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The Sun
2 minutes ago
- The Sun
Tennis legend Monica Seles, 51, diagnosed with rare muscle-weakening condition as she bravely opens up
TENNIS great Monica Seles revealed she has been diagnosed with a rare muscle-weakening condition. Seles, 51, started experiencing double vision and extremely depleted strength in her arms and legs in 2019. 2 A long string of tests and scans - delayed by the Covid pandemic - ruled out brain tumours and motor neurone disease. The nine-time Grand Slam champion was eventually diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) in 2022. Now Seles has gone public on neuromuscular autoimmune disease - which currently has no cure - and will raise awareness for the condition with an event around this month's US Open. MG affects most of the body but particularly the muscles that control the eyes - although symptoms can vary from day to day. Approximately 15-20 people per 100,000 - or 0.015 per cent of the population - are affected by MG, which sees the immune system attack the neuromuscular junction where nerves and muscles communicate. Seles told AP: "I would be playing [ tennis ] with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. "I was like, 'Yeah, I see two balls.' "These are obviously symptoms that you can't ignore. "It took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it's a difficult one. "It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot." BBC presenter taken to hospital after 'real wake up call' working at Wimbledon and putting off medical care Seles won seven of her nine Grand Slams by the age of 18. That included reaching eight Major finals in a row - winning seven - before she was tragically stabbed in April 1993 on court during a match in Hamburg by a fixated fan of Steffi Graf. The Yugoslavia-born star - who switched nationality to USA - returned in 1995 after a two-year absence. She reached the US Open final in her first Major since the stabbing then won the 1996 Australian Open, her ninth and final Grand Slam title. The lefty, who played with a double-handed forehand and backhand, officialy retired in 2008 five years after her final competitive match. Now living in Florida, she told The Athletic about her MG diagnosis: 'I thought, 'OK, just push through it.' "But a couple of instances happened when — on court and in daily life — I realised there was something going on. What is myasthenia gravis? MYASTHENIA GRAVIS is a rare long-term condition that causes muscle weakness. It typically has phases when it improves and phases when it gets worse. MG usually affects most of the body, spreading from the eyes and face to other areas over weeks, months or years. But for some people with myasthenia gravis, only the eyes are affected. It is common for people to have "flare-ups", where symptoms are very troublesome, followed by periods of remission, where symptoms improve. It's an autoimmune condition, which means it's the result of the immune system (the body's natural defence against infection) mistakenly attacking a healthy part of the body. In myasthenia gravis, the immune system damages the communication system between the nerves and muscles, making the muscles weak and easily tired. It can affect people of any age, typically starting in women under 40 and men over 60. Common symptoms of myasthenia gravis include: droopy eyelids double vision difficulty making facial expressions problems chewing and difficulty swallowing slurred speech weak arms, legs or neck shortness of breath and occasionally serious breathing difficulties The symptoms tend to get worse when you're tired. Many people find they're worse towards the end of the day, and better the next morning after getting some sleep. Source: NHS "After coming out of my former country to the IMG Academy, I had to totally reset. "When I became No1, it was a huge reset because everybody treats you differently. "Then obviously when I got stabbed, that was a huge reset. And then when I was diagnosed, it was a huge reset. "The day-to-day part of managing it, depending on my symptoms, is really adjusting, you know. I think anybody else who has Myasthenia Gravis knows it's a continuous adjustment. "After my stabbing, I had to deal with that internally for quite a few years to process it and my MG diagnosis was kind of very similar. "I had to understand my new normal of day-to-day life, what I can do work-wise and different things."
