As per the latest data released by Transforming Access to Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO) and the Policy Institute at King's College London, the number of UK students reporting mental health difficulties tripled. The estimate reveals that around 300,000 students could now be experiencing mental health struggles. Of the total, 18% of students reported some kind of mental health issue in 2024.

As per the reports, this estimate is triple what was reported in 2017, where it was at 6%. Experts also say that Covid-19 pandemic is "often considered to have contributed to this, it does not explain the ongoing rise in mental health difficulties." Another reason could also be the "changing definition and increasing openness about mental health" which has led to a rise in numbers. The report notes, "This trend pre-dates the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. Although these factors play a part in students' deteriorating mental health, they cannot therefore be the only explanation."

How Did The Report Conclude?

The report drew data collected over the latest Student Academic Experience Survey of 93,212 students. From the survey, it was found that there exist significant disparities between demographic groups, with women being twice as likely to report mental health difficulties, about 22% as compared to men, at 11%.

What Did The Results Reveal?

The results revealed that students who identified as LGBTQ experienced the highest rates of mental health challenges. This has actually lessened the hope that conditions for LGBTQ students are improving, which may not have been a positive case.

Of them, 42% are bisexual and lesbian students, whereas last year it was 35% and 32% respectively. The report also noted that mental health difficulties among lesbian women and gay men rose three times the rate of straight people, and among bisexual and asexual people, it was twice as high. For trans students, the number jumped from 25% in 2023 to 40% in 2024.

Is The LGBTQ+ Prone To Mental Health Crisis?

As per the Child Mind Institute, being LGBTQ+ does not cause mental health problems, but because these kids often face factors like rejection, discrimination and violence, they are at a higher risk of challenges including depression, anxiety, and even attempting suicide.

A UTAH Health study quotes Anna Docherty, PhD, LP, assistant professor of psychiatry at Huntsman Mental Health Institute that, "likely with any identity, feeling different - or worse, unaccepted as you are is a significant risk factor of mental health struggle." The data reveals that LGBTQ+ teens are six times more likely to experience symptoms of depression than non-LGBTQ+ identifying teens. They are also more than twice as likely to feel suicidal and more than four times as likely to attempt suicide. In the US alone, 48% of transgender adults report that they have considered suicide in the last year, compared to 4% of the overall population.

What Do These Findings Mean?

TASO's academic lead and professor of public policy at King's College London, Michael Sanders said, "LGBTQ students and women bear the brunt of the rise in declining mental health and urgent action is needed to understand and address these trends."

Physicist Stephen Hawking lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for more than five decades. Diagnosed at 21 in 1963, he was initially given just two years to live. However, his early-onset form of ALS progressed unusually slowly. Hawking died on March 14, 2018, aged 76.

Now, US researchers have developed a personalized RNA therapy for a rare genetic form of ALS and administered it to a single patient. One year after treatment, the patient showed improvements in physical function and a key biomarker of nerve damage.

ALS, also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig’s disease, affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary movement. As these neurons deteriorate, muscles become progressively weaker and can eventually lead to paralysis.

What Was The New RNA Therapy?

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic developed an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy, a personalized RNA-based treatment designed to target RNA produced by the mutated gene and reduce the production of specific proteins.

Unlike conventional gene therapy, which aims to alter a person's genetic material, ASO therapy uses short strands of genetic material called “oligonucleotides,” to target RNA, according to the findings, published in the international journal Med.

These oligonucleotides prevent the production of the proteins that cause ALS.

It was administered on the male patient who had slowly progressive ALS, with onset in his right shoulder in 2020. In 2018, he underwent a spine surgery for radiating left neck and arm pain with mild weakness.

It was in 2021 that he was diagnosed with ALS caused by a mutation in the CHCHD10 gene, found in fewer than 1% of people with hereditary ALS.

Defects in CHCHD10 can damage mitochondria, which produce energy inside cells, ultimately contributing to nerve-cell death and ALS.

Patient's ALS Symptoms Improved

The patient received six spinal injections between April 2024 and April 2025. The first three doses were 50 milligrams each, followed by three 75-milligram doses.

One year after the first dose, the patient's blood levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL) had fallen by about 50% and returned to the normal reference range.

NfL is a protein released when nerve cells are damaged and is used as a biomarker of neurodegeneration and ALS progression.

The patient's score on the Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) also increased from 33 to 36 over the year. The scale measures physical function in people with ALS.

Other measures of breathing and cognition remained stable, and the patient showed no signs of cognitive decline during the reported follow-up.

"To date, the ASO has been well tolerated, with a good safety profile, and has demonstrated early signs of efficacy. The patient reports subjective improvement, and our primary response biomarker, neurofilament light (NfL), has normalized," the research team wrote in the paper.

The patient’s symptoms improved one year after receiving the drug, and he continues to work as a physician, Nature reported.

“We have shown that it is possible to develop a personalized ASO therapy for CHCHD10-related ALS,” adding that this provides “evidence suggesting the potential for therapeutic benefit in the clinic,” the research team stated.

Is This A Cure For ALS?

The findings are an early step, and it is far too soon to know whether the treatment can stop ALS progression or provide a cure.

The patient will need to be monitored for several more years, while the therapy must also be tested in additional patients to determine whether the improvements can be sustained and whether the treatment can slow disease progression.

A new clinical trial published by The Lancet says that HIV treatment through two injections every eight weeks kept the virus suppressed more effectively than daily tablets among adolescents, calling for efforts to make this treatment available and accessible worldwide.

Also Read: ‘Zombie’ Drug Medetomidine, Spotted In Heroin Supply, Raises Concern As It Could Evade Overdose Antidote

The LATA trial, led by a team of researchers at University College London (UCL), examined 476 adolescents aged between 12 to 19 across five clinics in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Participants were randomly assigned to continue daily antiretroviral tablets or switch to injections containing cabotegravir and rilpivirine.

