fda / aspartame / food safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first gene therapy intended to treat deafness, according to the article’s title. No additional details are available about the therapy’s name, developer, target genetic condition, eligible patient population, clinical trial results, safety profile, or approval date. If accurate, the decision would mark a regulatory milestone for genetic medicines in hearing loss, potentially expanding treatment options beyond hearing aids and cochlear implants for certain inherited forms of deafness. Further reporting would be needed to confirm which type of deafness the therapy addresses, how it is delivered (for example, via viral vector), and what evidence supported FDA clearance.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first gene therapy intended to treat deafness, according to the article’s title. No additional details are available about the therapy’s name, developer, target genetic mutation, eligible patient population, clinical trial results, safety profile, or approval date. If confirmed, the decision would mark a regulatory milestone for genetic medicines in hearing loss, potentially opening a new treatment pathway beyond hearing aids and cochlear implants and setting precedents for future gene-therapy reviews in otology. Further reporting would be needed to verify the indication (congenital vs. acquired), whether the approval is full or accelerated, and any post-marketing requirements.

Dynomight’s updated June 2023 article argues that aspartame’s risks may be lower than many assume, citing extensive regulatory review. It notes the FDA calls aspartame “one of the most exhaustively studied substances in the human food supply,” and frames the real-world choice as often between aspartame and alternatives like sugar, corn syrup, or alcohol. The piece explains aspartame’s metabolism: it is rapidly and completely broken down in the gut into roughly 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid, and 10% methanol, with no intact aspartame entering the bloodstream. Using a 184 mg Diet Coke example, it calculates 92 mg phenylalanine, 73.6 mg aspartic acid, and 18.4 mg methanol, and compares phenylalanine to typical dietary intake and PKU warnings.

In a 2022 article updated in June 2023, science writer dynomight argues that aspartame’s health risks may be lower than many assume, citing extensive regulatory review. The piece notes the FDA calls aspartame “one of the most exhaustively studied substances” in the food supply and emphasizes that the practical alternative to diet drinks is often sugar or corn syrup. It explains that aspartame is rapidly and completely broken down in the gut into roughly 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid, and 10% methanol; a 184 mg can of Diet Coke yields about 92 mg phenylalanine, 73.6 mg aspartic acid, and 18.4 mg methanol. The author highlights phenylalanine and aspartic acid are common dietary amino acids, with a key exception for people with phenylketonuria.