Thank you!

We all get those long thank-you notes from the companies we do business with. So I’ll keep this short (so you have time to read the others):

Thank you for reading this. Really. It goes from my desk into the ether, and rarely do I hear how it’s received. (Except complaints. I do get those.)

So thank you to everyone who opens their Buzz and — I like to think — enjoys the read enough to open it again, putting up with obscure references, strange wordplay, and the occasional double entendre that slips past the editor. I appreciate you all! —Andrew

(Psst: If you want to give back to Buzz, all you have to do is open it every day. That’s all — a high open rate makes us happy!)

Getting ready for Zika

Remember Zika? From 2015? It caused neurological problems for thousands of people, and it’s still out there. But good news: National Institutes of Health researchers think they’ve found a potential treatment: tetracycline.

Yep, that old stuff. Zika needs a protease called NS2B-NS3 to reproduce, and “tetracycline-based antibiotic drugs, like methacycline, may be effective at blocking the protease.”

So far it’s just tested in mice, but in case the writers decide to bring Zika back in an upcoming season, we might be better prepared.

Take it easy – CPEasy!

GPhA has packaged some of our most popular CPE courses into short CE series — at a discount!

Healthy Patients = Healthy Business

A three-part webinar series on caring for your diabetes patients presented by Jonathan G. Marquess, PharmD, CDE, FAPhA. This popular series was offered live earlier this year and covers diabetes guidelines and medications, diet and exercise for diabetes, and optimizing diabetes control in your practice.

This series offers 3 CE hours for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Practice Transformation

This popular series was offered first at the Georgia Pharmacy Convention this past September. Join Erin Dalton, Ashley Hannings, and Olivia Steltenpohl — PharmDs all — as you learn how to transition from a boring “traditional pharmacy” to a more “clinically focused pharmacy” by implementing incremental changes. You’ll get great tips on transforming workflow processes and integrating more patient care services into your daily practice.

This series offers 3 CE hours for pharmacists and for pharmacy technicians.

CLICK HERE to learn more and to register!

A hormone to stop you from eating

It’s called lipocalin-2 (LCN2) and it “acts as a signal for satiety after a meal” — in other words, it tells your body to put down that second scoop of Rocky Road. Obese people seem to produce less of it after eating.

So what if you took it as a supplement?

Studies in mice have shown that giving LCN2 to the animals long term reduces their food intake and prevents weight gain, without leading to a slow-down in their metabolism.

Next up: as usual, more testing.

GPS for stem cells

Stem cells have the potential to treat all sorts of conditions, but there’s always the issue of getting them to the right spot. But now researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have found a way to guide the stem cells to where they’re needed.

The trick: Stem cells are usually drawn to inflammation, so the scientists modified a molecule (CXCL12, if you’re interested) that attracts the stem cells the same way. Put into a drug, it acts as a siren song “and can be injected anywhere to lure stem cells to a specific location without causing inflammation.”

Curious about those vaccines?

From the Conversation: “How mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna work, why they’re a breakthrough and why they need to be kept so cold“.

Drug sales and drinking water

File under “That makes total sense now that I think about it”: Since 1995, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection has been tracking sales of Pepto-Bismol and Imodium to alert it to possible water contamination.