Grace Wade

2 weeks ago | newscientist.com | Grace Wade

An experimental medication targeting reward pathways in the brain helps people addicted to cocaine reduce their drug use – and could treat other substance use disorders, too. Medications are available to treat alcoholism and opioid use disorder, but none are approved for addictions to stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine. These drugs contribute to roughly half of all overdose deaths in the US.

3 weeks ago | newscientist.com | Grace Wade

People report being hungrier after consuming the artificial sweetener sucralose and experience heightened brain activity in regions involved with appetite. The finding suggests that artificial sweeteners may encourage overeating instead of satisfying our sweet tooth. Artificial sweeteners have become increasingly popular worldwide as awareness around sugar’s health risks grows. Unlike sugar, these additives sweeten foods and drinks without adding substantial calories.

3 weeks ago | newscientist.com | Grace Wade

The only nation-wide assessment of drug use in the US is a critical tool in fighting the opioid epidemicShutterstock / Kimberly BoylesOn 1 April, the US government abruptly laid off all 17 people running the country’s only nationwide survey on substance use and mental health. For more than half a century, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) has tracked these issues across the US, helping inform doctors, researchers and policy-makers.

3 weeks ago | newscientist.com | Grace Wade

The use of weight loss treatments like Ozempic and Wegovy has skyrocketed in the Western world. But as more people turn to these treatments, which mimic the appetite-suppressing hormone GLP-1, more potential side effects are emerging, including hair loss. Evidence of this first appeared during clinical trials of Wegovy. Of the more than 2100 adult participants taking the drug, 3 per cent experienced hair loss, compared with only 1 per cent of the roughly 1200 participants taking a…

3 weeks ago | newscientist.com | Grace Wade

The US is currently facing its most severe measles resurgence in years. On Wednesday, Ohio became the fifth state to declare a measles outbreak this year, joining Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Kansas. How many measle cases are there in the US? As of 27 March, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 483 measle cases in the US this year. This is the highest number of infections since 2019, when there were more than 1200 confirmed cases.