The loop is difficult to break, and excessive fatigue building up over time can make you feel overwhelmed. Over time, this loop leads to a decline in productivity, focus, and the ability to solve problems.