Weekly Health Digest: US Meth Usage, GLP-1 Pill, Autism Studies

What to Know About Today’s Meth

          By Jan Hoffman, The New York Times

Methamphetamine, commonly referred to as meth, has seen a drastic surge in usage across the United States.

Meth is a stimulant that comes in the form of a pill, powder, or paste, and can be smoked, snorted, swallowed, or injected. It causes the brain to release excessive amounts of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, creating euphoria and, eventually, addiction. 

The time period after the effects of meth have subsided is known as “tweaking.” Users can forget to drink water, can be unable to eat and sleep for days, and can become hyper-focused on peculiar activities. This can manifest as feelings of agitation, aggression, and paranoia, as well as picking at skin, hallucinations, and psychosis. Long-term side effects can be debilitating, including cognitive decline, memory loss, severe depression, heart-valve damage, gum disease, and tooth decay, known as “meth mouth.”

Meth overdose deaths are on the rise. This is linked, in part, to the increase of fentanyl-laced drugs, which can immediately kill an unsuspecting user. Currently, there are no approved medications that can rapidly reverse a meth overdose or treat meth addiction. Behavioral treatment, known as contingency management, has proved to be a successful strategy, as it incentivizes clean drug tests.

— by Merom Arthur

Experimental GLP-1 pill helped people with diabetes lose weight and lower blood sugar, Eli Lilly says

By Jen Christensen, CNN

Eli Lilly is in the process of testing a new GLP-1 pill orforglipron. In clinical trials, the pill has helped people with type 2 diabetes lose, on average, 8% of their body weight after 40 weeks and reduced their A1C levels, a measurement of blood glucose over a three-month window. It is the first drug of its kind to complete a Phase 3 trial.

Many similar drugs often require dietary restrictions, but Lilly has announced that their medication will not require such limitations. 

GLP-1 injections currently on the market are highly effective, but they can be unaffordable for many patients. Therefore, a daily pill, like orforglipron, may be more accessible, as it would be cheaper to manufacture and then be at a lower cost to patients.. 

Lilly plans to publish the results of this trial in a peer-reviewed journal and expects to share more about the effectiveness of the orforglipron pill later this year. The company is also working on another clinical trial program to evaluate the drug’s weight management abilities. Lilly plans to apply for approval of orforglipron for weight management by the end of the year and submit results regarding its treatment for type 2 diabetes in 2026. 

— by Alexa Morales

Kennedy plans autism studies aimed at identifying ‘environmental toxins’ linked to rise

By Berkely Lovelace Jr., NBC News

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, has announced the launch of a series of studies to identify “environmental toxins” that he claims are responsible for the rise in autism rates in U.S. children.

This follows a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that rates of autism diagnosis have risen from 1 in 150 kids in 2000 to 1 in 31 kids in 2022. Health experts, however, believe the increase is due to an increased awareness and surveillance of the disorder, as well as broadened criteria for autism diagnosis, rather than increased contact to an unknown exposure. Specifically, current evidence does not find a single cause of autism. 

Kennedy has vowed to discover the cause of autism by September. He claims that environmental exposures, including food, water, and medicine, are the root cause of the rise in childhood autism rates, calling it a “preventable disease.” The CDC will reportedly look at mold, food additives, water, pesticides, medicines, ultrasounds, and obesity. 

These claims are not supported by evidence, and are not accepted by health experts. Notably the president of the Autism Science Foundation, Alison Singer, believes that there is no environmental cause, but, rather, that the increase in diagnoses is a result of destigmatization and access to services, agreeing with the CDC’s conclusion. 

Some research suggests that genetic and environmental interactions may increase the risk of autism, but experts are not convinced that Kennedy’s studies will have novel findings.

— by Justine Borgia

Items summarized by: Merom Arthur, Alexa Morales, Justine Borgia