(Credit-Canva)
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.
Credit: Reuters/iStock
Argentina has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO), its foreign minister has announced.
The country follows the footsteps of the United States, which in January made its exit from the global health body, after President Donald Trump condemned the WHO for not properly handling the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
Argentina, a key ally of Trump, also criticized the WHO on its role during COVID and made the formal notification of withdrawal last year. Based on the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the withdrawal takes effect one year after a notification is made.
Taking to the social media platform X, the country's Foreign Ministry reported that Argentina has now completed the withdrawal process within the timeframe stipulated by international treaties.
"Today, Argentina's withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) takes effect, marking one year since the formal notification made by our country," Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said on X.
"Our country will continue to promote international cooperation in health through bilateral agreements and regional forums, fully safeguarding its sovereignty and its decision-making capacity in health policy matters," he added.
In 2025, Argentina declared that "the WHO's recommendations are ineffective because they are not based on science, but on political interests", the AFP reported.
Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni told a press conference at the time that the decision "gives the country greater flexibility to implement policies adapted to the context and interests that Argentina requires, as well as greater availability of resources, and reaffirms our path towards a country with sovereignty also in matters of health", Xinhua news agency reported.
While WHO's membership is nearly universal, and withdrawals are extremely uncommon, the United States, earlier in January this year, became the first country to formally withdraw from the UN health body.
It comes a year after Trump signed an executive order to exit the multinational grouping on his return to the White House.
In its statements, the United States cited as one of the reasons for its decision, “WHO failures during the COVID-19 pandemic”, including “obstructing the timely and accurate sharing of critical information” and that the WHO “concealed those failures”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) was founded on April 7, 1948, when its constitution officially came into force, making it a specialized agency of the United Nations.
The global health body has been instrumental in eradicating smallpox and tackling public health threats like polio, HIV, Ebola, and tuberculosis.
In January, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he deeply regretted the move, saying it would make the United States and the rest of the world unsafe.
The withdrawal of the US -- accounting for nearly a fifth of the WHO’s budget -- also affected its budget. Ghebreyesus also warned of falling donor support and severe budget cuts.
The agency is facing “the greatest disruption to global health financing in memory” as contributions fall sharply across the board, the WHO chief said.
The WHO has revised its financial plans, scaling back its current spending and proposing a 21 percent cut for the 2026-2027 budget cycle.
In November 2025, the global health body announced that its workforce will shrink by nearly a quarter or over 2,000 jobs by mid 2026.
Credit: UNICEF
In 2024, an estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday, including 2.3 million newborns, according to an alarming new report by the United Nations today.
A majority of the deaths could have been prevented with proven, low-cost interventions and access to better health care, revealed the Levels & Trends in Child Mortality report.
While child mortality under-five globally has fallen by more than half since 2000, the pace of reduction slowed down by more than 60 percent after 2015.
“The world has made remarkable progress in saving children’s lives, but many still die from preventable causes,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“Children living amid conflict and crisis are nearly three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday. We must protect essential health and nutrition services and reach the most vulnerable families so every child has the chance not only to survive, but to thrive,” he added.
Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) claimed more than 100,000 children aged 1-59 months in 2024, mainly in Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan.
Notably, malnutrition weakens children’s immunity and increases their risk of dying from common childhood diseases.
Complications during labor and delivery (21 percent)
Infections, including neonatal sepsis and congenital anomalies
diarrhea,
pneumonia
In adolescents, self-harm was the leading cause of death among girls aged 15–19, and road traffic injuries among boys.
Europe and Northern America -- 9 per cent
Australia and New Zealand -- 6 per cent.
Southern Asia -- 25 per cent of all under-five deaths
Children and youth between 5 and 24 years old
The report called for increasing investments in child health with low-cost interventions, such as
“History has shown what is possible when the world commits to protecting its children. With sustained investment and political will, we can continue to build on those achievements for future generations,” Russell added.
Credits: Canva/Kent University
A meningitis outbreak in Kent University is now treated as a national incident, after two people have died, one of them being the student of the university. Students have been urged to get vaccines and take antibiotics as health officials are dealing with the "unprecedented" and "explosive" outbreak.
As per the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), 15 cases have been reported and all of them have lead to hospital admission. Cases are also expected to rise due to the incubation period of infection to when the symptoms start to appear. The incubation period is from two to 14 days.
A report by Sky News notes that around 5,000 students in the university halls in Kent will be offered the meningitis B or (menB) vaccine in the coming days. Four schools across the county have also confirmed cases with hundreds of people being offered antibiotics.
Read: Meningitis Outbreak: University of Kent Student Among Two Who Died of the ‘Invasive’ Disease
As per experts, many of whom are affected had attended Club Chemistry in Cantebury between 5 to 7 March. UKHSA chief executive Susan Hopkins said the outbreak "looks like a super-spreader" event with "ongoing spread" through universities' halls of residence. She added: "There will have been some parties particularly around this, so there will have been lots of social mixing. I can't yet say where the initial infection came from, how it's got into this cohort, and why it's created such an explosive amount of infections."
She further said that in her 35 years working in medicine, healthcare, and hospitals, "This is the most cases I've ever seen in a single weekend with this type of infection". She added: "It is the explosive nature that is unprecedented here - the number of cases in such a short space of time." She also remarked that this was the "quickest-growing outbreak" she has ever seen in her career.
According to The Guardian report, parents are contacting pharmacies in an "increasingly desperate" effort to get their children vaccinated against meningitis after the outbreak in the university was reported. The surge in vaccination demand has led to the stocks running so low that many pharmacies are unable to get hold of supplies from wholesalers.
A snap poll recorded that almost nine out of 10 pharmacies, which makes it 87 per cent, reported a dramatic rise in requests from concerned parents to get a child or children vaccinated, as per the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).
Read: Kent Uni Meningitis Outbreak Caused By Less-Targeted Strain B
Parents were paying £200 or more per child for a vaccine that protects against meningitis B, the strain of meningococcal bacteria involved in the outbreak. For example, Boots is charging £220 for the two jabs needed.
A pharmacy owner in Berkshire told The Guardian, “I have received about 30 or 40 calls in two hours from people wanting to book their entire families for vaccinations. They are worried. They are getting agitated.”
NPA chair, Olivier Picard told The Guardian that the demand was "far exceeding supply", which has forced pharmacies to "manage constrained levels of supply" and tell anxious parents that they cannot immunize their children.
© 2024 Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited