Rural diabetes danger

For people who live in rural areas, diabetes brings a much bigger risk of end-stage kidney disease, heart failure, and heart attacks. That’s on top of already being at a higher risk of diabetes in the first place.

What’s going on? While the University of Maryland researchers say “our study didn’t address why these differences exist,” but …

“…we do know that people living outside of city areas are less likely to receive care from diabetes specialists, to receive diabetes self-management education, and to be monitored for diabetes complications.”

Twist: People in remote locations — that is, outside even small towns — seemed to have lower risks of diabetes complications like heart failure or dangerously high blood sugar.

Untwisted: The UM folks think it might be because those folks are much less likely to see a doctor or visit an ER and be diagnosed in the first place.

HB 1363 CALL TO ACTION

IT’S TIME TO REACH OUT TO YOUR STATE SENATORS.

GPhA’s bill — HB 1363, which would require Georgia’s State Health Benefit Plan to pay independent pharmacies fairly for dispensing medication^* — is headed to the Senate.

The bill passed the House unanimously, but time is running out to get it heard in the Senate and the session could end without the bill being passed.

How bad is the payment problem? Check out our flyer that explains the issue. Trigger warning: If you have an ounce of fairness in you, you’re going to be outraged.

PLEASE take a moment to click here and read the details of how you can help with a simple phone call or email. And yes, we’ve included all the info and links you need.

This is urgent — pharmacies and patients are relying on us to protect them!

^* This is obviously the broad-stroke explanation. The bill would require an actuarial study first, and it would use an index-based ingredient cost reimbursement plus a fair dispensing fee to determine payments.

Memory supplements

One of the issues with gut health is that it’s tricky to take supplements or probiotics and know if they’ll do any good. How can you help the “good” gut bacteria without also helping the “bad” stuff?

British researchers have cracked a small part of the code. They’ve found two supplements that are apparently good for the good bugs; they seem to help improve memory and cognitive function: inulin and FOS (fructooligosaccharides). And both of them are cheap and available in supplement aisles — maybe even yours.

They found the fibre supplement led to significant changes in the participants’ gut microbiome composition, particularly an increase in the numbers of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium.

While there was no significant difference in muscle strength between the groups, the group receiving the fibre supplement performed better in tests assessing brain function […] together with tests of reaction time and processing speed.

Antibiotics: a Trojan horse to kill bacteria

Bacteria secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) — essentially a growth on the outside of the cell that acts “as a cell-to-cell communications system” carrying instructions to grow the biofilm that surrounds and protects the cell.

Now Washington State University researchers have found a way to trick the cells by creating “death EVs” that look like the real thing but actually send the message, “Yeah, you can take down that pesky biofilm now,” which is double-plus ungood for the germ.

Why yes, a Trojan horse analogy fits perfectly.

“Adding the death extracellular vesicles to the bacterial environment, we are kind of cheating the bacteria cells. The cells don’t know which type of EVs they are, but they take them up because they are used to taking them from their environment, and with that, the physiological signals inside the cells change from growth to death.”

Quick takes

• A vaccine to treat cancer in dogs— an immunotherapy developed by a Yale rheumatologist — is poised for approval by the USDA. Even better, the novel treatment could make the leap to humans.
• The Georgia Board of Public Health is holding a meeting today, March 12, to offer updates on Covid, flu, measles, and RSV, including the latest CDC isolation guidance.
• The FDA has approved adding cardiovascular benefits to the label for Wegovy, which will probably add a bunch of insurance coverage.

P3 students! Have you applied for the Jeff Lurey Independent Community Pharmacy scholarship?

There’s $5,000 up for grabs — that’s the annual award given to a P3 student pharmacist at one of Georgia’s four pharmacy schools thanks to the Jeff Lurey Independent Community Pharmacy Scholarship.

Who is eligible

• P3 students who are current GPhA members and enrolled at either Mercer, PCOM, South, or UGA’s school/college of pharmacy
• Someone who has expressed an interest in owning an independent pharmacy after graduation

What judges will consider (these aren’t requirements, just considerations)

• Have you worked in or completed a rotation in an independent pharmacy?
• Have you attended a GPhA region meeting or the Georgia Pharmacy Convention?
• Have you taken business or entrepreneurial classes?
• Do you have a family member who owns or operates an independent pharmacy?
• Are you able to attend the Georgia Pharmacy Convention to receive the award?

Applications will be judged by the AIP Executive Committee, and the final three applicants will be asked to present to the AIP Board of Directors at AIP’s Macon meeting on April 20, 2024 for final selection.

Applications are due by this Friday, March 15, 2024. (The winner will be notified by May 1 so he or she can make plans to attend the convention.)

Don’t wait! Click here to apply today!

Nothin’ but water

If you want to lower your risk of atrial fibrillation, drink only water and fruit juice … and think twice before the fruit juice. That’s the conclusion of a data review by Chinese scientists who found that more than 2 liters a week of any kind of sweetened drink “is associated with 10% increased risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AFib) compared to non-consumers.”

Sweet tea? Out. Diet Coke? Out. Coffee with sugar? Out. Water, it seems, is the only safe thing to drink because even fruit juice is loaded with sugars.

We know that sugars are bad, but how can diet drinks lead to Afib, you ask? They contain MSG and aspartame, which “are found to be excitotoxins of cardiac tissue leading to ‘lone’ atrial fibrillation.”

Side note: You probably want to avoid bottled water, too, because of all the extra nanoplastics.

The Long Read: Ransomware Rebound edition

Everyone and his mother, especially the federal government and UnitedHealth Group, is trying to A) bring UHG’s network back from the cyberattack, and 2) Get payments to the people who need them most, like small pharmacies and providers. But it ain’t easy.