“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.

People working night shifts were nearly twice as likely to develop long COVID, according to a new study.

Researchers at Spain’s ISGlobal said no previous study had examined whether disruption of the body’s biological clock could increase the risk of developing long COVID.

“Our findings suggest that circadian disruption plays a role in the transition from acute infection to persistent symptoms,” said Manolis Kogevinas, an ISGlobal researcher.

Published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, the study also found that chronic insomnia further increased the risk, highlighting the potential importance of healthy sleep habits in preventing long COVID and other post-acute infectious syndromes.

Night Shift Raises Long COVID Risk

Also read: Long COVID Patients May Face Brain Fog & Fatigue Due To Reduction In Dopamine? New Study Explains

The research team followed 2,941 adults in Catalonia between 2021 and 2023. Among the 1,899 participants who became infected with SARS-CoV-2, 284 developed long COVID during the two-year follow-up.

Long COVID was defined as persistent symptoms lasting more than three months after infection.

Compared with day workers, people who worked night shifts had an 88% higher risk of developing long COVID. This was after accounting for other factors, including vaccination history and chronic diseases.

The association was stronger among night workers with obesity.

Importantly, the increased risk was seen in both current and former night workers, suggesting that it may reflect longer-term effects of circadian disruption rather than short-term changes.

However, night-shift work was not associated with a higher risk of infection. This suggests that disruption of the biological clock may influence how the body recovers from infection rather than the likelihood of catching the virus.

Chronic Insomnia Further Raises Risk

Read More: Amid Cyclospora, Salmonella Outbreaks, US FDA Issues Guidance on Ready-to-Eat Produce

The researchers found that chronic insomnia independently increased the risk of long COVID by 42%, regardless of night shift work.

The two factors also appeared to have a synergistic effect. Night shift workers with chronic insomnia were 2.7 times more likely to develop long COVID than day workers without insomnia.

The biological mechanisms behind the association are not yet fully understood. Researchers noted that the time of day when the body encounters a pathogen may influence the immune response. Disruption of the biological clock may also impair the immune system’s ability to clear an infection.

Could Better Sleep Help Prevent Long COVID?

With insomnia becoming increasingly common, the researchers highlighted the need to better understand the short- and long-term effects of disturbed sleep on infection-related outcomes.

The findings suggest that sleep may be a potentially modifiable factor in reducing the risk of long COVID and other post-infectious conditions.

“Promoting healthy sleep habits and minimizing circadian disruption could represent simple, low-cost strategies to reduce the long-term consequences of viral infections, particularly among people who work night shifts,” Kogevinas said.

What is Long COVID?

Long COVID is a debilitating condition that can persist for months or even years after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Long COVID is an infection-associated chronic condition marked by fatigue, cognitive impairment, exercise intolerance, and multisystem dysfunction.

It has affected an estimated 400 million people worldwide and continues to have significant health, social, and economic consequences. Despite the ongoing risk, prevention strategies have received relatively little attention.

Indian scientists have developed tiny, light-responsive nanobots that could pave the way for more precise breast cancer treatment. The findings indicate that this approach could potentially reduce damage to healthy tissues during therapy.

Researchers from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, in collaboration with scientists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, have developed multifunctional nanobots that can move towards a light source and destroy cancer cells using a combination of heat and reactive oxygen species. The findings were published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

How Do The Nanobots Work?

The experimental nanobots are made of upconversion nanoparticles, which can respond to near-infrared (NIR) light. Unlike conventional light-driven systems that may require ultraviolet, NIR light has greater potential to penetrate tissue.

When exposed to a 980-nanometre NIR laser, the nanobots generate heat and show directional movements towards the light source. This is called phototaxis.

The researchers reported that the nanobots reached speeds of around 27 ± 7 micrometres per second under the tested conditions.

The team also coated the nanobots with folic acid. This helps them recognise breast cancer cells that have higher levels of folate receptors, improving their ability to target tumour cells.

At the tumour site, the nanobots use two mechanisms to attack cancer cells. Photothermal therapy generates localised heat, while photodynamic therapy produces reactive oxygen species that can damage and kill cancer cells.

“The field of fuel-free light-powered nanobots and microbots with stimulus-responsive behaviour can have crucial implications for biomedical research,” the researchers said in the study.

