Experiencing daytime sleepiness is something that is usually perceived as a minor inconvenience, but for older adults, it could be an early warning sign of Dementia. This neurodegenerative disease leads to the progressive decline of brain cells. This eventually

affects memory, cognition, and personality, making everyday tasks more difficult. As one of the fastest-growing neurological disorders across the world, dementia poses a significant health threat to ageing populations.

Is Dementia Linked To Poor Sleep?

For this study, researchers followed 445 older adults (average age 76) over three years, aiming to determine whether poor sleep could increase the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often leads to dementia. At the start, none of the participants had MCI, but by the end of the study, 36 individuals had developed the condition.

The researchers discovered that participants with poor sleep were more likely to develop MCI compared to those who slept well. However, when depression symptoms were taken into account, the link between poor sleep and MCI became less pronounced, suggesting that while sleep issues are a concern, mental health also plays a key role in dementia risk.

To assess sleep quality, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used, evaluating factors such as sleep duration, disturbances, and daytime alertness. Among these, "daytime dysfunction"—defined as excessive sleepiness and low energy during the day—was most strongly associated with an increased risk of MCI. Those experiencing daytime dysfunction were more than three times as likely to develop MCI as those who didn’t report such symptoms.

There are many types of dementia:

Dementia is not a specific disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is an overall term that describes a decline in mental ability that interferes with daily life. People with dementia often have symptoms like trouble remembering, thinking, or making everyday decisions. These symptoms tend to get worse over time.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, and it mostly affects the elderly. Each form of dementia has a different cause. Though dementia mostly affects older adults, it is not a part of normal ageing. An estimated 6.7 million older adults have Alzheimer's disease in the United States. That number is expected to double by 2060, as per data from the CDC.

In 2022, 3.8% of men and 4.2% women in US were diagnosed with dementia. The percentage of people increase with age from 1.7% for those aged 65-74 to 13.1% for those aged 85 and older. Alzheimer's accounts for 60 to 80% of all dementia cases and it is most prevalent in California, Florida, and Texas, as these states have the highest number of people.

Ten batches of medicines used for seizures, heart conditions, depression and postpartum bleeding have been withdrawn at New Delhi’s Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after quality failures and physical defects were identified.

According to The Times of India, the affected medicines include sodium valproate, spironolactone, imipramine, metoprolol and methyl ergometrine. Some batches were classified as “Not of Standard Quality” after testing, while others showed physical defects.

Which Medicines Were Recalled?

A September 14 notice from RML Hospital said three tablet batches had failed analytical testing:

• Sodium valproate gastro-resistant 200 mg
• Spironolactone 50 mg
• Imipramine 25 mg

Five injectable batches were also recalled after failing quality tests. They included:

• Adenosine
• Methyl ergometrine
• Multivitamin injection
• Pheniramine maleate
• Ascorbic acid

The hospital had separately flagged physical defects in two tablet batches, the report said.

Tablets Found In Powder Form

Also read: 2 Indians Charged In US Over Fake Ozempic Scheme: How To Spot Counterfeit GLP-1 Drugs

A September 9 notice said isosorbide mononitrate 20 mg tablets were found in powder form inside their strips.

The affected batch, ABT6711, was manufactured by Glowson India Labs in July 2026 and expires in June 2028. Departments were told to stop using and return the batch.

A similar defect was found in metoprolol 50 mg tablets from batch ABT6608, also manufactured by Glowson India Labs. The hospital ordered its withdrawal.

RML Hospital Acts On Quality Failures

RML officials said the affected medicines were recalled after test results were received, with departments instructed to stop using them and report any patient-related problems.

Some medicines were supplied by Jackson Laboratories, according to the hospital.

No severe adverse effects had been reported among patients in connection with the affected batches, officials said. The hospital has also arranged alternative medicines to prevent disruption in treatment.

“The hospital has made interim arrangements to ensure the availability of alternative medicines and avoid any disruption in patient care. The situation is being closely monitored, and all necessary measures are being taken in accordance with established drug quality and patient-safety protocols,” RML official said, TOI reported.

What Happens If You Take A Defective Medicine?

Poor quality drugs can have a severe impact on health which includes death, disease progression, drug resistance and so on.

Poor quality drugs can contain toxic ingredients or incorrect active ingredients that can lead to death. It can also make chronic and infectious diseases worse. Furthermore, these drugs can lead to drug resistance and can threaten the health of people who are consuming them.

It can also cause side effects like rashes, hive, and other health risks, leading to further increasing the health care cost, and leading to loss of income. It can also lead to people's loss of faith in the healthcare system.

What Should You Do If You Took A Recalled Medicine?

Do not stop an essential prescription medicine on your own. Check the medicine name, strength, batch number and expiry date, and contact your doctor or pharmacist if you have a recalled batch.

Seek urgent medical care for serious symptoms such as difficulty breathing, swelling, severe allergic reactions, loss of consciousness or seizures.

More American women are starting GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Zepbound after giving birth, according to a new study

The findings, published in JAMA, found that the sharpest increases were seen among women with diabetes, obesity or overweight.

Researchers from the University of Southern California Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics analyzed private insurance claims covering just over 1 million births over seven years.

They found that the share of new mothers starting a GLP-1 prescription within six months of childbirth rose from 0.08% in the first half of 2018 to 1.9% by the first quarter of 2025 — a 24-fold increase.

Which Women Are Driving The Rise?

Women with type 2 diabetes had the highest rate of GLP-1 prescriptions. Among them, use increased from 2.3% to 16.9% over the study period — roughly 1 in 6 women.