Reuters
2 minutes ago
- Reuters
Focus: To stay on weight-loss drugs, US patients cut doses and maybe vacations
Aug 13 (Reuters) - Doctors advise most patients on GLP-1 obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound to stay on them to keep the weight off, but as more U.S. insurers restrict coverage people are trimming costs by stretching doses or forgoing expenditures like vacations to pay for the medication out of pocket. A half dozen doctors who spoke with Reuters said insurance coverage has tightened in 2025 as many employers drop it for the expensive GLP-1 drugs. While patients on these medications are counseled on proper diet and exercise, clinical trials show that people who stop taking these drugs are apt to regain weight, opens new tab. Novo Nordisk's ( opens new tab Wegovy and Eli Lilly's (LLY.N), opens new tab Zepbound are weekly injections with U.S. insurer list prices of more than $1,000 a month. For customers willing to pay cash, both drugmakers will ship directly for $499 a month if refills are purchased at fixed intervals. "A significant number of my patients now pay cash," said Dr. Nidhi Kansal, an obesity specialist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. "People find a way to scrounge up $6,000 a year, which sucks, because that's a vacation or two." More than a billion people worldwide are obese, according to the U.N. World Health Organization, which has said the GLP-1 drugs could help end the obesity pandemic. A tech industry job change for Yelena Kibasova, a 40-year-old who lives in the Minneapolis area, meant loss of coverage for her Zepbound prescription that helped her achieve and maintain a 150-pound (68-kg) weight loss. "My new company does not cover GLP-1s, so now I am in a kind of purgatory," Kibasova said. "I stopped doing my nails. I stopped doing my hair. Those things are not as important as me staying at a healthy weight." The doctors interviewed by Reuters said patients once leery about long-term obesity treatment are now more comfortable staying on a drug. The doctors said that conversations about temporary use happen only when a patient is trying to lose a certain amount of weight for issues such as fertility treatment or an organ transplant. These obesity specialists said they are hopeful that competition will help bring down prices as new weight-loss options emerge, including new oral drugs that may be available next year. Lilly last week announced trial results for its easier-to-manufacture pill, which was shown to cut patient weight by 12.4%, a few percentage points less than injected drugs. The company hopes to launch it in August 2026. Kenneth Custer, Lilly's head of cardiometabolic health, told Reuters the pill is being tested in several settings, including as a maintenance therapy. Custer declined to comment on how it might be priced. Dr. Anne Peters, an endocrinologist at Keck Medicine USC in Los Angeles, said it is important that patients who reach their weight-loss goal not stop a prescription "cold turkey," so the dose can be tapered down over several months. Peters said about a third of her patients are able to reduce their dose and maintain weight loss, while the rest need to stay on the medication. An analysis of U.S. pharmacy insurance claims found that nearly two-thirds of patients who started on Wegovy or Zepbound in 2024 were still on the medications a year later. Peters said she uses "every technique in the book" to secure insurance coverage for patients, but noted that a growing number of plans no longer pay for the treatments, and patients have to pay out-of-pocket. U.S. pharmacies supply self-injection pens pre-loaded with doses of Wegovy or Zepbound. Lilly's direct-to-consumer service also offers vials. "Some patients can stretch out the vials longer. Get 15 mg, and then give a 10 mg dose for instance," Dr. Peters said, noting that the drug's instructions advise that such an approach should not be taken. Doses of 5 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg are recommended for weight-loss maintenance. Patients also are turning to lower-cost compounded versions of the GLP-1 drugs, or are even mixing them at home with raw ingredients, both of which Peters and other doctors advise against due to safety concerns. Dr. Angela Fitch, former president of the Centennial, Colorado-based Obesity Medicine Association and chief medical officer at online primary care provider Knownwell, said nobody wants to be on a medication, but patients who respond to a GLP-1 drug "really don't want to go off of it when they recognize that it has such a value to them." Both Wegovy and Zepbound were first launched, under the brand names Ozempic and Mounjaro, as diabetes treatments. The class has been linked to a range of benefits, including improved heart health and less sleep apnea. Fitch said the most common reason for her patients to stop taking a GLP-1 drug is loss of insurance coverage. She said her experience is that about 10% of patients are able to reach a target weight and maintain it without further treatment. "We are in a dip where people are dropping coverage," Fitch said, adding that the direct-to-consumer options are an "upper-ish middle-class thing."
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney to take leave of absence from role after health diagnosis
Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney is to temporarily step away from her role to undergo treatment for cancer. Tierney's diagnosis means health, understandably, is her top priority. WRU chair Richard Collier-Keywood and director of rugby Dave Reddin will step up to lead the organisation. They will do so at a crucial time for the game in Wales with a decision on a likely reduction of the number of the country's domestic teams set to be made in the coming months. Tierney's time away from the WRU will begin from August 22. 'This has not been an easy decision, but it is one I must make to focus fully on my health and recovery,' she said. 'I am grateful for the support I have already received from my family, friends and colleagues and I am confident in the team's ability to continue our work during my absence. I kindly ask for understanding and privacy during this time.' Tierney had been leading the imminent consultation period over the future of the professional game in Wales – one which is set to define how Welsh rugby looks moving forward. As such, she steps away at a key time. However, her decision is entirely the right one. Collier-Keywood said: 'I, together with the whole of the board and everyone involved with Welsh rugby, wish Abi well over this period. 'The WRU is committed to supporting her during this time. 'In my role as chair, I will continue to have overall responsibility for the WRU and in order to provide cover and give Abi the space she needs, will be more involved in the immediate future. 'Abi and the board have recruited a strong executive team which will continue to lead the WRU on a day-to-day basis. 'The most important topic on our agenda right now is the consultation on the future of elite rugby in Wales. 'This will be led by our director of rugby and elite performance Dave Reddin as a member of the executive and I will take overall responsibility for its successful delivery.'
