British health authorities have warned dog owners to avoid feeding their pets with certain dog chews imported from China. The warning by the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA) came after the European Union (EU) predicted a possible link between dog food and a rare and alarming condition known as "werewolf syndrome." The alert was raised after a dog died in the Netherlands after eating products of Barkoo and Chrisco brands. Meanwhile, symptoms such as panic attacks, aggression, spasms and epileptic fits have been noted in many dogs across several countries.

What Is Werewolf Syndrome?

All the Chinese treats are potentially linked to dogs experiencing what is known as Werewolf Syndrome in dogs. The symptoms of this condition include:

• Panic Attacks
• Aggression
• Spasms
• Epileptic Fits
• In some extreme cases, death

Physical symptoms such as epileptic-style seizures, vomiting, diarrhoea and lethargy have also been observed in some cases. Reports have primarily come from pet parents in mainland Europe, prompting further investigations in countries including Germany, Finland, Belgium, Switzerland and now also in the Netherlands.

Amidst the outbreak, FSA has included advice for pet owners. They have asked people to stop feeding their pet dogs with the affected chews immediately. The products include Barkoo kaustange natur 29 cms, Barkoo kauknochen, geknotet natur 11cm, Barkoo Kauknochen geknotet 24cm, Barkoo Kauknochen geknotet mit Spirulina 12cm, Chrisco Products include Chrisco Tyggeruller med kylling & kyllingelever, 100g, Chrisco Tyggeruller 18 stk. - hvide, Chrisco Massive politistave, 2.stk. - brune,

Chrisco Massive politistave, 2stk. - hvide, Chrisco Tyggerulle m. kylling & kyllingelever, 1stk.

Also, if the dog is unwell and has been fed any of the dog chews listed, the owner should seek veterinary advice and provide detailed information to the vet about the foods and treats the dog has been fed.

"While there is no confirmed distribution of affected products to the UK, there is the possibility that some consumers may have purchased these online from international sellers," Tina Potter, head of incidents at the FSA said in a statement. "No unsafe dog chews have been identified but, based on international investigations so far, we are advising dog owners to avoid feeding the affected chews to dogs as a precaution," she added.

Can It Be Transfered To Humans?

No, there is no evidence that dog Werewolf syndrome can transfer to humans (Zootonic transfer).

What Is Causing Werewolf Syndrome In Dogs?

According to the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), contaminated batches are thought to contain harmful substances. Researchers currently suspect that chew bones, chew snacks and chew sticks may have been contaminated with mycotoxins (mould toxins) during the production process.

While no definitive contamination cause has been identified, early theories could also suggest the symptoms might be linked to chemical residue, bacterial toxins or allergens in the products. Experts have ruled out infections, vaccinations and tick remedies as the cause in affected dogs at the University Animal Hospital in Utrecht.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has recently approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for patients with previously treated advanced neuroendocrine tumors. This is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which is offering a new standard for care of this patient group. This has been announced by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

How Was The Drug Approved?

The approval came on the bases of the results from the phase 3 CABINET study. The study compared cabozantinib to a placebo in patients with advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

As per the National Cancer Institute, neuroendocrine tumor grows from neuroendocrine cells. These cells receive and send messages through hormones to help the body function. These cells are found in organs throughout the body. The neuroendocrine tumor was called carcinoid tumor

These tumors grow very slowly and are mostly found in appendix, also known as appendiceal neuroendocrine tumors. When found in lungs, they are also called bronchial tumors. These areas are more common in children and young adults. Whereas for adults, it is mostly found in the digestive tract, called the GI neuroendocrine tumor. What makes it concerning is that it can also spread to other parts of the body but does so more in adults than in children.

They are rare in children and more common in adults, affecting up to 4 in 100,000 adults.

The drug which FDA has approved based on the phase 3 CABINER study's results have been published last September in the New England Journal of Medicine. Patients who were treated with cabozantinib survived significantly longer with no worsening of their disease compared with patients who received placebo. This also improved the efficacy as was observed in the interim analysis. The trial was in fact terminated early and unblinded in August 2023.

