Go PharmaDAWGS!

A team from the UGA College of Pharmacy is one of three finalists in NCPA’s business-plan competition*!

The team’s proposal was for a new kind of independent pharmacy that would offer patients diabetes education classes, nutrition consulting, and fitness classes — in addition to the typical pharmacy services.

So give a cheer for the UGA team: Lauren Brewer, Garrett Faucette, Courtney Gibson, and Makayla Winters (all starting their third year this fall). They’ll be presenting their plan in front of a panel of judges (and a live audience!) at the NCPA Annual Convention in October in San Diego.

* Officially the “Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition”

Another reason to help diabetic kids

Not only is their health at risk, but a new Scottish study of 766,047 kids finds that “Children with type 1 diabetes fare worse than their peers in respect of education and health outcomes.”

Pay a high price if you can’t pay a high price

There’s a problem with PCSK9 inhibitors: Insurers often reject paying for them, and patients can’t afford them. Even with insurance, high co-pays often put them out of financial reach.

And, because those drugs are often prescribed for people with highest LDL cholesterol, not taking them puts those patients at substantial risk — so concludes a study in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Light and dark

Wearable devices that track heartbeat do that with light — visible green light (as opposed to the infrared light used in hospital devices).

Problem: “Skin with more melanin blocks green light, making it harder to get an accurate reading. The darker your skin is, the harder it gets.”

Science + big data = MS breakthrough

We know that multiple sclerosis is caused by wayward immune cells causing brain damage*. But it’s hard to target those rogue cells with medication.

Now there’s a potential breakthrough. In between skiing, sharpshooting, and making really cool knives**, researchers at the University of Zurich’s Institute of Experimental Immunology appear to have found a “fingerprint” of the particular immune cells that cause MS.

These dysregulated T helper cells produce a neuroinflammatory cytokine called GM-CSF and high levels of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and the membrane protein VLA4.

Translation: These cells secret a version of cytokine that causes inflammation, and the surface of those cells have particular molecules gives them access to the central nervous system. So now, knowing what to look for could lead to better targeted treatment.

* Yes, this is incredibly oversimplified.
** And chocolate

HHS webinar on syringe service programs

HHS is offering a free webinar, “Syringe Service Programs — A Critical Public Health Intervention,” on Tuesday, July 30, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m.

This webinar will allow you to engage with HHS leadership around syringe services programs (SSPs), which are an important community-based prevention program that can save lives, combat the nation’s opioid crisis, reduce the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C and support individuals in accessing SUD/OUD treatment services.

Click the link above for more info and to register. Sorry, no CPE credits, but it’s still an interesting and important topic.