The US Food and Drug Administration has approved TNKase or Tenecteplase, which is a thrombolytic or clot-dissolving agent, for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in adults.

Ischemic strokes happen when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in your brain. It can cause permanent brain damage and death. If enough brain cells die, you can also lose the abilities or body functions those cells control. They are also the most common types of stroke, with 80% of all strokes being ischemic strokes.

How is TNKase administered?

It is delivered as a single five-second intravenous bolus, which is faster than the standard of care Activase or alteplase, which is administered as an intravenous bolus followed by a 60-minute infusion. The manufacturer of TNKase, Genetech said a new 25-mg vial configuration will also be available in the coming months.

How Was TNKase approved?

The approval came at the backdrop of a study that compared TNKase to Activase in patients with acute ischemic stroke. These patients also presented with a disabling neurological deficit. Results show that TNKase was comparable to Activase in terms of efficacy and safety.

How Common Are These Strokes?

In the United States it self, it affects more than 795,000 people each year and is the leading cause of long-term disability. It is also the fifth leading cause of death. Since brain damage can happen if this progresses rapidly, one needs an immediate, fast-acting medical care.

TNKase thus provide a faster and simpler administration which can be critical for anyone. The chief medical officer and head of global product development at Genetech, Levi Garraway, MD., PhD., said, "Today's approval is a significant step forward and underscores our commitment to advancing stroke treatment options for patients."

What Are The Symptoms Of Ischemic Strokes?

Some of the most common symptoms include weakness or paralysis on one side of your face and body. You may also feel trouble speaking or have loss of speech, also known as aphasia. You may faced slurred or garbled speaking, also known as dysarthria. Other symptoms include loss of muscle control on one side of your face, or sudden worsening or loss of your senses, including vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

Other symptoms include:

• Loss of coordination or clumsiness
• Blurry vision or double vision
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Nausea and vomiting
• Neck stiffness
• Mood swings or sudden personality changes
• Confusion or agitation
• Seizures
• Memory loss (amnesia)
• Headaches which are sudden and severe
• Passing out or fainting
• Coma

Are There Any Warning Signs?

While these are symptoms one has who is prone to this condition. However, often, many may confuse it with other illnesses. It is best to keep an eye out for warning signs. These could be looking out for yourself or your loved one. Note if there is a sudden loss of balance. Look out for sudden vision loss or changes in one or both eyes. Look for a droop on one or both sides of your face, especially when you smile. Raise both arms and see if one arm sags or drops in a way it usually does not. Note for your speech. Are you as fluent? Are you have trouble speaking? If you see any of such signs, start tracking it and talk to your healthcare provider.

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.