Also read: The Office Actress Lucy Davis Reveals Incurable Stage 4 Breast Cancer: 'It’s Too Late For Chemo'

Why Is This Important For Breast Cancer?

Chemotherapy remains an important part of breast cancer treatment, but its effects go beyond targeting tumour cells. Drugs circulating through the body can also affect healthy tissues, leading to side effects. Tumours may also develop resistance to the treatment.

The researchers say conventional nanomedicines often depend on passive accumulation inside tumours, which can limit penetration and control over exactly where treatment acts. The new method attempts to work with a navigation system managed externally by light.

Also read: Breastfeeding Can Help Reduce Mothers' Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Breast Cancer and More

What Did The Study Find?

The technology has so far been tested in laboratory cancer-cell models and in mice carrying breast tumours. The researchers reported significant inhibition of tumour-growth when the nanobots with folic acid function were combined with 980 nm laser irradiation.

Researchers say that this is still preclinical research and may need further examination and clinical trials.

The nanobots have not been established as a treatment for breast cancer patients, and a lot more research will be needed to gauge their safety, effectiveness, dosing and ability to successfully work in humans.

Also read: Don't Fear The Biopsy, Fear The Delay

Global Breast Cancer Burden

Breast cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, with steady increases in incidence over the last few decades. It accounts for around one in four cases of cancer and 15 per cent of cancer deaths in women, and is one of the leading causes of death in women under 50.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with around 59,400 new cases diagnosed annually and roughly 11,200 deaths each year. About one in seven women in the UK develops the disease in their lifetime, though survival rates are high, with nearly 90% surviving for five years or more.

A Chhattisgarh police constable who died during hospital treatment received an automated Ayushman Bharat message 42 days later congratulating him on his recovery and saying he was returning home. The incident left his family shocked who raised questions over patient-record updates.

What Happened?

Devnarayan Ram, 39, a police constable from Jashpur district, was admitted to Government Medical College Hospital in Ambikapur on June 26. He died during treatment on June 30. His family subsequently received his death certificate and performed his last rites.

However, on August 6, his wife Seema Kujur received an automated message on her husband’s registered mobile number under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

The message said, “We are happy that you have recovered and are returning home,” and thanked him for using the free healthcare services under Ayushman Bharat.

The portal showed June 26 as his admission date and August 6 as his discharge date, effectively keeping his hospital record active for 42 days after his death.

Also read: Healthcare's Biggest Challenge Is Not Clinical, It's Human

Family Seeks Probe

For Kujur, who is herself a nurse at a government hospital, the message was particularly distressing.

She said in a video message, “You can imagine what it means for a family to receive such a message for a person who has died. It causes immense pain.”

She also questioned how the system could remain unaware of her husband’s death for 42 days.

“I am a hospital employee, and even then, this happened to me. You can easily imagine what could happen to ordinary people, particularly poor and tribal families,” she said, demanding an inquiry.

Also read: Making IVF Affordable: Experts Push For Insurance Cover, Public Funding & Better Access To Fertility Care In India

Hospital's Response

Hospital authorities have denied that Ram’s Ayushman card was used to claim treatment benefits for 42 days after his death

According to the hospital, Ram was treated in the ICU from June 26 to June 30. Only ICU and blood-transfusion-related packages worth about ₹16,700 were blocked under Ayushman Bharat, and no additional package was blocked after his death.

Dr Shailendra Gupta of the Surguja district health department said allegations that the card had been used for 42 days were “completely incorrect.”

He said, “The amount was deducted only for the treatment provided during the patient's actual stay in the hospital. No additional amount was deducted."

Hospital officials said the problem occurred because the Ayushman claim was not closed promptly due to human error.

A data-entry operator allegedly delayed the process, and when the claim was finally closed on August 6, the system automatically generated the recovery and discharge message. The officials said that the operator has since been dismissed.

Also read: 'Let's Fix Our Food': India Launches New Policy To Fight Childhood Obesity, Boost Nutrition

What Is Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY?

Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY is Centre’s government-funded health assurance scheme, launched in 2018.

It provides health cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation for eligible poor and vulnerable families.

The scheme is designed to provide cashless and paperless treatment and protect families from major out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.

After the incident raised questions about timely update of patient's records, the hospital has reportedly written to the state seeking safeguards so that automated messages relating to discharge, referral or death are sent only after the patient’s actual status is verified.