Health
Ice bucket challenge revival for mental health sparks controversy among ALS community
The Ice Bucket Challenge is back, but this time for a new cause.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that went mega-viral in the summer of 2014 had more than 17 million people on social media, and even celebrities on talk shows, dumping ice water over their heads.
The challenge, supported by the ALS Association, was intended to raise awareness of the disease. It ultimately raised $115 million toward ALS research and patient care.
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Eleven years later, the Ice Bucket Challenge has been revived by USC Mind, the University of South Carolina’s Mental Illness Needs Discussion club.
Guests on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge on Aug. 12, 2014. (Douglas Gorenstein/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
In support of a foundation called Active Minds, the country’s largest mental health nonprofit for teens and young adults, the USC group launched the #SpeakYourMind Ice Bucket Challenge.
The challenge is taking off on social media and has raised nearly $400,000 on the event’s fundraising site.
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The trend revival has sparked some controversy for taking attention away from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
The average life expectancy after ALS diagnosis is typically two to five years, according to the ALS Association.
Brooke Eby, an ALS patient and influencer, posted a video on social media with the caption, “Watching people steal the ALS ice bucket challenge for a different cause when ALS still doesn’t have a cure and is 100% fatal. Fuming.”
The ALS Association and Active Minds announced they’re teaming up in the new Ice Bucket Challenge for the month of May, which is both Mental Health Awareness Month and ALS Awareness Month. (Abigail Breuchert)
Michael Stone, another content creator and ALS patient, spoke out about the impact the challenge had on the ALS community.
“It is more than a trend,” he printed in an infographic. “The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge changed lives.”
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“Raising awareness for ALS is crucial because it leads to funding, and funding leads to research,” Stone wrote. “What started as a viral challenge grew into something far greater: a worldwide effort that’s funding life-changing research and giving hope to those affected by this devastating disease.”
Brian Frederick, the ALS Association’s chief marketing and communications officer, shared the organization’s support for the revived movement.
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“We’re thrilled to see young people taking up the spirit of activism for mental health, but we also want people to know that ALS is still fatal and urgently needs a cure,” Frederick said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Mental health is an important issue in the ALS community, given the devastating physical, emotional and financial toll that ALS takes on entire families.”
Frederick commented that the original ALS Ice Bucket Challenge “dramatically accelerated” the fight against ALS, which led to “new genes discovered, new treatments in the pipeline” and a significant increase in care services.
Since the challenge, the ALS Association has invested more than $150 million in ALS research, followed by nearly $1 billion in additional ALS research funding, according to Frederick.
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“We still have a long way to go to turn ALS from fatal to livable and cure it, but we’re grateful to everyone for taking the Ice Bucket Challenge and raising awareness of ALS and mental health,” he added.
A group of kids dumps buckets of ice water their heads on the fifth anniversary of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on July 15, 2019, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Cathy Cummings, CEO of the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations, noted that many people with ALS and their caregivers can face “serious mental health challenges,” such as depression and anxiety.
“Using the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness around mental health supports our community as well,” she told Fox News Digital. “We would like to hold space for multiple people’s experiences, without needing to pick which is more deserving.”
In a press release on Thursday, both the ALS Association and Active Minds announced they’re teaming up in this new Ice Bucket Challenge for the month of May, which is both Mental Health Awareness Month and ALS Awareness Month.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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