“I'm not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?”

This is what ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry’s character Chandler Bing was known for. He was known for being funny. However, he had his own struggles in his personal life and those struggles were acute depression. He was treating it with ketamine infusion therapy which is legal in the US and the UK.

What is Ketamine infusion therapy?

Ketamine is an anaesthetic used to treat depression, anxiety and pain under supervised and controlled medical settings. However, it does have its side effects, which can lead to distortion of sight, sound and time. It can also produce calming and relaxing effects.

Ketamine increases a person’s heart rate and blood pressure. If overdosed, it can leave users confused and agitated and can cause them to hurt themselves without even realising it. It can also lead to liver damage and bladder problems.

However, when used in moderation and under the supervision of medical doctors, it can treat depression where traditional antidepressants have failed.

Prof Rupert McShane, a University of Oxford psychiatrist who runs an NHS ketamine treatment clinic told BBC that ketamine “probably turns off the area of the brain that is involved in disappointment.”

Can Ketamine Infusion Therapy Kill Someone?

In simple terms, it cannot, be if the dosage is given in a controlled setting and as prescribed. Ketamine infusion therapy uses drugs in small doses than those used for anaesthesia. It acts faster than traditional anti-depressants, but the effects also wear off way quickly. Which is why it is important to monitor patients’ mental state for relapsing back into depression and discouraging them from overdosing on it.

There are ways of giving people ketamine. One of the ways is through “infusing”, which means to use an IV drip. However, injections, nasal sprays and capsules are also methods used to give people ketamine.

Since the dosage of ketamine used in the infusion treatment is small, it being the reason of actor Perry’s death was ruled out. The medical examiner also noted that Perry’s last ketamine infusion therapy session happened more than a week before his death, which means by the time he had died, it must have worn off.

So, What Happened To Perry?

Though Perry’s last session was more than a week before, his post-mortem showed that his blood contained a high concentration of ketamine. He had died of the “acute effects” of ketamine.

If it was not his session, then how did he get ketamine?

Prosecutors alleged that his assistant gave him at least 27 shots of ketamine in four days before his death, reported BBC.

Perry has been open about his personal struggles and this is what the doctors and dealers used against him. Martin Estrada, the US attorney for California’s Central District told the BBC that people took advantage of his condition. They charged him 165 times more than what vials of ketamine cost.

Names that have come up include Dr Salvador Plasencia, drug dealers “Ketamine Queen” aka Jasveen Sangha and Eric Fleming, and Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa.

Who Are These Names And What Did They Do?

Ketamine Queen or Sangha supplied drugs that led to Perry’s death. Her home was a “drug-selling emporium,” said Estrada. More than 80 vials of ketamine, and thousands of pills including methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax were allegedly found in her house known as the “Sangha Stash House.”

Sangha is known to deal with high-end celebs and was a “major source of supply for ketamine to others as well as Perry,” said Estrada.

Dr Plasencia called Perry a “moron” while charging him $2,000 for vials that cost only $12. He sold Perry 20 vials of ketamine between September and October 2023, costing $55,000.

He was the one who taught Iwamasa, who had no medical knowledge to inject the drug. This is after he knew that “Perry’s ketamine addiction was spiralling out of control,” as per what the investigators told the BBC.

Another dealer Fleming was told by Sangha to “delete all our messages.” While Fleming pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute drugs unlawfully, he also allegedly messaged Sangha: “Please call...Got more info and want to bounce ideas off you. I’m 90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with [Perry] only his assistant. So the assistant was the enabler.”

The court documents also revealed that he asked Sangha on whether the ketamine stays in your system or “is it immediately flushed out.”

Dr Pepper, Bots, Cans

The people who allegedly exploited Perry used coded language for ketamine and called it “Dr Pepper”, “bots”, or “cans.”

Selling overpriced drugs, taking advantage of Perry’s mental condition and falsifying medical records to make the drugs given to him look legitimate by Dr Plasencia is what took Perry’s life.

Iwamasa is said to have administered more than 20 shots of ketamine and three on the day Perry died. Whereas ketamine is only administered by a physician. Authorities also found that weeks before Perry’s death, Dr Plasencia allegedly bought 10 vials of ketamine and intended to sell to Perry.

He also injected Perry with a large dose, two days later. This caused him to “freeze up” and spiked his blood pressure.

When I Die, I Want Helping Others To Be The First Thing That’s Mentioned

Perry had always been open about his drug addictions, struggles with alcohol and his depression. He said that his openness would help others who are also struggling and wanted to be remembered by his quote which also is on the homepage of the Mattew Perry Foundation that helps others struggling with the disease of addiction: “When I die, I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.”

Five arrests have been made in the case so far.

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 He 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.”

Measles outbreak in South Carolina exposed over 250 people, including dozens of unvaccinated school-aged children, are now quarantining. The disease has now sickened more than 110 people in the state. While experts have already declared this season to be the worst year for virus, measles has made a come back, worsening the year of disease, especially because it had been eliminated from the US for more than two decades ago.

Cases have been centered in Spartanburg County, along the northern border of the state, reports the New York Times, and virus seems to have spread widely throughout the community. People are also being exposed to it at church, health care building, and schools.

The measles outbreak in South Carolina started in October and from thereon, it showed no signs of slowing. In fact, Dr Linda Bell, South Carolina's state epidemiologist said at a news conference on Wednesday, this has happened because country's "lower-than-hoped-for vaccination coverage".

Vaccination Has Gone Down

In the 2024–25 school year, roughly 90 percent of students in Spartanburg County received all their required childhood vaccines, including the measles, mumps and rubella shot. While that number may sound high, it still falls short of the national average and the 95 percent coverage that experts say is needed to stop measles from spreading in a community.

Several of the schools where students are now in quarantine have vaccination rates that drop well below 90 percent, based on state data.

Health officials pointed out that measles can disrupt lives even for those who never get sick. In South Carolina, a few unvaccinated students were exposed to the virus twice, which meant they had to quarantine twice for 21 days each time. That is more than a month of missed school.

“That’s a significant amount of time,” Dr. Bell said. “Vaccination continues to be the best way to prevent the disruption that measles is causing to people’s education and to employment.”

State officials have increased their outreach around the MMR vaccine, although it is still unclear if these efforts are making a real difference. Uptake has been limited, according to Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services. He said vaccination remains “the best way to protect against measles” and encouraged people to speak with a doctor about what makes the most sense for them.

Tracing The Outbreaks That Reappeared After Measles Elimination From The US

This appears to be the third major measles outbreak in the United States this year. The first began along the western edge of Texas in January and spread into Oklahoma and New Mexico, eventually becoming the largest measles outbreak the country has seen in decades.

A second multistate outbreak emerged in August in the region between Utah and Arizona, where health officials have reported dozens of new cases in just the past few weeks.

Across the country, more than 1,900 measles cases have been reported so far this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Three unvaccinated people, including two children, have died.

Canada has also been struggling with large and deadly outbreaks this year. The situation became so severe that the country officially lost its measles elimination status last month.

Although measles symptoms usually clear within a few weeks, the virus can lead to serious complications. It can cause pneumonia, which makes it hard for patients, especially young children, to breathe. It can also lead to swelling in the brain, potentially resulting in long-term problems such as blindness, deafness or intellectual disabilities.

For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die, according to the CDC.