PharmD on the faster track

PCOM Georgia and Valdosta State University have joined forces to allow aspiring pharmacists to shave a year off their doctoral programs.

[T]he agreement will allow eligible students at VSU to enter the school of pharmacy after completing their junior year of college. Students who meet the pharmacy school’s requirements may matriculate into professional school before graduating from VSU, he said, and will have the opportunity to earn a combined BS-PharmD while at PCOM Georgia.

Walmart opens Georgia medical clinic

The retail giant* is opening a first-of-its-kind Walmart Health clinic in Dallas, Georgia. The facility, which will be next to the actual store (“to give a sense of privacy for patients”) will offer primary care, dental, mental health, counseling, and other services.

* I think it’s a law that you always have to refer to Walmart as “the retail giant” … in case people forgot

Vaping “illness” spreads

The as-yet-unnamed “vaping-related illness” that’s hit 29 states is growing, with the number of cases doubling in a week. And health officials are still stumped — stumped, but “focusing on the role of contaminants or counterfeit substances.”

This oughta get your philosophical juices flowing

Scientists turned human skin cells into stem cells. Then they turned the stem cells into brain cells. Then they let those “brain organoids” grow in a nutrient broth.

And then the organoids started producing brain waves.

As the organoids mature, the researchers also found, the waves change in ways that resemble the changes in the developing brains of premature babies.

So the scientists stress that these are but “clusters of replicating brain cells, not actual brains.” But then they flip to:

“There are some of my colleagues who say, ‘No, these things will never be conscious,’” said Dr. Muotri. “Now I’m not so sure.”

I guess that’s worth a headline

The headline: “CVS offers affordable alternatives to high cost drugs“.

The deal: The PBM “removes drugs with especially big price tags with lower-priced, clinically equivalent alternatives.”

The savings: Removing five such drugs in April “are projected to save clients $0.38 per member per month or $4.60 per member per year.”

ICYMI: Werewolves of Madrid

At least 17 children in Spain were turned into werewolves because of a medication mix-up. Takeaway: Don’t mislabel minoxidil as omeprazole.

The laboratory [that mislabeled the meds] was eventually shut down and the medicine taken off the market. Officials have opened an investigation.

No long-term harm done: The kids’ excess hair is expected to fall out shortly.

Elsewhere: Mumps spreads in migrant camps

Having so many people concentrated in detention camps has lead to a danger of mumps spreading — at least 931 cases so far have been reported, per the CDC.

One bit of good news: Many of the countries the migrants are from have high vaccination rates of the MMR.

Vaccination coverage in El Salvador varies
from 90% to 93%, depending on the vaccine, while vaccination coverage
ranges from 93% to 98% and 88% to 93% in Guatemala and Honduras.

The long read: reviving the immune system

“Getting ‘exhausted’ T cells back into action against cancer“.

When a malignancy or chronic infection sets in, a kind of immune combat fatigue can follow. Finding ways to recharge immune cells can restore their ability to fight deadly diseases.