Bittersweet symphony

Andrew Kantor, the guy who writes what you’re reading now, will be leaving GPhA — and thus GPhA Buzz — at the end of the month to take on a different set of challenges*.

The astounding Liddy Cronan, a P3 student pharmacist at Mercer, will begin to take the reins over the next two weeks before having the yoke placed firmly around her neck**.

As he is writing this himself, it would seem oddly self-serving to wish Andrew the best, so we’ll — that is, I’ll — leave it at this: It’s been a pleasure, a privilege, and a heck of a lot of fun to put GPhA Buzz together the last five years. I hope you’ve enjoyed it — bad puns, obscure references, and all. And with that … goodbye, farewell, and amen!

* He got a new job.
** Not the best metaphor, I admit.

GPhA letter to insurance commish

On Monday, GPhA sent a letter to Georgia Insurance Commissioner John King, listing the “prudent steps that can be taken to empower pharmacists to continue to provide care to their patients during this healthcare emergency and to be a resource to help Georgians through this difficult time.”

Click here to read the letter (PDF).

GPhA has also been working with representatives at the Department of Public Health to develop guidelines for pharmacies related to the CoviD-19 virus. We expect to be sending those out to the membership very shortly.

Two kinds of type 1 diabetes

Diabetes in kids under 7 is a different animal — well, a different endotype — than what kids over 13 get. (In between it could go either way.)

What’s the big difference? The younger kids’ bodies destroy insulin-making cells, while the older kids produce the insulin but don’t process it correctly. That, of course, means they need different treatments.

“It might also lead to new treatments, if we can find ways to reactivate dormant insulin-producing cells in the older age group. This would be a significant step towards the holy grail to find a cure for some people.”

Kneel before Zod!

It’s probably better for your health. Kneeling or squatting — rather than sitting — keeps your muscles active even when you’re moving.

“Being a couch potato — or even sitting in an office chair — requires less muscle activity than squatting or kneeling. “Since light levels of muscle activity require fuel, which generally means burning fats, then squatting and kneeling postures may not be as harmful as sitting in chairs.”

Opioid webinar tomorrow night

There’s still time to register for tomorrow’s (Wednesday, March 18, 7:00 to 8:00 pm) webinar: The Pharmacists’ Role in Reducing Prescription Drug Misuse with John Bringuel.

If you’re social distancing, it’s a great way to get an hour of CPE while getting the latest info on how you can help … well, like the title says, how you can help reduce drug misuse.

Even better, it’s free for GPhA members!

Click here to go to GPhA.org/pharmacistsrole for the deets and to register.

Interesting cancer notes

Overall cancer rates in the U.S. continue to decline — about 1.5% a year (slightly more for men than women).

Breast cancer rates for women, though, have been rising since the 1930s, and new research suggests it does not have to do with changing reproductive habits, nor increased screening. (So what is the cause? No clue.)

Now may not be the best time to try the keto diet

“Switching to keto diet may cause flu-like symptoms.”

Why does intermittent fasting work?

It’s been known for a while that intermittent fasting seems to have good health effects (even if the details are debated). But why? University of Sydney researchers think they have a piece of the puzzle: It affects the liver’s metabolism of fatty acids.

“[W]e showed that HNF4-(alpha) [protein] is inhibited during intermittent fasting. This has downstream consequences, such as lowering the abundance of blood proteins in inflammation or affecting bile synthesis. This helps explain some of the previously known facts about intermittent fasting.”

Holy guacamole

Overweight people with attention issues can be helped by a daily serving of avocado … according to a study funded in part by the Hass Avocado Board (which exists “to help make avocados America’s most popular fruit“.)

Requisite coronavirus updates

 In Georgia

The state has 99 confirmed cases as of Monday; Live Science has a good overview of everything happening here. (There are eight cases just at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany.)

The DPH keep the latest state info here: dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report. (Scary fact: 47% of cases in the state are people 60 and older.)

A quarantine facility is being prepared in Forsyth for people who can’t stay at home.

 In General

Pharmacists: The FDA won’t come after you if you make your own hand sanitizer. It even has a recipe to use.

Info: are worried about getting accurate information about what to do. (Whatever you do, listen to health experts, not politicians.)

Recovery: People who recover … don’t always fully recover. Many have “reduced lung function.”

But their blood could provide a treatment.

Tests: More testing kids will start to roll out soon. Thermo Fisher, for example, got an emergency clearance from the FDA and will start producing millions of tests in the next few weeks. Other companies will hopefully follow suit.

No, there’s no big Google testing site coming out. Its sister company, Verily, launched a limited pilot site for the San Francisco Bay area. That’s all. It’s essentially a questionnaire that may directed people to get a test.

“Verily is developing a tool to help triage individuals for COVID-19 testing. We are in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more broadly over time.”

Microsoft has a tracking site.

Purell’s maker, Gojo, is not only running at peak capacity, but had a plan in place for just such an event. Imagine that.