Prescribing also increased among women who had gestational diabetes, rising from 0.4% in mid-2021 to 2.7% in the first quarter of 2025. Gestational diabetes affects about 5% to 9% of pregnancies and substantially increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes later.

The fastest relative increase was seen among women diagnosed with obesity or overweight before pregnancy. GLP-1 use in this group rose from 0.4% in the second half of 2021 to 3.9% by the first quarter of 2025.

Since the second half of 2024, women with diagnosed obesity or overweight have accounted for 40% of new postpartum GLP-1 prescriptions.

Another 21% of women had no documented qualifying diagnosis before giving birth. However, most of these women received a diagnosis — usually obesity or overweight — before starting a GLP-1 medication.

Most Women Started GLP-1s 3 Months After Birth

Patients are advised to stop using GLP-1 medications during pregnancy. Most postpartum women in the study who started a GLP-1 did so at least three months after giving birth.

“Postpartum is a critical window for addressing metabolic risk after pregnancy, and we're seeing GLP-1 use explode in this population. Because evidence on GLP-1 exposure during breastfeeding remains limited, rising postpartum initiation warrants further study,” said lead author and Schaeffer scholar Sih-Ting Cai.

Similar Rise Seen In Denmark

A 2025 JAMA study found a similar rise in Denmark. Fewer than five GLP-1 prescriptions per 10,000 women were recorded after childbirth in 2018, rising to 173 per 10,000 by 2024 — nearly 2% of new mothers.

Can GLP-1s Raise Health Risks After Childbirth?

GLP-1s are increasingly used for postpartum weight loss, but their safety after childbirth remains poorly studied. According to researchers, little is known about how these drugs affect normal postpartum hormonal changes or maternal recovery.

They also noted that evidence on GLP-1 exposure during breastfeeding remains limited, highlighting the need for further research as postpartum use increases.

“We simply do not know how weight-loss medication interacts with those processes or whether it could affect normal physiological recovery,” Dr. Jonathan Zipursky, a clinical pharmacologist and toxicologist at the University of Toronto, told The New York Times in 2025.

Evidence on GLP-1s during breastfeeding is also limited. A 2024 CMAJ paper suggested low breast-milk exposure, but researchers stressed that infant safety data remain insufficient. Zipursky recommended avoiding GLP-1s while breastfeeding as a precaution.

A new experimental obesity drug could offer an alternative to GLP-1 medicines for people who struggle with their gastrointestinal side effects.

Petrelintide, a once-weekly injectable drug that works on the hormone amylin, helped people with obesity lose more than 10% of their body weight in a Phase 2 trial.

Published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, the drug showed a relatively low rate of gastrointestinal side effects.

The study, however, did not directly compare petrelintide with drugs like semaglutide or tirzepatide.

So, while the results suggest it may be better tolerated, researchers cannot yet say that it causes fewer side effects than GLP-1 drugs.

Petrelintide Works Differently From Ozempic And Mounjaro

Petrelintide is a long-acting amylin analogue. Amylin is a hormone produced by the pancreas alongside insulin and helps control appetite and food intake.

A yet-to-be approved drug, unlike Ozempic and Wegovy, which target the GLP-1 hormone, petrelintide focuses on amylin.

It is being developed by Danish drugmaker Zealand Pharma with Roche.

Also read: CSIR-CCMB Scientists Find Flu & COVID Viruses May Affect A Protein Linked To Parkinson’s Disease

Petrelintide’s Effect On Weight Loss

The Phase 2 ZUPREME-1 trial included 485 people who received at least one dose of petrelintide or placebo, with everyone also receiving lifestyle advice.

After 42 weeks, average weight loss ranged from 8.7% to 10.7%, depending on the petrelintide dose.

The group receiving placebo lost about 1.7% of their body weight. The 5 mg dose produced the largest average reduction, at 10.7%.

At 28 weeks, weight loss across the petrelintide groups ranged from about 7.9% to 9.8%, compared with 1.7% with placebo.

Also read: Type 1 Diabetes: Student Nearly Dies After Diet Advice To Stop Insulin; Why Insulin Is Essential

Petrelintide Shows Promise In Terms Of Tolerability

This is perhaps one of the biggest attractions of petrelintide. Nausea was the most common side effect, affecting 20% of people compared to 6% in the placebo group.

However, vomiting was uncommon, occurring in 3% of the petrelintide group compared with 6% of the placebo group. Diarrhoea occurred in 7% and constipation in 7% of those receiving petrelintide. Researchers also reported that most gastrointestinal side effects were mild.

This is a well-tolerated medication," lead investigator Dr. Timothy Garvey of the University of Alabama at Birmingham told HCPLive . Approved GLP-1 drugs have produced larger average weight loss in their own trials, but Garvey said "This current level of 10-15% is sufficient to treat a large number of patients who have obesity.

Three serious adverse events were considered related to petrelintide, including two cases of gallstones and one case of obstructive pancreatitis, according to an independent expert assessment of the study.

Petrelintide Vs Ozempic

One may be inclined to compare petrelintide's side-effects with that of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro, but the trial was designed to compare petrelintide with placebo, not with semaglutide or tirzepatide.

Dr Marie Spreckley of the University of Cambridge cautioned that the comparison with GLP-1 medicines is too strong because “the trial did not test petrelintide against any of those medicines, so we cannot say from these results that it causes fewer side effects.”

That means more investigation will be needed to compare petrelintide’s tolerability and existing obesity treatments.

However, the results have prompted further development of petrelintide, with Phase 3 trials planned. Researchers are particularly interested in whether the drug can provide sustained weight loss while allowing people to remain on treatment without gastrointestinal symptoms.