Gentlemen: Protect your big brain

Viagra might reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s. That’s what British pharmacoepidemiologists (!) found after a five-year study involving almost 270,000 men with erectile dysfunction.

It’s not proof that ED drugs actually prevent dementia, but there’s definitely an association; Men taking ED meds were about 18% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those not taking them.

Keep in mind that the incidence of dementia were low, so that’s 18% of a small number. But still, as one researcher put it, “These findings cautiously allude to greater benefit” of the medication.

The class is filling

There’s only about two weeks to sign up for the February 25 session of APhA’s Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery: A Certificate Program for Pharmacists at the GPhA World Headquarters in Sandy Springs.

This is the nation’s Godzilla^* of immunization training — the one that puts all other courses to shame (and occasionally crushes them beneath its metaphorically feet).

It gives 20 hours of CE credit, a spiffy certificate for your wall, and the impressive line on your CV.

The whole shebang is just $349 for GPhA members ($499 for non-members).

^* Yes, yes, it’s “Gojira.” Not enough people understand that, though.

Your next legislative update

Melissa Reybold is at it again at the capitol, and she’s got her latest update to show for it. Check it out to stay in the know about what’s happening under the Gold Dome.

Learning the “why”

Why are women more susceptible to autoimmune diseases?

Actually, they’re not just more susceptible, they’re a lot more susceptible — and now Stanford Medicine scientists think they know why. It’s all about that extra X chromosome that women carry.

Two X chromosomes could produce double the amount of certain proteins, and that would be bad. That’s why women’s bodies have a way of shutting it down: a molecule called Xist that causes X-chromosome inactivation.

But it seems that while Xist is preventing one of those X chromosomes from pumping out proteins, it’s also generating “long noncoding RNA molecules” that end up attracting bits of proteins and even DNA. That clumping can cause an autoimmune reaction.

They tested their hypothesis by inserting the Xist-making gene into male mice.

In these susceptible mice, males in which the Xist gene was activated developed lupus-like autoimmunity at a rate approaching that of females — and considerably more so than non-bioengineered males.

They’re hoping this discovery can at least lead to earlier detection of autoimmune disorders … at least in women.

Why do respiratory viruses hit some people harder?

When it comes to What causes ___?, if you bet on “gut bacteria” you’ve got a good chance of getting it right. Such is the case with catching a respiratory virus and how severe it is.

Georgia State researchers found that mice with segmented filamentous bacteria (SFBs) in their guts had a lot more protection against Covid-19, flu, and RSV. The bacteria, they found, altered immune cells in the lungs — alveolar macrophages — so they weren’t depleted as quickly and didn’t cause inflammation.

Sure, these are mice, and SFBs are only found in rodents, fish, and chickens. But they’re related to Clostridium, so it’s possible there’s a human equivalent. As always, more research is needed.

A reader weighs in

After Thursday’s story about Naloxone being free for everyone (either via a Medicare/caid or a Pfizer coupon, a “concerned independent pharmacy owner” wrote in with just a teeny bit of sarcasm to explain why indy pharmacies might not be in a hurry to offer Paxlovid:

I feel we should also spotlight the fact that 90%+ of insurance companies are reimbursing BELOW the cost of Paxlovid. We should spotlight how BELOW COST reimbursement is a HUGE incentive for independent pharmacies to stock/dispense Paxlovid. [eye roll]

Big Pharma and its coupon cards are here to save the day and continue the efforts to put independents out of business.

Vaccine arm twist

Back in August 2023 we reported on a study that found that getting a Covid vaccination and booster in the same arm was better than getting one in each arm — switching arms resulted in more killer T cells than being “unilaterally” vaccinated.

Now the twist: A different study, this one out of Oregon Health & Science University, found just the opposite. Researchers there report “as much as a four-fold increase in immune response when people alternate from one arm to the other when given a multi-dose vaccine.”

“By switching arms, you basically have memory formation in two locations instead of one,” said the senior author.

So which is it? You know the answer: More research is needed.

Formaldehyde ban coming?

The FDA is considering announcing in April that it might consider banning the chemical in hair-straightening products — after further consideration, of course — because the agency says it’s linked to reproductive cancers.

What’s odd is that scientists who know these things say that formaldehyde is linked to other cancers, but not reproductive ones. It shouldn’t be in hair products, but not for the reasons the FDA says.

And other scientists point out that it’s more than formaldehyde that makes hair straighteners dangerous:

Studies have shown that straightener ingredients include phthalates, parabens, and other endocrine-disrupting compounds that mimic the body’s hormones and have been linked to cancers as well as early puberty, fibroids, diabetes, and gestational high blood pressure.

So this ban seems like a good idea, although it’s taken the FDA a long time to get here … and then they arrived for the wrong reasons.

Let’s just take this in

In the richest, most powerful country in the history of the world, health professionals have begun suggesting that patients beg for money to pay their bills.

Resorting to crowdfunding to pay medical bills has become so routine, in some cases health professionals recommend it.