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Headaches are a common symptom of a stressful lifestyle, your body not feeling well and other issues. While headaches can be dealt with easily, migraines are not so easy to handle. Migraines are a type of headache that feels like severe throbbing and pulsing sensation, almost like you are hearing your own heartbeat in your brain, usually on one side of the brain. Many people believe that migraines are not that big of a deal because you just have to deal with the pain, but that is not all migraine is, some people find it very difficult to do their daily tasks as they experience dizzying spells, nausea and extreme sensitivity to light and sound! These attacks can last hours and make it difficult for people to go about their daily lives as well. While there are medications available for migraine patients, these medications need time to take effect, so you may be in a lot of pain, but there are not many quick reliefs you can have in place other than learning the symptoms of a migraine attack and taking medication before it happens. But a new approval by the FDA may change this!
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Symbravo, a new medicine to treat acute migraine attacks in adults. This means adults can now use Symbravo to get relief from their migraine symptoms. The FDA's decision was based on the results of three big studies, called Phase 3 trials. These trials involved over 21,000 migraine attacks, so the FDA has a lot of information about how well Symbravo works and how safe it is. The FDA only approves medicines that have been shown to be both safe and effective through a thorough testing process.
"Migraine attacks can happen suddenly and really mess up people's lives. It's estimated that over 39 million people in the U.S. alone get migraines," said Herriot Tabuteau, M.D., CEO of Axsome Therapeutics told US News. This shows how common migraines are and how important it is to have good treatments. "Symbravo gives patients and doctors a new option that can quickly stop a migraine attack, keep it away, and let people get back to their normal activities, all with just one dose." Having a medicine that can give fast and long-lasting relief from migraine pain is a big deal for millions of people. This new treatment is a real step forward in how we treat migraines.
The trials took place in 3 steps, the Momentum trial study focused on people whose migraines had moderate to severe pain. The results showed that a lot more people taking Symbravo felt pain-free two hours after taking the medicine compared to those who took a placebo which is a dummy pill. Even better, many people felt relief for up to 24 and even 48 hours after just one dose. This long-lasting relief is really important for people with migraines because it means they can get back to their normal lives without worrying about the pain coming back. The study also looked at how many people were free from their worst symptom, like sensitivity to light or sound, or nausea. Symbravo worked better than the placebo in this area too.
While the intercept trial looked at people who took Symbravo when their migraine pain was still mild. Even when the pain was just starting, Symbravo was effective. The results were similar to the MOMENTUM trial, with many people getting pain relief and relief from their worst symptoms. Treating migraines early is often better because it can stop the pain from getting really bad.
And lastly the Movement trial which was to see how safe the medication is when people take it regularly. This study followed 706 people who had at least two migraines a month. The most common side effects people experienced were sleepiness and dizziness. While these side effects are important to know about, the study showed that Symbravo is generally safe for people to use on a regular basis.
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Night shift workers often face the risks of poor sleep or sleep deprivation. They have long been advised to aim for one uninterrupted block of daytime sleep after work.
However, a new review suggests that splitting sleep into two separate periods, known as biphasic sleep, can help them avoid certain health risks.
Night shifts have become an unavoidable part of our lives. Healthcare professionals, emergency responders, factory employees, and transportation workers often work overnight.
Night shifts can disrupt the body's internal clock, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and cognitive decline.
Research also shows that night shift workers typically sleep one to four hours less than daytime workers, leading to chronic sleep debt over time.
The recent review, published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews, examined existing research on biphasic sleep among shift workers.
Researchers found that while evidence is still emerging, dividing sleep into two episodes can help workers get more sleep, improve alertness during night shifts, and potentially reduce a few long-term health risks associated with chronic sleep deprivation.
The researchers noted that although sleep recommendations traditionally focus on obtaining one long sleep period, many shift workers naturally divide their sleep into two episodes. They usually sleep for a few hours immediately after work and then take another longer sleep before returning for the next night shift.
"Biphasic sleep may help mitigate sleep loss-related impairments," the authors wrote, while observing that its potential benefits have not been fully understood until now.
According to the review, this split-sleep pattern could help workers accumulate more total sleep over a 24-hour period while fitting better around their daytime commitments.
Evidence also suggests biphasic sleep may improve alertness, reduce fatigue, and enhance cognitive performance compared to one uninterrupted daytime sleep, which is often shortened and disrupted by noise, light, or social obligations.
The findings build on a growing body of research suggesting that sleep does not necessarily have to occur in one continuous block to provide health benefits.
A 2025 review also stated that biphasic sleep may be a natural and flexible sleep pattern for some people and could be particularly useful for shift workers, new parents, and others facing unavoidable sleep disruption.
Experts do caution that split sleep is not a permanent solution. The latest review emphasizes that evidence is still limited as there are just a few reliable studies that directly compare biphasic and monophasic sleep among night workers.
