SCOTUS schedules Arkansas PBM case

It’s official: The US Supreme Court oral arguments for Rutledge (Arkansas) vs PCMA (PBMs) will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, April 27, at 11:00 a.m.

In case you missed our e-mails, Buzz messages, and fundraising and wonder why this case is so important, check out “The battle over state laws and ERISA” on GPhA.org.

(In short, the question before the court is whether the federal retirement-plan law, ERISA, preempts state laws regulating PBMs. The PBMs say it does, but many states, including Georgia, maintain that the states have the right to their own regulations as well.)

The decision will have huge, far-reaching implications across every pharmacy practice, so we are watching it intently.

Maybe they need a little reminding

Georgia has one of the country’s highest rates of STDs in seniors (and we mean senior citizens, not high school seniors). In fact, it’s ranked 6th highest among the 50 states plus D.C.

UGA’s Hannings running for APhA post

Georgian Ashley Hannings of Athens is running for the position of APhA immunizing pharmacists SIG coordinator — one of the APhA–APPM special interest groups up for election this year.

Dr. Hannings serves as the coordinator for the [UGA College of Pharmacy’s] immunization program, which includes APhA’s Pharmacy Based Immunization Delivery Certificate Program, two immunization patient simulations, and the mobile flu vaccine clinic program.

Read her full bio and details of the other positions up for election at pharmacist.com.

Saved you a click

Why are men more susceptible to CoviD-19 than women?

1. Women tend to have a stronger immune response to respiratory infections than men.
2. Men in China smoke more.

Pregnant? Macrolides bad, penicillin good

A British study found that macrolides taken in the first trimester of pregnancy significantly increased the risk of …

…major malformations such as heart and genital defects, as well as four neurodevelopmental disorders (cerebral palsy, epilepsy, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder) in children.

Beyond just daylight

When it comes to circadian rhythms, we know that the timing and amount of light is important. But now University of Washington researchers have figured out that the color is important, too.

What color? Turns out the receptor involved “respond[s] strongly to long wavelength oranges and yellows and contrasting light – the colors at sunrise and sunset.”

This could be big news for people with seasonal affective disorder — instead of using ultra-bright “daylight” bulbs, the trick could be as simple as having the right shade.

Latest flu numbers

In the U.S. this season, per the CDC (as of February 15): 29 million illnesses, 280,000 hospitalizations, and 14,000 deaths.

Blame the farmers

When humans made the switch from hunting and gathering to farming, it meant that towns and cities could arise … and so could diseases, what with everyone so close to one another.

Now, looking at thousands of sets of ancient (6,500-year-old) human remains, researchers have proven that salmonella, at least, is a result of the switch to farming and animal domestication; that “enabled more constant and recurrent exposure to pathogens and thus the emergence of new diseases.”

Whatever doesn’t kill you…

A compound in rattlesnake venom, the neurotoxin crotoxin, has been shown to have both anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.

Now, for the first time, researchers think they have a way to mitigate the danger of crotoxin while still administering it for pain: Mix it with silica.