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.

Nigeria is witnessing an outbreak of cholera, and to curb the spread of the disease, the police there have ordered sanitation measures in the northeastern state of Borno. According to the local media and authorities, about 39 people have died due to the waterborne disease. Local authorities have also reported at least 4,204 cases of infection.

According to the local health authorities, the outbreak is spreading in the Borno capital, Maiduguri, and the surrounding Jere district. The state police commissioner "has directed the full enforcement of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise." The statement added, "Residents are therefore urged to actively participate in the exercise by cleaning their homes, business premises, drainage channels, and surrounding environments."

He added, "To ensure compliance, police personnel and other relevant stakeholders will be deployed to strategic locations across the state during the sanitation period."

The nation is very cautious about the outbreak and has taken several steps to contain the disease as much as possible. The state government has set dedicated treatment centers for public convenience. Notably, cholera is spread by bacteria-tainted water and food, which can easily cause dehydration and diarrhoea.

The advent of modern sewerage systems has eradicated diseases throughout the modern world. Though war, conflict, and social unrest in nations like Nigeria and Sudan result in these unfortunate outbreaks, which take thousands of lives and affect many families.

As Ebola is spreading in African nations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, another breakout of Cholera in Nigeria is showing the vulnerabilities of how rampant it is in Africa.

What Is Cholera?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. This can be transmitted through drinking water or eating food that contains the bacteria. While most people who get cholera don't get sick, it can cause life-threatening diarrhea and vomiting.

CDC notes that each year, 1.3 to 4 million people around the world get cholera. Among them, 21,000 to 143,000 people die.

What Are The Common Symptoms?

The common symptoms include:

• watery diarrhea
• vomiting
• leg cramps
• losing body fluids
• dehydration and shock

Usually, people develop symptoms within 1 to 10 days of consuming the bacteria.

Who Is At More Risk?

People who live in areas with unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, and inadequate hygiene are at the highest risk of getting cholera. The disease can spread quickly in areas where sewage and drinking water are not adequately treated. It can also live in brackish water, which is slightly salty, or in coastal water. Thus, eating raw shellfish can also cause cholera.

COVID-19, a name that can trigger a plethora of bad memories and constant fear, a time of solitude and captivity. Though now a breakthrough in medical science connected with coronavirus is giving hope to the possible prevention of Ebola. The universal vaccine was designed entirely by artificial intelligence (AI), and more importantly, it was successful.

It was the first time an AI-designed vaccine has completed a human clinical trial. The results of the trials were published in the Journal of Infection, and according to that report, phase one of the trial was observed by 39 healthy adult volunteers aged 18 to 50 and demonstrated a 100 pc safety profile.

The study stated that this vaccine was developed by the research team at the University of Cambridge and the company DIOSynVax, and they claimed that their vaccine has strong immune responses against various coronavirus strains.

And with this very crucial discovery in medical science, there is also a hope for designing a very effective vaccine for Ebola. Essentially, offering a proactive shield against a disease that continues to pose a significant global public health risk.

How Will This Breakthrough Contribute To The Development Of An Ebola Vaccine?

The vaccines that are traditional often tend to be reactive in nature, which means they can only work on a particular strain of a virus, and as a result, when the virus mutates and evolves, it becomes obsolete.

Artificial intelligence or machine learning can make a big difference in this aspect as it scans the genetic sequences of an entire family of viruses. The development of a universal COVID vaccine followed the same process. The AI pointed out the core features common to all of them, including strains that haven't even crossed over to humans yet, and after that, it has designed the new vaccine.

Though this very vaccine will not directly work on Ebola, the same process and technology can be used to create a similar vaccine in record time for Ebola as well. As the situation of the disease worsens by the day, it has crossed 500 cases.

As of Saturday, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported that its total number of Ebola cases had increased to 488 from 452 cases and caused 86 deaths. Its neighbor, Uganda, also has reported 19 cases.

This time, the Ebola outbreak has caused most harm to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and during this mayhem, its neighboring nation, Uganda, which is also fighting to contain the disease as it is also seeing a surge in cases, has completely closed off its western border with DRC.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak an international public health emergency, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the Ebola outbreak of this time could swell to become the largest Ebola epidemic in history.

The situation regarding the outbreak of Ebola is nowhere near slowing down, and the World Health Organization (WHO) said that this outbreak of Ebola is far from under control. The outbreak of the disease in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda has already reached the 500 mark.

On Saturday, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported that its total number of Ebola cases had increased to 488 from 452 cases and caused 86 deaths. Its neighbor, Uganda, also has reported 19 cases.

This time the Ebola outbreak has caused most harm to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and during this mayhem its neighboring nation Uganda which is also fighting to contain the disease as it is also seeing surge in cases thus it has completely closed off its western border with DRC.

The worsening condition of the situation is clear, as the global health monitoring organization, the World Health Organization (WHO), has already declared the outbreak an international public health emergency.

And it's not only the case with WHO, another big name in public health, but the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the Ebola outbreak of this time could swell to become the largest Ebola epidemic to date, and is likely to rival the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.

The patient number is still growing as the disease is spreading, and this spread is very hard to contain without an approved vaccine. Though work on the vaccine is in full swing, research on three different vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola still needs time, even after being set to be fast-tracked for trials.

What Is Ebola?

Ebola is a severe and deadly disease caused by a virus mostly found in Africa. The spread of the disease happens through contact with infected body fluids.

Some symptoms can indicate a possible infection. This includes fever, headache, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, sore throat, and unexplained bleeding. This eventually leads to severe complications like bleeding, organ failure, and death.

Ebola is a highly lethal viral hemorrhagic fever first identified in 1976. Over the past five decades, it has caused over 30 outbreaks, primarily in Central and West Africa. The virus takes its name from the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Three strains of the virus — Ebola virus, Sudan virus, and Bundibugyo virus — have caused the largest outbreaks in Africa. Among them, the Ebola virus is considered the deadliest, with fatality rates reaching up to 90% without treatment.

These viruses have repeatedly emerged from animal reservoirs and infected humans in African countries. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone, this marks the 17th Ebola outbreak and the third linked to the Bundibugyo strain.