Health
State Department Permits Distribution of H.I.V. Medications to Resume — for Now
The Trump administration on Tuesday issued a waiver for lifesaving medicines and medical services, offering a reprieve for a worldwide H.I.V. treatment program that was halted last week.
The waiver, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seemed to allow for the distribution of H.I.V. medications, but whether the waiver extended to preventive drugs or other services offered by the program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was not immediately clear.
Still, PEPFAR’s future remains in jeopardy, with potential consequences for more than 20 million people — including 500,000 children — who could lose access to lifesaving medications. Without treatment, millions of people with H.I.V. in low-income countries would be at risk of full-blown AIDS and of premature death.
“We can very rapidly return to where the pandemic is exploding, like it was back in the 1980s,” said Dr. Steve Deeks, an H.I.V. expert at the University of California, San Francisco.
“This really cannot happen,” he said.
On Monday, the Trump administration ordered health organizations in other countries to immediately stop distributing H.I.V. medications purchased with U.S. aid. The directive stemmed from a freeze — which may become permanent — in the activities of PEPFAR, a $7.5 billion program overseen by the State Department.
Since it started in 2003, PEPFAR is estimated to have saved more than 25 million lives; more than 5.5 million children have been born free of H.I.V. who otherwise would have been infected.
In South Africa alone, PEPFAR’s shutdown would add more than a half million new H.I.V. infections and more than 600,000 related deaths over the next decade, according to one estimate.
The organization employs 270,000 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health workers. They had been told not to report to work or to serve patients.
PEPFAR’s end would “create instability and potentially collapse several countries’s AIDS programs that will be difficult to repair, if and when PEPFAR funding becomes available again,” said Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa.
Dr. Abdool Karim said countries should stop relying on PEPFAR and support their own citizens, a goal that the program’s staff and partners had been working toward. But ideally that shift would happen gradually, over years during which PEPFAR would train local health workers and prepare them for the transition, he said.
“This is not a bad opportunity for countries to take greater responsibility,” he said. “But I think they can’t do it if it’s done in this kind of haphazard and unplanned way.”
Here’s what he and others expect from PEPFAR’s unexpected pause.
Sudden stops to H.I.V. treatment can quickly turn dangerous.
Every day, more than 220,000 people pick up H.I.V. medications at clinics funded by PEPFAR; the number included more than 7,400 children under 15, according to data published on Tuesday by AMFAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.
The drugs work by suppressing H.I.V. in the body. When patients go off the drugs, the virus grabs the opportunity to rebound — and quickly. Within a week, H.I.V. levels will skyrocket from undetectable levels to more than 100,000 copies per milliliter of blood.
“That may be a time where you are very much at risk of passing the virus on to others,” Dr. Sallie Permar, a pediatrician and H.I.V. expert at Weill Cornell Medicine, said.
Then, the virus will start attacking a certain type of immune cell, crippling the body’s ability to fend off other infections, including tuberculosis, which frequently accompanies H.I.V. infection.
Spiking H.I.V. levels at first may cause flulike symptoms, including sore throat, swollen glands and fatigue. The immune system will likely marshal enough force to suppress the virus temporarily, but H.I.V. is adept at hiding until it finds the right opportunity to re-emerge.
When that occasion arises, “they can develop AIDS and progress,” Dr. Deeks said.
Children may be among the hardest hit.
PEPFAR is best known for financing H.I.V. treatment programs, but its funds also go to drugs for prevention, outreach and testing, and to support for orphans and women experiencing gender-based violence.
The loss of resources for each of these efforts will derail the fight against AIDS, said Dr. Glenda Gray, a pediatric H.I.V. expert at Wits University in South Africa.
“If H.I.V. testing falls by the wayside, it’s unlikely that we will be able to even diagnose people who need to go into treatment,” she said.
If a pregnant or breastfeeding woman has H.IV. but is not tested and not treated, she may pass the virus to her child. The higher her viral load, the more likely this is to occur.
Children with H.I.V. are less likely to be diagnosed than adults, and may not be treated till the virus makes them visibly very sick. This progression can be much more rapid in children than in adults, Dr. Gray said, “and obviously, children who are untreated are likely to die.”
Inconsistent treatment drives drug resistance.
As people lose access to medications, they may try to spread out their supplies by alternating days or to share their pills with others. If the virus replicates in people with only partial protection, it can learn to evade those defenses and become resistant to the medications.
People living with the virus may then pass the resistant virus on to others.
“That becomes a big problem, because now, suddenly, our cheap first-line drugs might not work when we have to restart them on treatment,” Dr. Abdool Karim said.
