Weekly Health Digest: Pig Kidney Transplant, Music for Pain, Mania and ChatGPT, Daylight Saving Time

Man Has Pig Kidney Removed After Living With It for a Record 9 Months

       By Emily Mullin, WIRED

A recent medical breakthrough offers hope for patients waiting for organ transplants. On Jan. 25, 2025, a 67-year-old man from New Hampshire, Tim Andrews, received a genetically engineered pig kidney at Massachusetts General Hospital. 

Andrew’s rare blood type meant that he faced a much longer wait time than most kidney donors, who already wait for three to five years on average. Because of the shortage of human donors, scientists have started to take a look at animals as potential sources of organs. 

The donor pig was from a biotech company, eGenesis in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and had 69 gene edits, making it more compatible with a human recipient. Since Andrew’s surgery, the total number of patients known to have received a pig kidney is up to six. 

The pig kidney was removed from Andrews on Oct. 23. Although the transplant was unsuccessful in the long term, this procedure was still considered a major accomplishment for the science community. The kidney functioned for several months, even after showing signs of rejection two weeks post-transplant. 

— by Michelle Arauz 

Music could help ease pain from surgery or illness. Scientists are listening

By Christina Larson, New York Times 

Hospitals are beginning to turn to music as a tool to help patients manage pain. At UC San Diego Health, nurse Rod Salaysay performs songs on the guitar for patients recovering from surgeries, in addition to providing standard medical care. This shines light on new research which shows that music may be an effective treatment for acute and chronic pain. 

While music cannot completely eliminate pain on its own, recent studies have shown that listening to music distracts us from pain and therefore reduces the perception of pain and enhances a person’s ability to tolerate it. Scientists are calling the effect “music-induced analgesia.”

Pain is a combination of the physical feeling of pain and our brain’s interpretation of it. Music engages multiple parts of the brain that regulate attention and emotion. Researchers have observed that when people listen to music that they enjoy, they often experience slower heart rates, lower blood pressure, and a higher tolerance for pain. 

Researchers studied the effects of different genres of music on pain endurance and ultimately concluded that no one genre is better than the other. Instead, findings showed that it is most important for patients to listen to their preferred music. This is because choosing music that a patient is familiar with and enjoys often activates positive memories and emotions for the patient, which can distract the patient from physical pain and negative emotions. 

 Experts are now exploring how listening to music daily might help people suffering from chronic pain. 

— by Collin France 

OpenAI Says Hundreds of Thousands of ChatGPT Users May Show Signs of Manic or Psychotic Crisis Every Week

By Louise Matsakis, WIRED

In recent months, there has been growing evidence that individuals are using AI as a therapeutic tool. OpenAI for the first time released data about user activity, including estimates of how many people utilize the chatbot for mental distress, emotional dependence, and potential suicidal planning.  

Out of an estimated 800 million weekly users, ChatGPT conversations conducted by about 560,000 individuals suggest they experience mania or psychosis. Furthermore, 1.2 million more users are expressing suicidal thoughts, and another 1.2 million are speaking to the chatbot “at the expense of real-world relationships.”

In response to this data, OpenAI announced that they are working with healthcare professionals to help the newest version of ChatGPT show more empathy in mental health conversations. Through clinician reviews of responses, the newer model is seen to reduce undesired answers by suggesting seeking professional help more quickly.  

However, there are apparent limitations to this data collection, and it is unknown whether the latest version will yield tangible positive outcomes for users experiencing distress. As more individuals rely on ChatGPT rather than healthcare professionals, OpenAI faces greater responsibility to ensure user safety, privacy, and human well-being. 

— by Talia Gordon Wexler

The Dark Side of Daylight Saving Time

By Veronique Greenwood, Time

Every spring and fall, Americans shift their clocks and alarms for Daylight Saving Time. This habit, which is annoying but seems harmless, may be affecting our health.

Research shows that individuals who live on the western edge of a timezone, where the sun rises later, have higher rates of obesity and cancer. Being out of sync with the sun could be secretly harming our health more than we previously thought. Scientists from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine argue that Daylight Saving disrupts our internal sleep rhythms, although this is hard to prove. They recommend sticking to a standard time year round. 

Sleep loss in general has serious effects. It is shown to increase risk of car crashes, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and risk taking behavior. In the long term, sleep deprivation affects how the rest of the body functions by changing how we respond to sunlight and biological processes that need to happen at certain times.

While Daylight Saving Time was designed during the World Wars as a means to save energy and was made permanent in the 1960s, its original purpose no longer serves the general population. Many researchers view it as unnecessary and a public health issue. Ending seasonal time changes can help people sleep better and enjoy healthier lives.

— by Yasemin Isbilir

Items summarized by: Collin France, Talia Gordon Wexler, Yasemin Isbilir, Michelle Arauz