Are There Any Side Effects From The FDA Approved Drugs?

The reported side effects of cabozantinib were similar to those found in other studies of the drug. They include:

• Hypertension
• Fatigue
• Diarrhea

"Patients with neuroendocrine tumors often face a difficult journey," lead author of the CABINET study, Jennifer Chan, M.D., M.P.H., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said in a statement. "Despite advances in recent years, there has remained a critical need for new and effective therapies for patients whose cancer has grown or spread. Cabozantinib significantly improved outcomes in this patient population and this FDA approval provides new hope."

How Is Neuroendocrine tumor diagnosed?

While some people have symptoms, others may do not have any symptoms. These symptoms depends on where in your body the tumor has grown.

Patients who have appendiceal neuroendocrine tumors may have symptoms of appendicitis, such as pain in abdomen. They could also be later diagnosed with carcinoid tumor in case the doctor removes the appendix and finds a tumor. Patients with carcinoid tumor in other parts of the digestive tract may have symptoms such as:

• Pain in the abdomen
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Other ways to detect is by lab tests, imaging, and biopsy.

For most women, this reality is what menopause feels like, a time when hormonal changes impact everything from sleep routines to mood stability. Oprah Winfrey recently shared her own personal battle with menopause, exposing how it left her unable to read her favorite books or even host her famous book club. In a candid conversation, Winfrey explained how the overwhelming symptoms—especially heart palpitations and an inability to concentrate—left her feeling like she was “literally going to die every single night.”

It’s a topic that’s often kept behind closed doors, but menopause affects millions of women globally. According to the National Institute on Aging, menopause is reached when a woman has had no period for 12 months in a row, normally between the ages of 45-55, and may create a variety of symptoms ranging from hot flashes to emotional upset. Oprah's announcement of her own menopause experience highlights the not-so-well-known symptoms and raises awareness of the need for greater information and support. Let's take Oprah's journey and see how we can learn more about and cope with this natural but too-often-misunderstood phase of life.

But media mogul Oprah Winfrey is breaking that. In a recent interview, Winfrey, 71, spoke candidly about her own menopause experience, describing an ordeal so overwhelming that she thought she was "going to die every single night."

Winfrey's confession is not simply another celebrity revelation—it's a wake-up call for millions of women across the globe who suffer from menopausal symptoms in ignorance, without proper medical attention, or public support.

Menopause, that phase of life when a woman's menstrual cycle permanently ceases because of the decrease in estrogen and progesterone levels, is usually coupled with symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats. But in Winfrey's case, it was different—though no less unsettling.

One of the most surprising and disturbing symptoms that she experienced was one of inattention. An avid reader since childhood and the face of Oprah's Book Club, she discovered that she couldn't read.

The worst for me, this is when I realized I really was in trouble, is when I couldn't focus reading," Winfrey explained to ABC News' Kayna Whitworth. "I adore reading so much, but I abandoned the book club because I could not focus when I was reading. I could no longer complete a book.

It wasn't until she began hormone therapy with estrogen that she regained her concentration. "I brought back [the book club] when I began taking estrogen because I could concentrate again, but I actually never mentioned that before," she confessed. "It makes me want to cry."

Lesser-Known Symptoms of Menopause

Although night sweats and hot flashes are universally acknowledged as symptoms of menopause, other physical and psychological consequences tend to go unmentioned. Winfrey felt palpitations of the heart—a symptom she never correlated with menopause.

"I did not have night sweats, and I did not have hot flashes, but I had never heard that palpitations [were] a symptom of menopause," she explained. "When I was going through it, there was nothing. There was nobody."

This absence of knowledge concerning the entire range of menopausal symptoms is a crucial concern. Menopause influences each woman uniquely, with some suffering from anxiety, depression, insomnia, mental fogginess, or even arthritis, says the National Institute of Health (NIH). And though it touches everyone equally, menopause has been among the least talked about and most under-studied topics in women's health.

