Cigna, Humana in merger talks

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the two insurance giants are talking about hooking up. There isn’t any official word yet, as they’re probably trying to write the press releases that will explain how this will somehow be good for patients.

Cigna and Humana have distinct focuses, which could help appease antitrust concerns. Humana sells mostly Medicare Advantage plans to seniors and has said it is going to stop selling employer coverage, where Cigna is strongest. Cigna’s Medicare business is small by comparison.

Shredding cancer with CRISPR

CRISPR gene editing works by seeking out a particular DNA sequence and then replacing it with something else. It’s a great tool for fixing errant genes, but it can also bring death … to cancer.

It’s pretty straightforward, at least to explain.

Instead of fixing ‘broken’ cells, scientists at Gladstone Institutes — including Jennifer Doudna, who shared the Nobel Prize for discovering CRISPR — used CRISPR to screw with the genes of tumors.

Using a novel technique they’ve dubbed “cancer shredding,” the researchers programmed CRISPR to zero-in on repeating DNA sequences present only in recurrent tumor cells — and then obliterate those cells by snipping away at them.

The goal would be to use CRISPR in conjunction with traditional glioblastoma therapy, where some cells could escape treatment. Those escaped cells have genetic markers that look like a big ol’ target to CRISPR — they can run, but they can’t hide.

Don’t forget to think of a great pharmacy pro

Take a few minutes to tell us about a great pharmacist, technician, or student who deserves some big-time recognition at the 2024 Georgia Pharmacy Convention.

Head over to GPhA.org/awards to see the list of awards, the criteria, and how to nominate someone. The deadline for nominations is January 19, 2024, so don’t wait too long!

Chickenpox danger zone

Babies get chickenpox immunity from their moms — at least long enough until they’re eligible for the varicella vaccine, which is usually given when they’re about 12 months old.

Except that it seems that mom’s immunity doesn’t actually last that long, researchers at the University of Toronto discovered.

They found that antibodies protecting against varicella wore off quickly, and that almost 80 per cent of infants were susceptible to infection by the time they were three months old. At six months, all the infants studied were susceptible to chickenpox infection.

While chickenpox is usually (but not always) mild in children, infants are at higher risk of serious complications. The takeaways, per the Canadians, are to keep infants away from anyone who might be infected, and to have any rashes that appear checked quickly.

Semaglutide vs. alcoholism?

GLP-1 inhibitors work (mostly) by slowing down your digestive system so you feel full longer. But they’ve also been shown to have other effects on addictive behavior. In this case, researchers at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State found that semaglutide specifically reduces the symptoms of alcohol use disorder.

This is just preliminary research (and only only six subjects), but the Okies are hoping it can “set the stage is set for future clinical trials [… that] can definitively tell us whether semaglutide is safe and effective for treatment of alcohol use disorder.”

The latest “Alcohol: Good or bad?” has a twist

Is moderate alcohol consumption good or bad for you? Normally the answer comes from the nearest Magic 8-Ball, but now Boston and Tufts university researchers have come to a shocking conclusion: It depends.

What it depends on are the particular metabolites circulating in a person’s blood. There are about 60 of them that are related to alcohol consumption. The researchers found that seven will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and three will decrease the risk — this among moderate drinkers.

It gets even more complicated. Gender plays a role (“perhaps due to women’s generally smaller body size”) as does whether the drink is beer, wine, or liquor. So next up, of course, are bigger, broader studies.