Baby bust

You might think that being stuck inside during a year of on-and-off quarantine would lead to a lot of babies being born — there’s only so much Netflix you can binge, after all. But you’d be wrong. Apparently affairs of the pocketbook take precedence over affairs of the heart.

You’ve got what it takes, so why not be a leader?

Do you want to shape the future of Georgia pharmacy, rather than sit back and hope for the best? Good! You need to apply to be on the 2021-2022 GPhA Board of Directors.

What’s it mean? What’s it take (besides being smart, driven, dedicated, and a GPhA member)? Find out more — and then apply — right here.

Got even more questions? No worries! GPhA Governance Manager Ashton Sullivan will be happy to answer them. Drop her a note at asullivan@gpha.org.

Psst: The deadline for applications is 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 13, 2021.

Note: A previous version of this story reported that board members are presented with a “golden hat of office.” This turns out not to be the case. We regret the error.

Covid-19 Quickies

Unlucky A: People with type A blood are more susceptible (because the SARS-CoV-19 virus happens to bind to type A antigens).

Double the fun: Yes, you can be infected with two strains at once, although it’s rare. Good news: It doesn’t seem to be any more severe.

Take a mulligan: Nope, Covid-19 doesn’t increase someone’s risk of stroke, but people who do suffer one while infected tend to be a lot worse off.

Safe apes: Four orangutans and five bonobos at the San Diego Zoo are the first great apes to receive an experimental Covid-19 vaccine for animals.

I guess that was the right call

Opening up the Obamacare exchange — healthcare.gov — seems to have been popular. More than 206,000 people have signed up for coverage during the special enrollment period, and that number doesn’t include the 14 states with their own marketplaces.

Enrollment is open through May 15.

Question about a prostate drug

I love how the headline of this article is a question: “BPH Medications Linked to Increased Heart-Failure Risk in Men?”

It seems that some meds to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia may increase the risk a “small but significant” amount — but not all meds. Alpha blockers seem to be the riskiest.

Study authors calculated that the risk of developing heart failure increased 22% in men taking ABs alone, 16% for those taking combination therapy, and 9% for those taking [5-alpha reductase inhibitors] alone.

The takeaway seems to be “Make a mental note of this until there are more studies.”

Spinal cord, heal thyself

Yale researchers have figured a way to (maybe) repair a damaged spinal cord: Using a patient’s own stem cells — specifically, stem cells derived from the bone marrow.

For more than half of the patients, substantial improvements in key functions — such as ability to walk, or to use their hands — were observed within weeks of stem cell injection, the researchers report. No substantial side effects were reported.

Important caveats: These spinal cords were injured, not broken. And this wasn’t a scientific study — more of a proof of concept. But still: Cool.

Another contestant in “Who Wants a Male Contraceptive Pill?”

Researchers at the Lundquist Institute in L.A. say that the chemical triptonide — which plays a part in traditional Chinese medicine — is an effective male contraceptive (at least in mice).

Single daily oral doses of triptonide induce altered sperm having minimal or no forward motility with close to 100% penetrance and consequently male infertility in 3-4 and 5-6 weeks. Once the treatment is stopped, the males become fertile again in ~4-6 weeks, and can produce healthy offspring.

The paper is published in Nature.

ICYMI: Braiiins edition

The CDC is prepared for 2021 — [and wants you to be, too.