Viking Therapeutics' oral weight-loss pill meets expectations in mid-stage study
Analysts ahead of the results had expected weight loss in the range of 10% to 15% on average and greater than the 8.2% seen in a small early-stage trial.
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The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tennis legend reveals impact of taking weight loss medication
Retired tennis star Serena Williams has revealed she lost 31 pounds with the aid of a GLP-1 medication. Williams struggled to lose weight after the births of both her daughters, despite rigorous training and healthy eating. She began weekly injections in early 2024, after conducting extensive research and once she had stopped breastfeeding. Williams stated the medication has made her feel great, healthy, and more active, with reduced joint pain. She plans to continue the weekly injections as needed, noting the medication complements her healthy lifestyle and training for a half-marathon.
Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Doctors warn of little-known flu complication that can be deadly for certain people in upcoming season
Ahead of flu season, parents are being warned that healthy children could develop a life-threatening condition after being infected with the virus. More than 6million children are infected with flu every year. Most recover without medical care, but among patients under five years old, between 6,000 and 25,000 are hospitalized annually while about 37 to 199 died from the disease. But in 2023 doctors anecdotally reported an uptick in acute necrotizing encephalopathy, or a dangerous brain swelling that kills about one in four patients. The condition happens when the immune system overreacts to a viral infection and damages the blood-brain barrier, causing damage to brain tissue and brain swelling. A review published this week in JAMA found there were 41 cases in children across the last two flu seasons, making it 'extremely rare.' But three-quarters of those affected were considered healthy, and most were around five years old. Of the children, all were hospitalized and 11, or 27 percent, died from the disease, with death occurring within three days of symptoms starting. Only 16 percent of patients had received the flu vaccine, which the CDC recommends children aged six months and older get once a year. Dr Nicholas Dragolea, a primary care physician in the UK who was not involved in the research, told 'I see a lot of adults and children with flu every winter. 'Acute necrotizing encephalopathy is one of those extremely rare but extremely serious complications that happens predominantly in children.' The warning comes ahead of then next flu season, which typically begins in October. Up to 40million Americans are infected with the disease every year. Acute necrotizing encephalopathy is caused by an overreaction from the immune system to a viral infection, most commonly the flu. This triggers high levels of inflammation in the body that disrupts the blood-brain barrier and causes damage and swelling in brain tissue. Patients initially suffer from congestion, a cough, diarrhea or fever, but within days they develop fainting, seizures, trouble breathing and difficulty with movement. Treatment involves anti-viral medications to kill the virus and steroids or anti-inflammatory drugs to calm the immune system. In the study published in JAMA, researchers contacted 76 academic organizations across the US to ask members to submit reports of cases of acute necrotizing encephalopathy. They received reports of 41 cases detected between October 2023 and May 2025 from 23 hospitals nationwide. The patients had an average age of five years old, and three out of four were considered to be healthy and had no previous health conditions. Twenty-three of the patients were female. In the group, 38 developed a sudden onset of fever, while 41 patients had encephalopathy, or swelling in the brain, and 28 suffered from seizures. Eleven of the patients died, or 27 percent. Among those who were hospitalized, they were on wards for between 11 and 22 days before being discharged. Of the 38 patients with vaccination history, six were vaccinated against the disease, equivalent to 16 percent. Children are more at risk from the disease because their immune systems are still developing and may overreact to a virus, causing the complication. Older people and those with weaker immune systems are also more at risk, as their weaker immune systems raise the risk of an infection that could then cause an overreaction. It isn't clear why there may have been an uptick in cases, but doctors say this could be linked to lockdowns which led to children receiving fewer exposures to 'good microbes' which can cause their immune systems to overreact to other infections. It comes after the CDC raised the alarm over the condition in March, saying a dozen children had contracted the rare brain disorder. In a report, it said of the 68 children who died of the flu during the 2024 to 2025 season, nine had encephalopathy and four had acute necrotizing encephalopathy.
Reuters
44 minutes ago
- Reuters
HHS, CMS form advisory committee to improve patient care, call for nominations
Aug 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. health department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will form an expert advisory panel to make recommendations for improving how care is financed and delivered across insurance plans, the agencies said on Thursday. The panel of experts would make recommendations directly to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and CMS chief Dr. Mehmet Oz. "This committee will help us cut waste, reduce paperwork, expand preventive care and modernize CMS programs with real-time data and accountability, all while keeping patients at the center," Oz said. The advisory panel will prioritize creating policy initiatives aimed at preventing and managing chronic diseases and develop frameworks that reduce unnecessary red tape and allow providers to focus on improving patient health, the federal agencies said. The committee will also focus on a real-time data system, which would help in rapid processing of claims, improve quality in government-backed Medicaid programs for low-income individuals and identify ways to modernize risk adjustment in the Medicare Advantage program for older adults. CMS is accepting nominations and the members would be selected later this year, the agencies said. Experts in chronic disease prevention, federal healthcare financing and delivery reform are encouraged to apply, they said. Individuals may nominate themselves or be nominated by an organization.
