As this year’s severe flu season rages across the country, federal health officials are investigating a rise in rare but life-threatening brain complications in children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says at least 19,000 people have died from the flu so far this winter, including 86 children.  New data show that nine of those child deaths involved serious brain complications tied to the flu, the CDC reported Feb. 27 in it’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The condition, known as influenza-associated encephalopathy or encephalitis (IAE), is a rare type of brain inflammation triggered by the flu. In severe cases, children can develop acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE), a dangerous form of brain damage linked to viral infections like flu. While IAE is rare, the CDC’s preliminary data for the 2024-25 flu season link 13% of child flu deaths to these brain complications. Among 1,840 pediatric flu deaths reported to the CDC since 2010, 166 children (9%) had these brain complications.  In some past seasons, the percentage was lower (4% in 2013-14 and 0% in 2020-21 when flu dropped to historic a low during the COVID pandemic). In other seasons, it was as high as 14% (2011-12 season). One challenge for public health experts, The Associated Press reported, is that there’s no official system to track IAE or ANE cases in the…  read on >  read on >

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic/Wegovy don’t increase a person’s risk of suicidal actions or thoughts, a new study has concluded. Earlier research had potentially linked these drugs — which are used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity — with suicidal thoughts and self-harm, researchers added. But the new study found no such association after following more than 68,000 diabetics prescribed GLP-1 drugs for a year or more, according to a report in The BMJ. “GLP-1 receptor agonist use was not associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation, self-harm, or suicide” compared against two other classes of diabetes medications, wrote the research team led by senior researcher Laurent Azoulay, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at McGill University in Montreal. “These findings should provide some reassurance with respect to the psychiatric safety of these drugs,” researchers concluded. GLP-1 drugs have become wildly popular as weight-loss medications, but with their increased use has come concern over the long-term safety of this class of drugs. For the study, researchers analyzed U.K. data on people with type 2 diabetes who had been prescribed medications for their condition. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food.  The most prominent of these drugs is semaglutide, which is sold under the name Ozempic for diabetes…  read on >  read on >

Utah may become the first state in the U.S. to ban fluoride in public water statewide, a move that would override local decisions on whether to add the cavity-fighting mineral to drinking water. The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Spencer Cox, who has not said whether he will approve the measure, The Associated Press reported. If signed, Utah would be the first state to ban fluoride in public water systems, a move that has raised praise from some lawmakers but concerns from public health experts and dental professionals. Supporters of the bill, including state Rep. Stephanie Gricius and state Sen. Kirk Cullimore, both Republicans, argue that adding fluoride is too expensive. “I don’t dispute that there can be positive benefits from fluoride, which is why the bill also includes a deregulation of the prescription,” Gricius said in a text message to The Associated Press, referencing a fluoride pill. “This isn’t anti-fluoride legislation, it is pro-informed consent and individual choice.” But dental and other public health experts warn that banning fluoride could increase cavities, especially in low-income communities. Utah’s bill comes as newly appointed federal health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed skepticism about water fluoridation, which is widely considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century. “Fluoridation is the most cost effective way to prevent tooth decay on…  read on >  read on >

Feeling scared? Your fear is a survival tool, but sometimes, it overreacts — making us afraid of things that aren’t true threats.  A new study shows how the brain learns to let go of unnecessary fears, offering potential new ways for treating conditions such as anxiety, PTSD and phobias. Published in the journal Science, it tracked how mice responded to repeated harmless threats, such as a shadow that mimicked a predatory bird’s swoop. Over time, the mice learned the shadow wasn’t dangerous and stopped reacting. Scientists found that this “unlearning” of fear was stored in a previously overlooked part of the brain called the ventrolateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN). “We’ve uncovered the mechanism by which the brain — through experience — can understand which potential instinctive dangers are actually not a danger,” study leader Sara Mederos, a neuroscientist at University College London’s Sainsbury Wellcome Center, told The Washington Post. In the study, about 100 mice were exposed to 30 to 50 simulated “swoops,” using an expanding overhead shadow to mimic a bird of prey. By inserting silicon probes in the mice’s brains, scientists discovered that while the visual cortex helped the mice recognize the harmless threat, the vLGN actually helped store the memory to disregard it. By focusing on specific molecules and neurotransmitters released in this area of the brain, researchers think it may be possible…  read on >  read on >