Committed to making sure that other women do not have to endure in silence, Winfrey is leveraging her platform to ignite a long-overdue discussion. Her new Hulu special, An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution, seeks to inform and empower women on menopause, offering expert advice and real-life stories to guide them through this stage of life with confidence.

She also tweeted to highlight how crucial it was to discuss menopause. "When I underwent menopause, I couldn't sleep for two years. I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't read my favorite books. I had heart palpitations. Nobody informed me about this. Now we're discussing it, so no woman suffers," she posted on Facebook.

Winfrey's advocacy is part of a larger effort to make menopause conversations mainstream and better healthcare responses. Women should have access to proper information and healthcare providers who seriously consider their symptoms.

What Women Need to Know About Seeking the Right Medical Support?

Winfrey's experience teaches an important lesson: women need not be afraid to get a medical consult when they are experiencing symptoms of menopause. "Because it hits every cell in your body, the first time you have any of the symptoms, that's when you need to go go find a doctor who will hear you, listen to you, and take action for you," she encouraged.

Far too frequently, women's menopausal symptoms are downplayed, and they must cope with the changes by themselves. Professionals advise going to see a gynecologist or a menopause specialist as early as perimenopause—the pre-menopause phase—so that possibilities such as hormone therapy, lifestyle modifications, and other forms of treatment can be discussed.

Oprah Winfrey's honest narrative about her battle with menopause is a call to change the way society understands and responds to this natural phenomenon. It's about tearing down the taboo and myth surrounding menopause so that future generations of women will be better equipped and empowered.

With powerful voices such as Winfrey at the forefront, menopause is no longer a silent battle—it's a dialogue that must be heard.

In an exclusive interview with Health and Me, Lt Gen Dr. Vimal Arora who is the Chief Clinical Officer (CCO) at Clove Dental talked about his experiences of treating the former Presidents of India and the time when he served as one of the doctors at the Air Force Institute of Dental Sciences in Bengaluru.

In 1982, Rakesh Sharma was selected as a cosmonaut for a joint Soviet-Indian spaceflight. With him, ex IAF Pilot Ravish Malhotra was also selected who was trained to fly on that mission as a backup for Rakesh Sharma. For this mission, Sharma was rigorously trained at Moscow's Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center for two years. He also underwent a test for claustrophobia in Bengaluru's Indian Air Force facility with being locked in a room for 72 hours for the test.

It was there only when Dr Arora had come across the case. "I was young in Bengaluru, and we had these India astronauts who would go along with Russian astronauts and the medical were also going on. At that time, I distinctly remember Rakesh Sharma and Ravish Malhotra and only one of them were supposed to go," he shares.

It was there when Dr Arora got caught in a debate with regards to their medical checkup. It was on whether the astronauts should have their wisdom tooth removed.

"Their dental checkups were done and we were told that their wisdom teeth had to be taken out. We were fighting with them (Russian doctors)," Dr Arora shares.

"I said, 'they are perfectly fine, why is there a need to extract their tooth? It is not going to cause any trouble.' But it was made very clear from the Russians and their team of doctors and dentists that wisdom teeth must be removed."

The reason for this was, as Dr Arora explained, the astronauts, the mission and everyone else who have invested in the spaceflight could not let a wisdom tooth ache become a issue to cancel the trip. Even if there is a chance that this may cause tooth pain, the trip had to be called back and the team could not afford that.

"This is when I learned the wisdom tooth has to go away. It was a different lesson for me at that time," he shares.

After that, Dr Arora says that many more things had enlightened him, including the first intra oral full mouth x-ray machines which had also been imported there.

He says that dentistry has changed unimaginably. The amount of technology that dentists used is not used in any other health sector.

His experiences do not just end there. He has also treated the former Presidents of India including Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr Pranab Mukherjee.

"What makes them stand apart was the simplicity with which they treated the doctor. I remember that I was more nervous when I had to talk to Dr Kalam. But he always had this child-like simplicity and child-like curiosity. He always left with some kind of messages and it gave me a different lesson in my life."