UGA researchers to superbugs: Choke on this

Veterinary Dawgs have found a way to make Gram-negative bacteria literally* choke on their own poison. It seems that the bacteria need the cardiolipin molecule to create their outer membranes — the place that both protects the cells and does the nasty stuff to the human body.

“The implication of this finding is that without cardiolipin, bacteria can’t make the outer membrane. Without that membrane, they’re sensitive to antibiotics and the bacteria is toast.” — Stephen Trent, corresponding author.

But even better, “Without cardiolipin, the cell will continue to produce its toxic lipopolysaccharides but is unable to transport them to the cell surface,” Trent said, meaning the toxins build up inside the cell and, “Eventually the cell will pop open. They just bust.”

* figuratively

Our number two story

Gut bacteria are responsible for … sheesh, sometimes it seems like everything, from disease resistance to obesity to allergies to mood and more. So it interesting to learn that over the last thousand years or so, we’ve lost a huge amount of what was once there.

Researchers from Harvard University (and an international team) finally had the technology to study the DNA in the guts of people living about a millennium ago, by “[analyzing] ancient DNA from coprolites, or preserved feces, found at the back of rock shelters in Utah and Mexico.” They published their results in Nature.

They suggest that over the past millennium, the human gut has experienced an “extinction event,” losing dozens of species and becoming significantly less diverse. “These are things we don’t get back.”

In fact, the samples revealed not only different gut-bacteria, but entirely new kinds; 38 percent of what they found were new species.

What’s the long-term point? Perhaps, as one geneticist put it, “Insights into the ancient gut could someday inform commercial efforts to reshape modern microbiomes.”

Shout out to Neal Hollis!

GPhA’s Region 1 president was was featured in the May 12 Savannah Morning News article, “Opioid overdoses on the rise in Chatham County” (scroll down to “Cycle of addiction”) talking about the dangers of prescription opioids, and some of the safeguards in place.

“It can be abused; that’s the biggest problem with these medications and once you get dependent on them, dependence leads to addiction,” said Hollis, who also serves as Region 1 president of the Georgia Pharmacy Association […] “Addiction can lead to a lot of other terrible things and it can ultimately lead to death.”

Covid in my mind

If you get Covid that’s severe enough to give you a fever, there’s a good chance it shrinks your brain. That’s what researchers at Georgia State and Georgia Tech found. Specifically:

COVID-19 patients who receive oxygen therapy or experience fever show reduced gray matter volume in the frontal-temporal network of the brain.

But don’t worry — that part of the brain is only responsible for “sustained attention, complex problem-solving, and working memory.”

Sleep meds and the long term

If you’re a middle-aged woman with sleeping problems, taking prescription sleeping meds may help you fall asleep, but it won’t do anything for you in the long run. The underlying problems (e.g., existential dread) will still be there.

So what’s the big deal? Well, according to one sleep specialist…

Treating insomnia patients with medication alone is like giving diabetes patients medication and “then telling them they don’t need to exercise and they can go ahead and eat all the candy and junk food they want,” Avidan said.

Follow the epidemiologists

If you want the best computer gear, you buy what gamers buy. If you want the best airline food, you ask for kosher. And if you want to know how to act after your Covid vaccination, see what the epidemiologists are doing.

• Mostly in: Running errands in person, bringing in mail without precautions, hiking or gathering outdoors with friends.
• Depends who you ask: Seeing a doctor for a nonurgent appointment, getting a haircut at a salon, interacting outside within six feet without a mask, hugging or shaking hands.
• Still out: Exercising at a gym or fitness studio, attending a wedding or a funeral, going on a date with someone they don’t know well, attending a religious service, attending a sporting event, concert, or play.

It puts the lotion on its skin…

…because it’s got hand dermatitis, like more than 90 percent of health care workers and two-thirds of the general population, according to a study presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Spring Symposium.

“This research truly demonstrates the impact of increased hand washing and uptake of alcohol-based rubs on the hand skin health of health care professionals and the general public.”

Important question answered

If you were wondering “What happens if I injected an entire vial of the Covid vaccine?” wonder no more.

A 23-year-old Italian woman who was mistakenly given six doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine all at once was released from a hospital on Monday without having suffered any apparent adverse reactions, local health authorities said.

When she approached a 5G tower, though, she reported a strange urge to contribute to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Watch those omega-3s

Some folks take omega-3 fatty acid supplements for their heart health, but be careful — for people with heart rhythm disorders or high lipids, they can actually be dangerous.

“Although one clinical trial indicated beneficial cardiovascular effects of supplementation, the risk for atrial fibrillation should be considered when such agents are prescribed or purchased over the counter, especially in individuals susceptible to developing the heart rhythm disorder.”

Airing out

If you want to clean the air in a room to cut the Covid risk, you need a fancy air cleaner with UV lights and microfilters and nano-something, right?

WRONG!

Engineers and physicists from the University of Minnesota and — seriously — the Ford Motor Company found that “A low-cost air cleaner can be easily constructed from a cardboard frame topped by an air filter and a box fan.” (To answer the obvious question, the filter needs a MERV rating of 13, which is No Big Deal — $10 apiece at FilterBuy.)

The long read: Obesity, stigma, and drugs

New drugs — we’re talking about incretins — can be the answer to obesity for some folks. But will they also help undo the stigma of being overweight?

He likens the situation to that of alcoholism or drug addiction, which was once thought to be indicative of a weak will or a moral failing. Researchers have successfully changed the conversation; many people now know that those who abuse alcohol or drugs have a disease and need treatment.