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.

Trump Using Walker: A photograph circulating widely online shows President Donald Trump moving through the White House with the help of a walker. The image has been reposted across social platforms, driven by growing public interest in the president’s health.

Many users sharing it claim the picture was taken shortly after Trump “signed the executive order banning states from regulating AI.” The viral post comes at a time when the president’s health has been under sharp public attention, especially after reports that he recently underwent an MRI. This has raised the question: Did President Trump actually rely on a walker, or is the image artificially created?

Also Read: President Trump Says Media Reports On His Health Are All 'Fake, Seditious, Treasonous'

Trump Using Walker: Is President Trump Using A Walker To Walk Nowadays?

The picture in question shows Trump standing in a White House hallway, looking upward and appearing to support himself with a walker. The details, however, do not match reality. Another version of the same image has been shared online with the walker appearing in gold. No major news organisation or official White House photographer has released or confirmed the picture. All available signs point to the photo being edited or made with AI tools.

Several users also spread the image alongside claims that it was taken after he approved an executive order on artificial intelligence. Different versions of the post show the walker in various colours, including gold. These posts have drawn significant engagement, especially as online speculation about Trump’s health has become more frequent over recent months, often fuelled by exaggerated or misleading narratives.

Grok, the fact-checking tool, also reviewed the claims and stated, “The image appears to be digitally altered or AI-generated. No credible news reports confirm Trump using a walker in December 2025, though the executive order on AI regulation is real.”

Trump Walker: Amid Health Concerns, Donald Trump Says He "Aced 3rd Cognitive Exam"

President Donald Trump has said he recently achieved a perfect score on a third cognitive test as he works to push back against doubts about his age and sharpness. In a post on social media on Tuesday night, he wrote that, along with a set of “long, thorough, and very boring Medical Examinations,” he had taken a cognitive assessment “on three separate occasions, the last one being recently.”

“I ACED all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know,” Trump wrote. “I have been told that few people have been able to ‘ace’ this Examination and, in fact, most do very poorly, which is why many other Presidents have decided not to take it at all.”

Trump, who is 79, said he was sharing this information after what he called inaccurate reporting in The New York Times, which noted his official schedule has appeared lighter than in his first term, and pointed to moments where he closed his eyes for extended periods during meetings.

Donald Trump Walker: Donald Trump Health Concerns

As previously reported by Health and Me, President Trump has been dealing with a few medical concerns. The White House recently announced that he underwent an MRI as part of his yearly medical evaluation, which Trump described as “standard,” though he acknowledged he was not entirely sure what the doctors were assessing, according to USA Today.

Earlier this year, officials also disclosed that Trump had been diagnosed with a common vein issue that is usually manageable with treatment, after he was observed with swelling around his ankles. Despite these developments, the 79-year-old president continues to insist that his overall health remains strong.

President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the media reports on his physical conditions were "seditious, perhaps even treasonous". He called these reports "fake", and said that "They are true Enemies of the People, and we should do something about it."

He was referring to the media reports by The New York Times and other media platforms that have time and again questioned the "perfectly fit" state of the President. The NYT in response said that it would not be deterred by "false and inflammatory language" that distorts the role of a free press.

Also Read: Inside The 'Flu-Nami' Surge: Why 2025 Is the Worst Flu Year For UK

Which Media Reports Is Trump Talking About?

While the 79-year-old president with an "excellent health" record did not specify which report he was referring to, the newspaper had posted a few handful of reports in recent week. In a November 25 story, 'Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging In Office', reporters noted that Trump's public and travel schedules were now less than how it used to be.

The report also noted that during an Oval Office event on November 6, while other executives talked about weight-loss drugs, President Trump sat behind his desk for about 20 minutes and at one point, his eyelids drooped until his eyes were almost closed. The report notes: "He appeared to doze on and off for several seconds. At another point, he opened his eyes and looked toward a line of journalists watching him. He stood up only after a guest who was standing near him fainted and collapsed."

Read: Is President Trump Healthy? Ask Netizens As Trump Slept While Dr Oz Spoke On Dementia And Obesity At The Press Conference

Another story from December 2 accompanied the video where he "appeared to be fighting sleep" during a cabinet meeting.

A story from December 8 'Trump's Approval Ratings Have Declined. So Has His Vigor', columnist Frank Bruni wrote that Americans "might wat to brace ourselves for some presidential deja vu. He is starting to give President Joe Biden vibes." The comparison with Biden comes from the debate with Trump that raised doubts about the then-President's fitness to run the office.

Trump Denies Any Allegations Against His Health

Despite these reports, Trump says that he is history's hardest-working president with a lengthy list of accomplishments, reported AP. He also said that he went out of his way to get a "long, thorough, and very boring" medical examination, which also included three cognitive tests, which, according to him, he "ACED".

