Up the waterspout

Who needs Viagra when you can use a gel made from the Brazilian wandering spider^*? Sure, if you get bitten by the spider it can kill you, but it seems that while men are dying from a bite — experiencing rapid heartbeat, seizures, and shock — they often experience an erection.

Kudos to the Brazilian scientists who saw that silver lining and decided to try to make a drug out of it. Not try, in fact. They did, and “BZ371A” is already doing well in phase 1 trials.

Preliminary tests demonstrated that the topical application of BZ371A leads to vasodilation and increased local blood flow, facilitating penile erection. This promising result suggests that BZ371A could offer an effective solution to the 30% of patients who cannot use existing oral remedies, such as Viagra and Cialis, due to contraindications like hypertension or severe diabetes.

^* aka the banana spider or wood tree spider, but you don’t care, do you?

Amoxicillin shortage continues

As winter approaches and kids are swimming around those Petri dishes they call classrooms, amoxicillin liquid remains in shortage (although “Amoxicillin capsules and tablets have not been affected by the shortage, according to the FDA.”)

If you’re thinking, “I know a compounding pharmacist who can make a liquid form,” think twice: It’s the basic ingredient, amoxicillin powder, that’s in shortage, so compounders are out of luck.

At least there are alternative antibiotics, but it’s another case of “We need to think about the pipeline.”

Rabies cure on the horizon (?)

Rabies is a horrific disease. By the time you show symptoms, there’s a 100% fatality rate^*. But now there might be a treatment.

Researchers at the federal government’s Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences found that a monoclonal antibody, created from a close cousin of the rabies virus, “appears to prime the immune system to effectively fight the virus in the brain and spinal cord.”

While the treatment itself can’t pass through the blood-brain barrier, the antibody…

… appears to spur the immune system to create smaller immune cells that can pass through the blood-brain barrier and into the nervous system, where they effectively target and destroy rabies virus.

Even better, a single dose “effectively reversed rabies infection even after it had reached the nervous system.”

Downside: This was only shown in mice. But still….

^* Don’t tell me there was one woman who survived. She was severely brain damaged so it barely counts.

A different twist on Alzheimer’s

The latest ‘it’s not amyloid plaque’ hypothesis about what causes Alzheimer’s comes from Australia, where researchers theorized that “broken connections (synapses) between brain cells may lie behind the condition.”

They discovered a molecular switch that helps regulate cell connections. By flipping it on, they stopped brain connections from breaking down and leading to dementia.

This worked without having to remove any beta-amyloid from the animals’ brains, they add, and the process restored lost memory in the mice, suggesting it may be useful in treating humans with Alzheimer’s memory loss.

Elsewhere: KC walkouts

Pharmacists in the Kansas City area walked out of their jobs at CVS, complaining about understaffing and general bad working conditions.

CVS has already blinked once; Prem Shah, CVS’s chief pharmacy officer, sent a written letter “apologizing for failing to address their concerns sooner and promising a series of measures to alleviate their concerns.” But that wasn’t enough, and the pharmacists plan another walkout — with the support of APhA and the KPhA.

Meanwhile CVS is trying to keep those walkouts from spreading.

Although the focus this week is on Kansas City, [a company spokesman] said, CVS will address staffing and similar concerns “wherever additional help is needed” across the country.

And then there’s this

What is the dumbest TikTok trend you can imagine? Now dial it up to 11. May I present to you … bone smashing. Beat your face with a hammer because that will make the bones grow back stronger and reshape your face.

Have a good weekend, everyone.