The virus that keeps on giving

Losing teeth might be yet another long-term effect of Covid-19. The good news: Right now it’s anecdotal — and may just be that existing problems get worse.

Fauci gives vaccines the thumbs up

A lot of Americans are still wary of the upcoming Covid vaccines having been rushed; only a little more than half of people say they’ll line up for their shots (although people over 50 are more likely to go for it).

But now America’s Covid Doctor — Anthony Fauci — has weighed in, saying that while the development time has been “breathtaking,” the process hasn’t been politically influenced, and he’s convinced it’s safe.

“There are so many levels of independence and transparency there that people should feel confident — I do — that the vaccine is determined to be safe and effective,” he said.

Are YOU up to date on vaccinating?

Are you sure? Just in case, you might want to sign up for GPhA’s Vaccine Protocol Update CE webinar on Thursday, December 17, 2020, from 7:00-8:00 pm, presented by the terrific Johnathan Hamrick, PharmD.

Check out the deets and sign up now at GPhA.org/vaccine-protocol-update-2020.

Another reason to help your patients with high blood pressure

Hypertension seems to be “linked to more extensive brain damage in the elderly,” according to British researchers. Making it extra scary: The brain damage is linked to high diastolic blood pressure before the age of 50, even when it’s within a seemingly healthy range, and “especially when people were taking medication to treat high blood pressure.”

Many people may think of hypertension and stroke as diseases of older people, but our results suggest that if we would like to keep a healthy brain well into our 60s and 70s, we may have to make sure our blood pressure, including the diastolic blood pressure, stays within a healthy range when we are in our 40s and 50s.

Bug in the gut

Obviously irritable bowel syndrome begins in the gut (or, arguably, YouTube comments section), but now it seems there’s a specific culprit: Brachyspira, a single type of bacteria that Swedish researchers have found linked to IBS.

“Unlike most other gut bacteria, Brachyspira is in direct contact with the cells [of the intestines] and covers their surface. I was immensely surprised when we kept finding Brachyspira in more and more IBS patients, but not in healthy individuals.”

Next up is … well, you know the drill. More studies.

Naturally bad for you

Cooking with wood, while it might seem all natural and back-to-basics, is actually not good for you long term. How bad? How about “suffering considerable damage to their lungs from breathing in dangerous concentrations of pollutants and bacterial toxins” bad?

That’s what UC San Diego researchers found after using CT scans to check out the lungs of people who cooked with “biomass” fuel versus those who used that lovely, clean, natural gas.

Early to rise means more migraines

If you’ve got a high schooler with migraines, there’s an easy way to help cut them down: Start school later.

Subjects whose school day started prior to 8:30a.m. reported more migraines days — averaging 7.7 per month — than those who began later, who had nearly three fewer headache days.

Why? That’s also simple: A later start is more in tune with teens’ circadian rhythms.