Holy moly! We snagged Lucinda Maine!

That’s right —Lucinda Maine, PhD, RPh, and EVP & CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy is the second big keynote signed for the 2019 Georgia Pharmacy Convention!

She’ll be talking about the nationwide push — the Pharmacist for Healthier Lives Campaign — to have the public recognize pharmacists as the critical (and accessible) healthcare providers we know they are.

Yet another great reason to be ready to register on March 1!

The fate of Georgia’s tobacco money

Georgia receives $150 million a year as part of its share of the $206 billion 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (when tobacco companies agreed to pay toward the health costs of smokers).

So, wondered Georgia Health News, with the state having just received an “F” for smoking prevention, where is all that money going? The answer: Less than 10 percent went to cancer treatment. Most of the rest goes to the general Medicaid fund. Read on, MacDuff.

Good news for our furry friends

A new study finds that “Combo of diabetes, leukemia drugs may fight breast cancer” — at least in mice. Metformin plus venetoclax destroyed their cancerous tumors. Human trials could be in the future.

And other researchers have developed an immunotherapy-style bone cancer vaccine for dogs that seems to increase remission time for Man’s Best Friend™.

Cutting through the headlines

Headline: “Smoking Marijuana Linked to Better Sperm Counts.” Reality: Yes, men who smoked pot did seem to have a higher sperm count, but the researchers don’t know which way the cause-effect works. Co-author Dr. Jorge Chavarro of Harvard explains:

A far more likely explanation, he says, is that men with higher testosterone levels — who tend to have higher sperm counts and concentrations than men with lower levels of testosterone — are also more likely to use marijuana.

Vitamin C fights gestational diabetes?

It could be that a diet high in vitamin C can help pregnant women from developing gestational diabetes. File this under “Keep an eye on it ’cause it’s just one study.”

If you haven’t read it before, it’s new to you

Another article on why the U.S. pays more for drugs than any other country.

[T]he overall complexity of the U.S. health care system and the lack of transparency in the drug supply chain system create conditions favorable to limited competition and price maximization.

Antidepressant overprescribing in the elderly

It happens with more than a quarter of older people according to a study published in Pharmacology Research and Perspectives. The main culprits: living in a nursing home, multiple medical conditions, multiple prescribers, and “receiving the prescription via telephone, e‐mail, or patient portal.” (Scroll down to “Discussion” if you want to avoid all the boring detail.)

Elsewhere: Could be worse; could be Britain

The country looks more likely than ever to leave the EU in a month without a deal. And that’s going to play havoc with its healthcare system.

Stockpiling of medicines in the event of a no-deal is already underway. Two-thirds of medicines imported to the UK come from the EU, but there has been a shortage of some medical supplies for some time. […] Even products made in the UK could be affected if they rely on ingredients imported from the EU.

The long read: Income and drug purchasing

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/upshot/income-strong-predictor-drug-purchases-serious-diseases.html