All participants had already been taking HIV treatment for more than a year, had an undetectable amount of viral load and had no history of treatment failure. Most of the participants had acquired HIV at birth.

HIV Injections Prevented Viral Rebound

After 96 weeks, just two adolescents showed confirmed viral rebound, or 1%, in the injectable-treatment group. Comparatively, 15 adolescents, or 6%, among those taking daily tablets showed viral rebound. Viral rebound refers to the levels of HIV in the blood that increases again after being suppressed previously.

Maintaining an undetectable viral load is central to HIV treatment. It also reduces the risk of sexual transmission significantly.

The researchers found that the injectable treatment was not only effective at maintaining viral suppression but was preferred by adolescents.

Around 94% of participants receiving the injections said treatment every eight weeks was much easier and more convenient than taking medicine every day.

Professor Sarah Pett, chief investigator of the LATA trial at UCL, said, “HIV-positive adolescents as a group have historically done worse on antiretrovirals compared to adults. There is bullying and stigma associated with taking pills every day. Long-acting injectables taken every two months can help young people lead a more normal life.”

She added that the benefits seen in adolescents were stronger than previously observed in adults, where trials have generally shown that injections are no less effective than daily tablets.

Also read: Exclusive With Leading HIV Expert: What's Driving Rising HIV Cases Among India's Youth And How To Prevent It

Could Injections Help Treat HIV Better In Young People?

Taking HIV pills every day can be difficult for adolescents, particularly when its treatment is associated with stigma. They may have concerns about others discovering their HIV status, which could challenge the maintenance of a daily routine.

The weekly-injection approach removes the need to remember to take a pill every day. Instead, cabotegravir and rilpivirine are administered in a healthcare setting once every eight weeks. This could be particularly relevant in Africa, where most adolescents living with HIV reside.

“Nine out of 10 adolescents with HIV live in Africa, yet currently this treatment is not accessible to them,” Pett said.

Also read: Once-Weekly Oral Combination HIV Pill Shows Promise As Alternative to Daily Treatment

Accessibility To The Treatment Is Still A Challenge

Despite the promising results, researchers say that access to the groundbreaking treatment still remains a major challenge.

The HIV injections are more expensive than standard tablets as they remain under patent. Rilpivirine also requires refrigeration during storage and transport. Trained healthcare workers are needed to administer the injections every eight weeks.

The World Health Organization currently recommends that the injectable treatment must be used as an alternative for adults and adolescents who have successfully suppressed HIV on oral treatment as well as do not have active hepatitis B.

Dr Deborah Ford of UCL said, “The lack of availability of injectable treatments in Africa risks increasing inequalities in HIV care, leaving most people living with HIV without access to treatments that are available in high-income settings.”

A powerful veterinary drug has been lately spotted in Scotland's illegal drug supply, raising concern among health officials and addiction specialists about severe sedation, overdose-related deaths and dangerous withdrawal symptoms.

Medically known as medetomidine, the drug is used by veterinarians to sedate animals. It is strictly not approved for use in humans.

According to Public Health Scotland, the drug has been located in Scotland's unlawful drug supply and is most likely being mixed into drugs and peddled as heroin and benzodiazepines.

According to recent reports, medetomidine was detected in one in five heroin samples tested between March and June 2026, highlighting it has seeped deeply into various parts of the drug supply. It has been detected in several areas, including Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Dundee, Fife and the Highlands.

Also read: Alzheimer's Day: Why Can A Patient Remember An Event From Decades Ago But Forget What Happened This Morning?

What Is Medetomidine?

Medetomidine is a sedative that affects the alpha-2 receptors in the nervous system, producing profound sedation and slowing down several bodily functions, rendering the user in a ‘zombie-like’ state.

The UK's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has previously warned that medetomidine can cause severe sedation, reduced heart rate and other negative cardiovascular effects. In severe toxicity, people may require intensive care and mechanical ventilation.

Unlike an opioid overdose, naloxone does not reverse medetomidine's sedative effects. This is particularly concerning as the drug was found mixed with opioids like heroin.

Also read: US Teen's Death Sparks Warning Over Synthetic Drug Deadlier Than Fentanyl

Why Is It Being Called A ‘Zombie’ Drug?

The drug is being called a ‘zombie drug’ due to the effects it leaves due to excessive sedation and changed behaviour. After ingesting it, people may become extremely drowsy or unresponsive, while others may experience confusion, hallucinations or agitation. It may also slow their movements and reflexes down.

The bigger concern is the aftereffects of exposure. A recent study of 16 people with confirmed medetomidine exposure found that patients reported severe and unpredictable withdrawal symptoms, sometimes requiring hospital treatment.

Symptoms reported in the study included nausea, vomiting, shaking, rapid heartbeat, and dangerous high blood pressure.

Researchers also found that standard medications used to treat opioid withdrawal did not always adequately control the symptoms linked with medetomidine.

Also read: Donald Trump Wants Childhood Vaccines Split Into 5 Shots To Prevent Autism: But Is There Evidence?

More About The Drug

Public Health Scotland says that the drug has been detected in brown powders sold as heroin and white tablets sold as diazepam. As people may believe they are taking another drug, they may have no idea that a potent veterinary sedative is also entering their body. This could make tracking the drug supply difficult to predict.

Medetomidine belongs to the same broad class as xylazine, another veterinary sedative that has been increasingly detected in illegal drugs.

Xylazine has become notorious in the US for severe skin wounds linked with repeated exposure. Scientists do not yet know whether medetomidine results in the same effect in humans.