“The New York Times, and some others, like to pretend that I am ‘slowing up,’ and maybe not as sharp as I once was, or am in poor physical health, knowing that it is not true,” the President said.

This is not the first time that health of an American President is being discussed. From a long time, this debate has been a delicate one, and there have been cases of the White House and the press covering it. The instances are Gorver Cleveland's secret tumor surgery, Woodrow Wilson's debilitating stroke, Franklin D Roosevelt's polio, Dwight D Eisenhower's heart attack, and also President Trump questioning cognitive fitness of former President Biden.

Trump has already a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against Times. He is also involved in legal cases with The Associated Press and CBS News, among others, reported AP.

Flu-Nami hits the UK winters and the National Health Services (NHS) is bracing it as the healthcare system struggles with overwhelming cases. This is a severe "super flu" that has surged across the UK, leading to hospitalization in England in its early-winter levels. NHS leaders have warned for a "worst case scenario" in December.

General practitioner and health communicator, Dr Rob Hicks writes in Medscape that an average of 2660 patients per day were in an NHS hospital bed last week for flu. This is the "highest ever recorded for early December and a 55% increase on the previous week".

When compared to last year, there were 1861 patients on hospital beds with flu, and in 2023, it was only 402.

Also Read: President Trump Says Media Reports On His Health Are All 'Fake, Seditious, Treasonous'

Since the pandemic, flu numbers have peaked at 5408 patients last winter and 5441 between 2022 to 2023. In fact, NHS national medical director Professor Meghna Pandit also said an "unprecedented wave of super flu" meant staff was being "pushed to the limit". She said that with hospitalizations continuing to rise, "the peak is not in sight yet"

“The NHS is in the thick of a storm come early. Flu is hitting hard, and shows no sign of abating,” warned NHS Provider chief executive Daniel Elkeles.

The Flu-Nami Explained

The NHS record of over 2000 beds being occupied by flu patients is what referred to as a 'flu-nami'. A dig at the word tsunami, to explain the wave of flu patients in early winters. All thanks to the mutated flu virus or the subclade K of the "drifted flu H3N2 strain".

This puts Christmas is danger, as the holidays are not far off and in people being gathered, the virus, which is already more contagious in nature, could spread more easily. The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) mainly affects babies and elderly people. Along with that COVID is already causing problems. Pandit warns that these two could "engulf hospitals".

Also Read: China Reversed Its Air Pollution Problems; What Lessons Can Delhi Learn?

On top of that, thousands of resident doctors in England are also out on strike next week. The British Medical Association has called for strikes over pay and working conditions of the doctors since 2023. It argued that resident doctors' pay is 20% lower in real terms than it was in 2008, even after the 2025 increases.

Vaccine Is The First Line Of Defense

New figures from the UKHSA show that flu vaccine uptake among people at higher risk is alarmingly low. By 7 December, only 37.4% of under-65s with one or more long-term conditions had received their shot.

The numbers are even lower for some groups. Only 35.6 percent of pregnant women had been vaccinated. Among young children, just 41.5 percent of two-year-olds and 42.3 percent of three-year-olds had received the jab.

The one group doing better is adults over 65, where uptake has reached 71.7 percent.

Doctors are urging people to take every possible step to avoid catching or spreading flu. Ed Hutchinson, professor of molecular and cellular virology at Glasgow University, said that simple measures like masking, social distancing and working from home can make a big difference to how fast influenza spreads.

Shereen Hussein, professor of health policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, encouraged people to look out for older relatives and neighbors and help them get vaccinated.

“This Christmas, safe connection should be the priority when visiting people. Short but frequent visits, good ventilation, wearing a mask if you have mild symptoms or have recently been unwell, and switching to phone or video calls if an in-person visit isn’t safe,” Hussein said.

Watson from the UKHSA also repeated the agency’s guidance that anyone with symptoms who needs to go out should consider wearing a face covering.

There have been reports of some pharmacies running short of flu vaccines, but pharmacy groups say these are only isolated cases and that overall supply remains strong.

Separate NHS England data released on Thursday showed that the waiting list for planned hospital care rose again in October, climbing slightly to 7.4 million treatments from 7.39 million in September.

Dr Vicky Price, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the latest performance figures paint a familiar picture of a health system under constant pressure.

“While the ongoing flu-nami is being blamed for most of the crisis, it has become a convenient excuse. The reality is that the situation comes from years of shrinking capacity and chronic workforce shortages,” she said.

Health secretary Wes Streeting added that hospitals are facing “a tidal wave of flu tearing through our wards.”