A virus that is resistant to treatments will also be better at evading vaccine candidates being tested.
“Not only are we looking at more drug resistance, but we’re looking at losing whatever ability we had to make an effective vaccine,” Dr. Permar said.
PEPFAR’s end may affect Americans, too.
More than one million Americans are living with the virus, and more than 30,000 become infected each year. If H.I.V. becomes resistant to available medications, it isn’t likely to remain in low-income countries. Americans, too, will be at risk.
They may also face indirect harms from ending PEPFAR. Creating huge populations of immunocompromised people may mean that other pathogens have an opportunity to spread. For example, dangerous Covid variants, including Omicron, are thought to have evolved in immunocompromised people with H.I.V.
At the same time, people worldwide have benefited from trials conducted under PEPFAR’s auspices, showing the importance of treating H.I.V. early, demonstrating that pregnant women can safely breastfeed as long as they are treated and that H.I.V. infections can be prevented with long-acting drugs.
“America has gotten an amazing amount of love around the world because of what it’s done,” Dr. Deeks said.
“From a humanitarian perspective, I can’t imagine anyone really wants to go along this pathway,” he added. “This doesn’t make any sense on any level.”
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A popular class of weight-loss drugs may prevent life-threatening cardiac complications by opening microscopic blood vessels that often remain blocked after a heart attack, according to a study published this week in Nature Communications.
The research, led by the University of Bristol and University College London, identified a biological brain-gut-heart signaling pathway.
This discovery appears to explain how GLP-1 drugs — which mimic glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite — protect heart tissue from a condition known as “no-reflow.”
“In nearly half of all heart attack patients, tiny blood vessels within the heart muscle remain narrowed, even after the main artery is cleared during emergency medical treatment,” Dr. Svetlana Mastitskaya, the study’s lead author and a senior lecturer at Bristol Medical School, said in a press release.
“This results in a complication known as ‘no-reflow,’ where blood is unable to reach certain parts of the heart tissue.”
In nearly half of all heart attack patients, tiny capillaries (blood vessels) remain narrowed even after the main blocked artery is cleared. (iStock)
This lack of blood flow increases the risk of heart failure and death within a year. GLP-1 medications could prevent this, according to the researchers.
How it works
When the GLP-1 hormone is released in the gut or administered as a drug, it sends a signal to the brain, which then sends a signal to the heart that switches on special potassium channels in tiny cells called pericytes.
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When these channels open, the pericytes relax, which allows the small blood vessels (capillaries) to widen and improve blood flow to the heart muscle, the researchers noted.
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The new study used animal models and cellular imaging to track how GLP-1 interacts with heart tissue. When the researchers removed the potassium channels, the drugs no longer protected the heart — confirming they play a key role.
The findings suggest that existing GLP-1 medications, already used for type 2 diabetes and obesity, could be repurposed as emergency treatments. (iStock)
The findings suggest that existing GLP-1 medications, already used for type 2 diabetes and obesity, could be repurposed as emergency treatments during or immediately after a heart attack to reduce tissue damage.
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The researchers noted several limitations, including that the study relied on animal models.
Clinical trials are necessary to determine whether the brain-gut-heart pathway operates with the same timing and efficacy in humans.
While the study highlights the drug’s immediate benefits during a heart attack, it des not establish whether long-term use of these drugs provides a pre-existing level of protection. (iStock)
Additionally, while the study highlights the drug’s immediate benefits during a heart attack, it does not establish whether long-term use of the medication provides a pre-existing level of protection.
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The research was primarily funded by the British Heart Foundation.
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Collagen supplements have exploded in popularity, touted as everything from an anti-aging miracle to a muscle recovery booster.
But a sweeping new review conducted by U.K. researchers suggests that while collagen may help improve skin elasticity and ease arthritis pain, it does little for athletic performance or wrinkle reduction.
Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University analyzed 16 systematic reviews and 113 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 8,000 participants worldwide, which they say is the most extensive evaluation of collagen’s health effects to date.
The review found consistent evidence that collagen supplementation improves skin elasticity and hydration over time and provides significant relief from osteoarthritis-related joint pain and stiffness, according to findings published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum.
A large U.K. review found that collagen supplements may improve skin elasticity and hydration over time. (iStock)
The researchers, however, did not find meaningful improvements in post-exercise muscle recovery, soreness or tendon mechanical properties (strength, springiness and stretch resistance).
“Collagen is not a cure-all, but it does have credible benefits when used consistently over time, particularly for skin and osteoarthritis,” co-author Lee Smith, professor of public health at Anglia Ruskin University, said in a statement.
