D is for “Dropping childhood asthma”

Pregnant women should take vitamin D supplements. That’s the conclusion of Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers who reviewed 15 years’ of data. Of course it can’t prevent all cases of asthma, but they found it cut asthma rates by half compared to just a standard multivitamin.

That’s not to say that more vitamin D is better. Rather, mom’s deficiency can raise the child’s asthma risk, so it’s important to make sure she’s got enough.

“Based on our findings, we would recommend that all pregnant women consider a daily intake of at least 4400 IU vitamin D3 throughout their pregnancy, starting at the time of conception.”

And, they say, rather than their review, someone should follow up with a clinical trial “and supplement with 6000 IU vitamin D and seek a very high enrollment of women of color.”

Broccoli vs IBD

If you give a mouse some broccoli, that will feed its gut bacteria. If the gut bacteria eat broccoli, they’ll convert it into an anti-inflammatory compound. If a mouse has more anti-inflammatory compounds in its gut, it can deal better with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Put simply, University of Maine researchers found that if you give younger mice broccoli sprouts in their diet, it builds up the right mix of gut bacteria to make IBD milder when it occurs.

First, we show that the mice that ate the broccoli sprout diet had a greater concentration of an anti-inflammatory metabolite called sulforaphane in their blood. Even though our mice were immunocompromised and had colitis, this increase in sulforaphane protected them from severe disease symptoms like weight loss, fecal blood and diarrhea.”

The younger part is important, too. The earlier the diet was started, the milder the disease. So teach Junior to like broccoli while he’s still in the high chair.

Life expectancy gap widens

ICYMI: A disturbing bit of information came out of the latest US life expectancy data. The gap between women’s and men’s life expectancy jumped to a whopping 5.8 years. That’s a full year wider than in 2010. (It’s because more men died from Covid “influenced by a higher burden of comorbidities, differences in health behaviors, and employment in higher-risk industries.”)

The latest data show that US life expectancy, which had been increasing slowly, has dropped because of disproportionate Covid deaths here. We already trail the rest of the developed world^*, and now it’s just gotten worse.

^* The average for high-income countries was 80.3 in 2021, while in the US it was 76.4 years.

Flu rising, Covid stable

The latest CDC data shows that cases of flu are rising, especially in the South. “Outpatient visits are rising for all age-groups but are highest in children ages 4 and younger.” Currently Georgia is experiencing moderate activity, but Florida has high activity and an anti-vaccine government, which doesn’t bode well.

Meanwhile, Covid numbers are trending down (deaths and hospitalizations) or holding steady (test positivity).

Fighting high cholesterol

The American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions are going on, so lots of heart-related stories are hitting the news.

Four times a year

A new PCSK9 inhibitor called recaticimab can, it seems, be given to patients just four times a year and still significantly lower LDL cholesterol. That, say the Chinese researchers conducting the study, could help overcome adherence issues.

The more often you give recaticimab the better, but even a dose every 12 weeks had a major effect:

• Monthly injections: 62% LDL reduction vs placebo
• Bi-monthly injections: 59% LDL reduction
• 12-week injections: 51% LDL reduction

It also helped reduce Lp(a) cholesterol and other lipoproteins you don’t want circulating. More studies are already in progress.

Once a year

There aren’t any treatments for people with genetically high levels of lipoprotein(a) — Lp(a) — so most doctors don’t even test for it. But that could change thanks to a new drug out of Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic.

Called lepodisiran, a single injection reduced Lp(a) levels “to undetectable levels.” And here’s the kicker: It worked for nearly a full year.

Considering that the only treatment available to Lp(a) patients is apheresis (“a dialysis-like treatment to remove harmful cholesterol from their blood”), this could be a … dare we say it? Game changer.

A phase 2 human study is already underway.

PharmPAC in action

David Stanley, owner of McElveen’s Pharmacy in Gainesville, presented a PharmPAC check to Georgia State Representative Lee Hawkins, chairman of the House Health Committee — that’s where a lot of our bills are presented during the legislative process. Oh, and Hawkins sits on a bunch of other committees that are important to use, including the House Insurance Committee and the Public Health Committee.

Hawkins is a dentist, so understands the issues affecting pharmacists and other healthcare providers. Most importantly, he’s always been a huge ally for GPhA and the pharmacy profession.