Blue light: special

Here’s an odd one: They say blue light before bed is bad for your sleep, but apparently there’s an twist. People with PTSD who are exposed to blue light in the morning have better sleep, “a reduction in the severity of PTSD symptoms, and more effective treatments” according to a study out of the University of Arizona.

It’s an upward spiral, too. Fewer symptoms means better sleep, and better sleep means therapies are more likely to ‘stick.’ The participants exposed to blue light…

… not only demonstrated significant improvements in the severity of their PTSD symptoms, but also reported improvements in sleep and showed an increased retention of fear extinction memories [memories that, with therapy, replace the fearful ones].

27 hours of CE!

We know it’s a license-renewal year and you might need to catch up on your CE requirements. So GPhA’s got your back with more CE than you can shake a stick at*!

We’ve made more than 27 hours of on-demand CE webinars available for one price: Just $199 ($269 for non-members). But it’s only through December 31!

There are courses for pharmacists, technicians, and both, on too many topics to list here.

Check out what’s available and sign up at GPhA.org/yearendspecial today!

* Depending on the size of the stick

What your hands say about Covid

Your finger length could determine the severity of your Covid infection. At least, according to “[D]igit ratio expert” John Manning of Swansea University in Wales.

Why yes, there’s a “digit ratio expert”. (Does he have the best conversation starter ever or what?)

Anyway…

“Large right-left hand differences in 2D:4D and 5D:3D are associated with Covid-19 severity. It is hoped that an understanding of such associations may lead to an increase in our ability to accurately identify at-risk individuals.”

That means if the ratio of your pointer length to your ring-finger length (2D:4D) or your pinkie to your middle finger (5D:3D) on your left hand is a lot different than the same ratio on your right hand, Covid will be more severe for you.

About that ratio

You oughta know your 2D:4D ratio anyway, according to teh Internets. Why?

So get out your rulers and know your future!

NCPA’s looking for tomorrow’s owners

Are you a member of a historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group*? Listen up! NCPA has an online training and mentorship program called “Pathways to Pharmacy Ownership” that’ll help prepare you for pharmacy ownership and, presumably, subsequent NCPA membership.

This initiative, in collaboration with the Minority Pharmacist Entrepreneur Collaborative (MPECrx), provides selected pharmacists with expert-led discussions on business principles, scholarships to attend NCPA’s Pharmacy Ownership Workshop, and business plan reviews by industry experts.

But … there’s only space for 20 students, and it’s a nationwide program. So if you’re interested, check it out and apply today for the 2023 program at NCPA.org/pathways.

* E.g., Black, Hispanic/Latinx, American Indian, or native Alaskan or Hawai’ian.

Making preemies smarter

Preterm infants often have some developmental delays, like cupcakes taken out of the oven a few minutes early. Unlike with cupcakes, though, there may be something parents can do: give them omega-3 fatty acid supplements.

Calling it “a significant finding,” Australian researchers found that preemies given a direct supplementation of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) “scored 3.5 points higher on the IQ scale at age five years than those in the control group.”

That “direct supplementation” is important — by giving it via a tube rather than putting it in breast milk or formula, the effect is improved (because some kids wouldn’t eat enough to get the full dose).

New variants, more dangerous

More of the Omicron subvariants circulating now are resistant to antibody treatments. For people with compromised immune systems especially, the subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are particularly dangerous, as they’re both resistant to Evusheld and bebtelovimab.

The latest bivalent boosters should protect against them, but for people who didn’t get vaccinated … well, they take their chances.

Monkeypox is sneaky

When the whole monkeypox thing began, avoiding it seemed to be simple: Don’t cuddle with someone who’s got a lot of bumps. But now British researchers have belied that idea — apparently “Monkeypox can spread before symptoms appear.”

Not just can, but does, and often. In their study, “53% of transmission may have taken place before symptoms began.”

Other experts caution, though, that this study was preliminary and more clinical data is needed before it’s considered definitive.

Always read the whole study

If you’re gonna report on a study, you need to read more than the press release.

Reuters and others wrote about the good stuff: “Magic mushroom compound shows promise as depression treatment in key study”

But the reporters at Stat News read deeper into the study, and they caution, “Enthusiasm over psilocybin’s effect on depression tempered by questions about durability”.

The issue: “Three months after treatment, 20% of participants given the highest dose were still in remission.”

As one Johns Hopkins psychiatry researcher put it, “That number 20 is not quite as miraculously positive as I and others might have ideally hoped, based on earlier studies that seemed apparently stronger.” Because if only 20 percent had longer-term success, it implies that treatments might need to be given a lot more often.

The Long Read: Settling the Alzheimer’s Debate edition

Is Alzheimer’s actually caused by beta-amyloid plaques? If so, why do treatments that reduce plaque not reduce symptoms? Could the plaque be the result of the disease rather than the cause?

A new study, launching later this year, aims to find out. If beta-amyloids aren’t, in fact, the cause of Alzheimer’s, it’ll mean millions of dollars of research has been in vain … but also that there’s a better chance of finding the real cause.