By Matthew Phelan For Dailymail.Com

Updated: 09:33 EDT, 7 September 2023

Daphne Van Domselaar (Twente and Aston Villa)

Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg)

Hinata Miyazawa (MyNavi Sendai)

Millie Bright (Chelsea)

Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona)

Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns)

Hayley Raso (Manchester City and Real Madrid)

Amanda Ilestedt (PSG and Arsenal)

Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich)

Olga Carmona (Real Madrid)

Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona)

Rachel Daly (Aston Villa)

Alba Redondo (Levante)

Lina Caicedo (Real Madrid)

Kadidiatou Diani (PSG and Olympique Lyonnais)

Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona)

Ewa Pajor (Wolfsburg)

Guro Reiten (Chelsea)

Sam Kerr (Chelsea)

Debinha (North Carlina Courage and Kansas City Current)

Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona)

Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg)

Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)

Jill Roord (Wolfsburg and Manchester City)

Katie McCabe (Arsenal)

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Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)

Mary Earps (Manchester United)

Khadija Shaw (Manchester City)

Mapi Leon (Barcelona)

A six-month-old boy prescribed an antiviral drug to treat Covid had a bizarre reaction – his dark brown eyes turned a bright blue within 18 hours of therapy.

The unnamed infant from Thailand was given favipiravir, a treatment commonly used for influenza and Ebola, which is approved as a Covid treatment in parts of Asia – but not yet approved in the US.

Doctors in Bangkok who treated the infant said the antiviral drug released a fluorescent chemical that accumulated in the boy’s corneas. 

While the boy’s eyes changed hue shortly after receiving the treatment, they returned to their natural color five days after medication cessation. 

In Thailand, favipiravir is the main antiviral given to children infected with SARS-CoV-2.

The most common side effects of the treatment include an increase of uric acid in the body, diarrhea and a low count of white blood cells, which account for roughly 20 percent of adverse events.

Favipiravir is approved in Japan, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova and Kazakhstan and received approval for emergency use in Italy in 2020.

The US began trialing the drug in April 2020 with a small group of 50 people at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to approve favipiravir in the US.

The report on the infant was published in April 2023, but the exact date of the side effect is unknown.

On day one, he received 82 milligrams, and 18 hours later, his mother noticed the eye color change.

‘No bluish discoloration was observed in other areas such as skin, nails, or oral and nasal mucosa. Symptoms improved after three days of favipiravir therapy,’ the researchers wrote in the study published in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics.

An eye examination was performed after treatment was over.

‘The patient was able to fix and follow the light in all directions,’ reads the study. 

Researchers wrote that this fluorescence ‘may be due to the drug, its metabolites, or additional tablet components such as titanium dioxide and yellow ferric oxide.’

Several medications can affect the eye, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, blood thinners and antihistamines. 

A class of medication called prostaglandins, used to treat glaucoma, has a side effect of darkening the iris color that can be permanent.

Doctors also found the cornea was clear and lacked a bluish corneal hue, and no blue pigment deposit was observed on the surface of the iris or the anterior lens capsule.

While the boy is the youngest patient to receive the treatment, he is not the first to experience the bizarre side effect. 

A 2021 study reports the case of a 20-year-old man in India who endured the exact eye color change.

He received favipiravir, and on the second day, he noticed discoloration of his eyes – the same deep blue that returned to natural brown when treatment had stopped.

‘We assumed that the bluish corneal hue could be related to favipiravir and advised the patient to stop using favipiravir immediately. It was remarkable to note that the very next day, upon stopping favipiravir the patient’s corneas returned to normal color,’ reads the paper published by a team from Medicine Healthway Hospitals in India.

Following this case, the team sifted through the literature to find other instances but determined this man is the first case of favipiravir causing bluish discoloration of the corneas.

 

 

MIDAS SHARE TIPS UPDATE: Pawnbroker H&T’s bright prospects – and thriving jewellery business too

By Joanne Hart

Published: 16:52 EDT, 12 August 2023 | Updated: 13:32 EDT, 13 August 2023

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Once upon a time, before the arrival of electric light, people would eat their evening meal by candlelight.

When my wife, Clare, and I are feeling romantic (or when there is a power failure), we still sometimes do this, although turning on an electric light is obviously far more convenient.

But perhaps the idea of going back to more candlelit dinners will catch on, thanks to recent research which suggests that reducing your exposure to bright lights in the evening can lead to better sleep, improve your blood sugar levels and even help you to lose a bit of weight.

On top of that there is evidence that exposure to bright light in the late afternoon and evening can trigger anxiety and mood swings in some people (but more on that later).

I’ve written before about the benefits of exposing yourself to bright light first thing in the morning, ideally by going for a brisk 30-minute walk or just spending a bit of time in your garden.

That’s because doing this helps reset your internal body clock, which regulates your circadian rhythms, and which, in turn, determines the timing of natural body processes and functions — including your energy levels and your sleep.

But what you do at the other end of the day also matters.

There is, for example, mounting evidence that being exposed to bright light in the evening not only disrupts your sleep but can lead to weight gain.

In a study, published in the journal PLOS One in 2016, researchers at Northwestern University in the U.S. took 19 healthy adults and asked them to eat their evening meal under either dim or bright light.

When the volunteers ate under bright light, this led to an increase in insulin resistance (which means their bodies had greater difficulty getting their blood sugar levels down after they’d eaten the meal).

The researchers said that increased insulin resistance and a build-up of blood sugar could, over time, lead to increased body fat, weight gain and a higher risk for type 2 diabetes. And pregnant women may be particularly sensitive to the impact of light; one of the unfortunate potential complications of getting pregnant is that some women develop gestational diabetes, where their blood sugar levels soar into the diabetic range.

