Coronavirus quickies

Convention early-bird ends Sunday!

You only have until the ides of March (that’s the 15th) to get the low, early-bird registration rate for the 2020 Georgia Pharmacy Convention. Don’t wait: Go to GPhAconvention.com to register now and grab your hotel room at the Omni Grove Park Inn!

This year’s convention features great sessions, top-notch speakers (Miss America!), a gorgeous resort, plenty of family entertainment, and the best networking since… well, since the 2019 convention!

Don’t be late and don’t pay more — go to GPhAconvention.com to learn more and register today!

Three-pronged approach to attacking cancer

Instead of administering chemotherapy drugs separately, researchers have found a way to combine them — cisplatin, phenylbutyrate, and a photodynamic therapy drug — so they can all attack a tumor at once.

The idea was that the three drugs in conjunction could travel the bloodstream intact and enter their target tumor cells, which would reduce side effects and the need to adjust the dosages.

Fully effective treatment for Lyme

Good news for mice with Lyme disease: After six years of testing, Stanford researchers have found that azlocillin kills the bacteria that causes it … full stop.

“This compound is just amazing. It clears the infection without a lot of side effects. We are hoping to repurpose it as an oral treatment for Lyme disease.”

You can’t say you’re surprised

“Georgia doctors say supplies of protective gear are tight” — from Georgia Health News.

Insulin, math, and tomorrow’s diabetes treatment

Still in the lab are glucose-responsive insulins (GRIs) — they circulate in the body until needed, like an internal continuous glucose monitoring system, but way more sci-fi.

Problem: So far, the ‘bodies’ they circulate in have only been animals; none have been effective in humans*.

MIT’s solution: Ask the computer. Researchers there have developed a mathematical model that they think can predict which molecule(s) will actually work best.

The model is essentially a set of equations that describes how glucose and insulin behave in different compartments of the human body, such as blood vessels, muscle, and fatty tissue. This model can predict how a given GRI will affect blood sugar in different parts of the body, based on chemical features such as how tightly it binds to glucose and how rapidly the insulin is activated.

* Yes, I know humans are animals. Don’t be pedantic.

Reality check: coronavirus testing

Bottom line, up top: If you or a patient are showing symptoms or think they might have been exposed, 1) self-quarantine and 2) call the local ER or urgent care center to see if any CoviD-19 tests are available before venturing out.

 No, you probably can’t get tested

The reality is that CoviD-19 tests are simply not available for most people in the U.S.

There are not millions of tests available. People are being turned away if they don’t meet strict criteria.

Fewer than 10,000 Americans have been tested* for the virus. In contrast, South Korea is testing 20,000 people per day.

“The idea of anybody getting [testing] easily, the way people in other countries are doing it — we’re not set up for that. I think it should be, but we’re not.” —Dr Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

* Each person typically gives two samples, so 100 tests may mean only 50 people.

Real virus numbers

The CDC refuses to release state-level figures for the coronavirus. To the rescue: The Atlantic is compiling data from state health departments at covidtracking.com (although not every state is sharing information).

The Long Read: “Bacteria and Diabetes” edition

“Gut microbiome studies reveal new bacterial links with diabetes”

What role does gut bacteria play in diabetes? More than you might imagine, and researchers are just beginning to understand it.