Factors like shift schedules, chronotype, workplace demands, and individual health conditions can all influence whether the strategy is effective.
Sleep specialists also stress that the total amount of sleep remains the most important factor.
Adults should still aim for seven to nine hours of sleep within a 24-hour period whenever possible. Good sleep hygiene, including using blackout curtains, reducing noise, avoiding caffeine before bedtime, and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, continues to play a key role in protecting long-term health.
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A new study suggests that rising temperatures, floods and droughts could affect the predictability and frequency of waterborne disease outbreaks. Climate change can alter the traditional patterns of disease transmission in ways that are more complex than previously understood.
Researchers state that public health systems can no longer rely on existing weather-disease relationships, as global warming has significantly changed the environmental conditions and their influence how pathogens survive, spread and infect people.
The review says that increasing temperatures, extreme rainfall, prolonged droughts and flooding do not simply increase disease risk. Instead, they can alter the timing, intensity and location of outbreaks, making them less predictable.
"Climate change is resetting many of the environmental conditions that determine when and where waterborne diseases emerge," the researchers noted, emphasizing that disease surveillance systems must evolve to keep pace with these changing dynamics.
According to the researchers, several climate-related factors work together to increase the likelihood of contaminated water and disease transmission.
Also read: Cholera Outbreak In Sudan: 117 Dead, 838 Suspected Cases, Says WHO
Warmer water allows bacteria, viruses and parasites to multiply more rapidly. Pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera, thrive in warmer aquatic environments.
Extreme rainfall can overwhelm sewage systems and contaminate drinking water with human and animal waste. Floodwaters also spread pathogens into rivers, lakes and groundwater supplies.
Although drought reduces water availability, it can also increase disease risk. Limited water supplies often become more concentrated with pathogens, while communities may be forced to use unsafe water sources.
Storms, cyclones and floods frequently damage sanitation infrastructure, creating conditions where waterborne infections can spread rapidly.
These factors interact in different ways depending on geography, infrastructure and local climate, making future outbreaks increasingly difficult to forecast.
Also read: How To Spot Leptospirosis, Dengue, Malaria During Monsoons? Early Symptoms Not To Neglect
Researchers say climate-sensitive waterborne illnesses include:
Children, older adults and people living in regions with limited access to safe drinking water and sanitation are expected to face the greatest risks.
The researchers stress that instead of reacting to outbreaks the governments should strengthen climate-friendly public health systems. The key recommendations include:
Researchers say that understanding the evolving relationship between climate and infectious diseases will be essential to protecting communities across the world as global temperatures continue to rise.
Climate change is increasingly being recognized as a major public health threat, extending beyond heatwaves and air pollution to affecting patterns of infectious diseases.
The new review suggests that future waterborne disease outbreaks may not simply become more frequent but also less predictable, requiring health systems to adapt quickly to a changing climate.
As extreme weather events become more common worldwide, researchers warn that protecting safe water supplies and strengthening surveillance will be critical to reducing the growing burden of waterborne diseases.
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Nearly nine out of every 10 Indian adults have at least one abnormal blood lipid level, according to a recent nationwide study by ICMR-INDIAB.
The findings highlighted a massive looming public health crisis that could increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases across the country in the near future.
The findings, which were reported between July 17 and July 19, 2026, reveal that dyslipidemia, an unhealthy imbalance of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, affects an alarming number of Indian adults.
Despite being preventable and treatable, the condition often remains undiagnosed because it presents with little to no symptoms until serious complications surface.
The study was conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research’s India Diabetes (ICMR-INDIAB) in what is one of the country’s largest community-based metabolic health surveys, involving over 113,000 adults from different states and Union Territories.
According to the study, women, those living in urban areas, and residents of Central India carried a disproportionately higher burden of abnormal lipid levels.
Researchers also found that dyslipidemia was significantly more common among people with prediabetes or diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
These metabolic conditions substantially increasing the risk of various cardiovascular diseases and complications.
Dyslipidemia refers to unhealthy levels of fats circulating in the bloodstream. These include:
ICMR-INDIAB programme has already shown that lipid disorders remain one of the concerning health risks. However, the latest study highlights just how serious the problem has become, with nearly 90% of adults exhibiting at least one lipid abnormality.
Factors like rapid urbanisation, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets, obesity and rising diabetes rates are likely contributing to the worsening burden of cholesterol.
Unlike many chronic diseases, dyslipidemia can be managed through early detection and lifestyle change. Doctors recommend the following preventive measures:
India has witnessed a steady rise in metabolic disorders over the past two decades, with cases of diabetes, obesity, hypertension and abnormal cholesterol increasingly surging.
Researchers warn that unless preventive measures are strengthened and strict lifestyle changes adopted, the country could face an even greater burden of heart disease and other related disorders in the future.
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