The slow rollout (that’s starting to speed up)

As Georgia Health News reports, slow reporting and confusing reporting requirements are part of the reason Georgia may be undercounting the number of doses administered in the state. (Pro-tip: You’re required to enter Covid vaccinations into GRITS within 24 hours — not 30 days.) Another reason may be the lack of vaccine available:

While some centers are getting their second shipment of vaccines, there are others — especially in rural South Georgia — [that] “have not received their first order.”

And, of course, there’s “sky-high demand,” especially as now anyone over 65 can get it.

“We know everyone wants the vaccine, but we plead with you for your patience,” Eric Nickens, spokesperson for the DeKalb County of Public Health said. “There’s only so much vaccine to go around right now. It’s still in limited supply, and we’re only going to open up more appointments once we determine we have more vaccine in place to be able to give shots.”

Reminder: DPH has a vaccine locator service to help find a vaccination site.

For more on the rollout delays, see “The Long Read” below.

Speaking of the vaccine rollout…

Almost a third of America’s rural counties don’t have a pharmacy that’s participating in the Covid-19 vaccine distribution plan.

Disappearing pain patch

Not forgetting that the opioid crisis is still a crisis (although one taking a back seat at the moment), Duke researchers have developed a non-opioid pain patch that can deliver meds directly to a wound for several days before, like old soldiers, just fading away.

“If you can get four or five days of pain control out of the patch and not have to take those other pain drugs, not only do you avoid some of the side effects and risks of addiction, you’re concentrating therapy where you need it.”

Zapping your way to weight loss

One way to lose weight: Hire someone to follow you around and slap that extra portion of mac and cheese out of your hand. Most people can’t afford that.

But how about a little electronic device that sort of does the same thing? Texas A&M researchers have created an wireless implantable device that stimulates the endings of the vagus nerve, telling the brain “That’s enough.” (Normally the stretching of the stomach is supposed to do that.)

Eventually, they hope this could lead to a pacemaker-like system that would suppress appetite. (If nothing else, you might be able to give a remote control to someone else, who could push the button whenever they thought you’d had enough.)

Coffee cuts cancer

Hey, guys, want to avoid prostate cancer? If my math is right, you just have to drink 100 cups of coffee a day.

“Higher coffee intake may be linked to lower prostate cancer risk,” according to research published in BMJ Open. “Each additional daily cup associated with reduction in risk of nearly 1%.”

Further refining the analysis to localised and advanced prostate cancer, showed that compared with the lowest intake, the highest intake was associated with a 7% lower risk of localised prostate cancer, and a 12%-16% lower risk for advanced and fatal prostate cancer, respectively.

Cancer’s hibernation trick

Cancer’s got some nasty tricks up its sleeve. Here’s a new one: The cells can apparently hibernate when attacked my chemotherapy.

“The cancer cells are able to hijack this evolutionarily conserved survival strategy, even as it seems to be lost to humans,” [lead researcher Catherine O’Brien] says, adding that all of the cancer cells enter this state in a co-ordinated manner, in order to survive.

But there’s good news: This is a potential target for treatment, because the cells need to enter the autophagy state to hibernate, and we know how to inhibit autophagy.

Dr. O’Brien tested a small molecule that inhibits autophagy, and found that the cancer cells did not survive. The chemotherapy killed the cancer cells without this protective mechanism.

While we’re on the subject…

The American Cancer Society reports that death rates from cancers in the U.S. “have experienced a record drop for the second year in a row.” W00t!

Ginger vs lupus

If you have a mouse with lupus, here’s some interesting news: Ginger (specifically the 6-gingerol component) seems to reduce the symptoms. At least, that’s what researchers at Michigan Medicine found.

The basic idea: Through several mechanisms, the 6-gingerol appeared to reduce both inflammation and the formation of blood clots. The detailed idea with lots of medical and science terms: Read the article.

Next up … you know the mantra: “More studies.”

Fighting dementia with stinky gas

Mice suffering from Alzheimer’s have a potential new treatment option: hydrogen sulfide. Although “poisonous, corrosive and smelling of rotten eggs,” Johns Hopkins researchers found that it also creates some biochemical reactions that can reduce the effects of the disease.

Perhaps to spare themselves the odor, they injected the mice with NaGYY, a compound that carries the hydrogen sulfide into the bloodstream.

Behavioral tests on the mice showed that hydrogen sulfide improved cognitive and motor function by 50% compared with mice that did not receive the injections of NaGYY. Treated mice were able to better remember the locations of platform exits and appeared more physically active than their untreated counterparts with simulated Alzheimer’s disease.

The Long Read: Vaccine delays

Johns Hopkins: “COVID-19 vaccines have been the subject of speculation and anticipation for months—so why hasn’t the U.S. made more progress on vaccination?”

(Spoiler: If the answer was simple, it would be a Long Read.)