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“Our findings show clear benefits in key areas of healthy aging, while also dispelling some of the myths surrounding its use,” Smith added.
Collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, supports skin, bones, tendons, cartilage and connective tissue, according to experts. Natural collagen production begins to drop in early adulthood and declines more sharply with age.
The study found that collagen supplements may help reduce joint pain and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis. (iStock)
The review found that long-term collagen supplementation was linked to improved skin firmness and hydration, but did not help skin roughness — a proxy for visible wrinkles.
Benefits appear to accumulate gradually, suggesting that collagen should not be viewed as an “anti-wrinkle ‘quick fix,’ but as a foundational dermal support for individuals seeking holistic skin maintenance,” the researchers said.
“If we define anti-aging as a product or technique designed to prevent the appearance of getting older, then I believe our findings do support this claim for some parameters,” Smith told the BBC. “For example, an improvement in skin tone and moisture is associated with a more youthful-looking appearance.”
Collagen supplementation was linked to reduced pain and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis, with stronger benefits seen over longer periods of use, and showed modest improvements in muscle mass and tendon structure that may support healthy aging.
Collagen did not significantly improve skin roughness, a marker of visible wrinkles. (iStock)
However, it did not show meaningful results when used as a fast-acting sports performance supplement, and evidence for benefits related to cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and oral health was mixed or inconclusive.
Dr. Daniel Ghiyam, a California-based physician and longevity specialist, said the findings align with what he sees in clinical practice.
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“Collagen is a targeted support tool, not a foundation of health or performance,” Ghiyam, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. “When marketed that way, it makes sense. When marketed as a cure-all, it doesn’t hold up to the data.”
The authors noted that while many previous collagen studies have received financial support from the supplement industry, the current review did not receive industry funding.
Experts say collagen supplements may offer modest benefits for skin hydration and joint comfort, but they are not a cure-all. (iStock)
The team called for more high-quality clinical trials examining long-term outcomes, optimal dosages and differences between collagen sources, such as marine, bovine and plant-based alternatives.
Among its limitations, the review could not determine whether certain forms of collagen work better than others or what the optimal regimen should be.
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While the review included randomized controlled trials, the quality of the studies varied, with newer research generally showing stronger results.
Experts say more data and studies are needed to build on the findings. They also noted that diet plays a crucial role in skin health.
Collagen supplements, often sold as powders or pills, may improve skin elasticity and ease joint pain, experts say. (iStock)
Dr. Erum Ilyas, a Pennsylvania-based dermatologist and chair of dermatology at Drexel University College of Medicine, noted that the review analyzed previously published meta-analyses rather than generating new primary data.
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“At this time, I have not seen sufficiently strong independent evidence to routinely recommend collagen supplements to my patients,” Ilyas, who was not involved in the review, told Fox News Digital.
“Although some studies show modest improvements in markers such as hydration and elasticity, there remains limited independent, biopsy-confirmed evidence demonstrating sustained increases in dermal collagen content,” she added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the researchers for comment.
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As colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50, a new report reveals some surprising shifts in the incidence of the disease.
Although rates of CRC have been declining among seniors, those 65 and under are facing a rise in diagnoses, according to a report titled Colorectal Cancer Statistics, 2026, from the American Cancer Society.
Adults 65 and younger comprise nearly half (45%) of all new colorectal cancer cases — a significant increase from 27% in 1995, states the report, which was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The disease is rising fastest among adults 20 to 49 years old, at a rate of 3% per year.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50. (iStock)
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. Although that age group is eligible to receive routine screenings, just 37% do so.
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The report also revealed that rectal cancer is on the rise, now accounting for about one-third (32%) of all CRC cases — an increase from 27% in the mid-2000s.
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“After decades of progress, the risk of dying from colorectal cancer is climbing in younger generations of men and women, confirming a real uptick in disease because of something we’re doing or some other exposure,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report, in a press release.
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. (iStock)
“We need to redouble research efforts to understand the cause, but also circumvent deaths through earlier detection by educating clinicians and the general public about symptoms and increasing screening in people 45-54 years.”
It is projected that 158,850 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year, and that the disease will cause 55,230 deaths, per the report.
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More than half of CRC cases can be linked to high-risk behaviors, the researchers said. Those include lack of nutrition, high alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of exercise and obesity.
“These findings further underscore that colorectal cancer is worsening among younger generations and highlight the immediate need for eligible adults to begin screening at the recommended age of 45,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society.
When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%. (iStock)
“The report also shines a light on the crucial importance of continued funding for research to help discover new therapies to treat the disease and advance patient care.”
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When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%, the report stated.
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