In the UK around one in 20 pregnant women is affected, and although the condition often resolves once the baby has been born, if you develop gestational diabetes you’re ten times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (as well as having a higher risk of cardiovascular problems and stroke) later in life.

Gestational diabetes also potentially affects the baby, increasing their risk of becoming overweight or having high blood pressure when they grow up. In a recent study of pregnant women, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Maternal and Fetal Medicine, 741 pregnant women were fitted with a wrist device to measure their exposure to light — the researchers found the mothers-to-be who got the most exposure to bright light in the three hours before bedtime were at greatest risk of developing gestational diabetes.

This wasn’t a proper randomised controlled trial — involving a placebo group — but it certainly adds to research suggesting that late-night light exposure really can mess with our metabolism.

Dr Minjee Kim, an assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University, who carried out this study, said all this research into light has affected how she lives her own life.

‘I’m now the light police at home,’ she says. ‘I switch off unnecessary lights and try to dim the light as much as possible. For evening activities such as dinner and bathing the kids, you don’t need bright light.’

She also recommends avoiding using your computer or phone during the lead-up to bedtime — ‘but if you have to use them, keep the screens as dim as possible’.

And as I mentioned earlier, light doesn’t just affect our blood sugar levels, it can also affect our mood.

Too little light in winter can lead to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as the winter blues. As I know from personal experience, you feel depressed, moody and have a craving for carbs. Separately, too much light in the evening can affect people with Alzheimer’s.

If you have a loved one with this disease, you may have noticed that distressing symptoms such as confusion and anxiety become worse late afternoon and evening.

This is called ‘sundowning’ and a new study suggests it may be driven by changes in light levels.

Previously it was thought this behaviour was due to changes in the brain, but research in the journal Frontiers In Aging Neuroscience suggests it is changes in the retina, the light-sensitive area at the back of the eye, caused by Alzheimer’s, that are responsible. This understanding could poten-tially lead to new approaches to coping with sundowning.

In the meantime, Dementia UK recommends closing the curtains and turning on the lights before dusk ‘to ease the transition into night-time’.

Our remote ancestors rose with the dawn and huddled round the campfire at night.

So it’s not surprising that light, how much you are exposed to and when, has such a profound effect on our mind and bodies.

A slew of celebrities from the worlds of international art, architecture, design, fashion, music, film and business descend on London’s Serpentine Galleries every year to raise funds for a variety of exhibitions.

And chic glamour was the name of the game on Tuesday as Ellie Goulding, Jourdan Dunn, Diane Kruger and Lady Mary Charteris led the star-studded arrivals at the event.

Pop star Ellie, 36, stunned in a unique black PVC off-the-shoulder dress with a plunging sweetheart neckline for the evening.

Model Jourdan, 32, cut a statuesque figure as she posed on arrival in a black and silver dress with a thigh-high split and cut out panels, while German actress, Diane, 46, opted for a unique black mini with a puff tulle skirt.

Meanwhile, model Lady Mary, 36, looked stunning in an off-the-shoulder sheer silver dress.

Singer Ellie struck a casual pose on the red carpet, leaving her hands in the pockets of her PVC skirt.

The garment reached down to her ankles, leaving her black heels on show underneath, while above she gave a glimpse at her midriff with the top section finishing above her waist.

She wore lashings of make-up to highlight her pretty features while her long blonde hair tumbled down over her shoulders.

Ellie was seen posing with her husband Caspar Jopling at the event, with the art dealer wearing a grey suit and a white shirt that he left open at the collar.

The pair posed with Caspar’s art dealer father Jay Jopling, 60, who dressed in a black suit and white shirt for the evening.

Jourdan looked sensational as she posed at the event, with the black section her one shoulder dress moving across to feature a longer section to one side.

She put on a very leggy display with the dress featuring a large thigh-high split on the opposite side, while the outfit featured some glittered silver material that wrapped around and dropped down at the back.

Diane ensured she stood out from the crowd for the night in a unique black puff mini dress with a sheer panel.

The garment featured a low cut sweetheart neckline and detached black sleeves, while she wore a pair of edgy leather high-heeled boots with silver toe caps.

She completed her look by wearing a black flower on her neck, while she wore lashings of make-up to complete her look.

Meanwhile, Lady Mary looked sensational in a floor-length sequinned silver dress, making the most of her incredibly fit physique.

She matched the off the shoulder number with a black handbag which featured a cute silver bow on the front.

One of London’s most acclaimed events, The Serpentine Summer Party raises essential funds for exhibitions, architecture, education, live and digital programmes, celebrating all those who enable the Serpentine Galleries’ work.

The event is set in the grassed grounds of the Serpentine art gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens.

This the annual event often welcomes a host of big name celebrities, art lovers, hotel magnates and aristocrats.

Pop stars, fashion designers and business moguls also make a welcome appearance the event each year.

In the past, royal guests including Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Lady Amelia Windsor have also been in attendance.

American tennis player Venus Williams, 43, showed off her chic sense of style in a knee-length black dress with silver beaded detail.

She wore a pair of matching black heels with silver studded detail over the straps, while she displayed her mane of dyed pink hair swept to one side. 

 

The model wore a pair of pink shoes to add a few inches to her stature and carried a white bag in the shape of a bow.

Orlando Bloom looked stylish as he posed at the event in a smart grey vest and a pair of matching trousers.

He wore a pair of black boots and opted for some blue-tinted sunglasses, with the actor sporting a healthy tan.

The star posed with designer Sir Paul Smith who wore a navy blue shirt while jokingly checking out the size of Orlando’s biceps.

Elsewhere, Pixie Geldof opted for a pink babydoll dress for the evening, with the garment being cinched in at the waist.

It featured mirrored silver decoration below the neckline with a pink crossover ribbon to the front.