Opinion: FDA’s pendulum swings too far

Big shout-out to Scott Brunner, executive vice president of the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists (and former CEO of GPhA), who has an opinion piece running in Stat News: “FDA’s overreach will harm compounding pharmacies and the patients they serve.”

The FDA has overreached in implementing [new safety provisions required by Congress], all but halting common compounding practices that have been safely performed for years and on which patients with legitimate needs for compounded medications rely.

The FDA, Brunner says, “is about to throw out the baby with the bathwater.”

Leesburgian* named interim assistant dean at UGA CoP

Congrats to Melody Clay Sheffield of Leesburg, who was named the interim assistant dean of the UGA College of Pharmacy’s extended campus!

* Leesburger?

Guess who’s back!

If you said “tiny flying insects of disease and death,” you win!

Where will the money come from?

As drug prices rise, employers are expected to spend six percent more on employees’ healthcare in 2020 — the highest increase in four years.

Hey Google, should I take the red pill?

If you’re going to ask an artificial intelligence about your drugs, it’s better to speak with Google Assistant rather than either Alexa or Siri, according to a new study in Nature Digital Medicine.

Google Assistant understood 92% of brand name medicines, and 84% of generics, they found. Siri had just over 58% comprehension of brand names and 51% with generics, while Alexa came in at 55% and 46%, respectively. Google Assistant showed similar results even for people who spoke with different accents, but Siri and Alexa had lower comprehension rates in those instances.

Win-win

Great news! Both Joe Biden* and Donald Trump say they’re going to cure cancer!

* All right, all right — yes, Biden oversaw the “cancer moonshot” project and helps put a lot of money into cancer research. But let’s be realistic, shall we?

Medicaid work requirements: Pretty much the definition of “backfire”

Arkansas enacted Medicaid work requirements to entice low-income people to get jobs or training (to qualify for health coverage). How that work out? Not so good, according to an analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

It turns out that 97 percent of those people already had jobs — just not very good ones. But the new requirements still ended up costing 18,000 of them their health coverage … and then increasing the unemployment rate among Medicaid recipients.

Work requirements might sound good in a stump speech, but it seems in reality they just hurt the people who actually need help.

Two plus two still equals four

Despite everything that’s come out about how Purdue Pharma pushed OxyContin like a desperate streetcorner dealer, the Sackler family still insists it isn’t to blame.

As Vanity Fair succinctly (and politely) puts it, “This defies the widely accepted understanding of the opioid epidemic.”

Sackler continues to insist that OxyContin isn’t that addictive, telling Vanity Fair that addiction rates are “between 2 and 3 percent” and only rise to nearly 5 percent when including more typical dependence and misuse. In reality, reviews of the research have estimated addiction rates at 8 percent and misuse rates as high as 26 percent.

Diet question and answer

“Cucumber Diet Review: Does It Work for Weight Loss?”

Answer: No.

Elsewhere: Bridge Out™ Edition

Remember Brexit, the world’s slowest-moving train wreck? Oh, it’s still going on, it’s just been postponed till October 31. And if there’s no deal and Britain “crashes out” of the EU… well, the pharma industry is saying it will be Double Plus Ungood.

Did you miss us? We missed you. We were a bit busy at the Georgia Pharmacy Convention, though, but now we’re back with all the interesting pharmacy and health news you can shake a stick at … and more.

About convention

We’re still crunching the numbers, but it’s clear that this year’s convention was a huge success. We haven’t tallied the total education, or hours on the beach, but we know we had 54% more attendees this year than last year in Nashville — and about 14% more than last time we were on Amelia Island (in 2017).

Our favorite stat? The largest increase was in student pharmacists — we had more than double the number as last year!

Check out photos from the event at GPhAconvention.com/2019photos — and we’ll be adding to that as more folks send theirs in. And of course we’ll have a ton more to share on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and in the upcoming issue of Georgia Pharmacy.

Our award winners each got a short video, too — you can see them, and more, at GPhAconvention.com/2019videos.

We hope we saw you at this year’s convention, but if not … well, look at all you missed!

Georgia health still ranks low

Except for kids’ vaccination rates, Georgia continues to score poorly in healthcare. Georgia Health News has the details, but here are some highlights.

• The 2019 Kids Count Data Book ranked Georgia #34 for children’s health overall.
• The Commonwealth Fund’s 2019 Scorecard on State Health System Performance ranked Georgia #42 in overall health. (Our worst figures: “Uninsured adults,” “Adults who went without care because of cost,” and “Central line-associated blood stream infection.”)
• MoneyRates.com’s Best States for Healthcare 2019 ranked Georgia #49, with only Mississippi and South Carolina faring worse.

30,000 poor Georgians are about to lose health insurance

Last month the Department of Community Health said it was cutting off about 17,000 Medicaid recipients (and, it turns out, sometimes without warning). But now the agency says the real number is almost twice that, as it plans to cut off an additional 13,000 people.

And people who are cut off don’t always have the resources to plead their cases — they often don’t have transportation, can’t take the time off work, and don’t know how to navigate the system.

Callers to the state Division of Family and Children Services mostly get recordings, not people, and may not have access to computers or cars to drive to an office.

Insult, but no injury

Did you know there’s a national fund — the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program — designed to pay people who have been injured by vaccines? (We’re talking about folks who legitimately have, say, an allergy to a vaccine, not “Timmy hasn’t been the same since he hit his head after getting his MMR.”)

So you might think, with folks claiming all these horror stories about vaccines, that NVICP would be inundated with claims. That turns out not to be the case. “Vaccine Injury Claims Are Few and Far Between,” in fact.

Potential downside to CBD

CBD products might be all the rage but — thanks to the lack of research on any kind of marijuana derivative — there haven’t been many scientific studies of it. The latest one might give some pause. Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science found that CBD appears to be at least as toxic to the liver as acetaminophen… at least in mice.

Researchers discovered that the mice given higher doses of CBD showed signs of liver damage within 24 hours. To that end, 75 percent of these animals in the sub-acute phase had either died or were on the verge of death within a few days.

Free market failure

You know that high drug prices can keep some people in the U.S. from taking their meds, but there’s a flip side: Sometimes when drug prices are too low, there’s not enough profit for manufacturers to bother making it, and that leads to shortages.

Today I learned

That in the U.S., bats are the most common carriers of rabies.

1,000

The year’s not halfway done and the U.S. has hit the 1,000-case-of-measles mark. Really, what more is there to say?

First-world problem?

Nearly five percent of American seniors report having to skip or ration their medication because of cost. It’s especially true for those who only have Medicare and not Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, or private coverage.

Deze kop is in het Nederlands

The Dutch are nothing if not innovative, and they’ve come up with a way to help citizens spot drug labs: Giving them “perfume” that smells like MDMA so they’re learn to recognize it.

[Police] are offering samples to the public, to get them familiarized with the smell of the drug, so that when they casually walk by a drug lab producing the illegal substance, they can notify authorities about it.

The price of doing business

Insys is the latest opioid maker to settle with the government rather than go to trial. It agreed to pay $225 million for mail fraud and violating the False Claims Act “which involves defrauding the federal government through drug sales to health care programs like Medicare.”

Notably, this is not a drop in the bucket for the company. Insys only had $146.6 million in total revenue in all of 2017.

The Chinese threat to drugs

The trade war with China doesn’t just mean Americans are paying more in tariffs on Chinese goods. An expert* claims “China Can Weaponize Prescription Drugs To Hit US In Trade War.”

“In five to ten years we were at risk of losing our generic drug industry because China will use the same playbook and undercut our own producers and drive them out of business.”

* We were ready to make fun of her, but she really is an expert on the topic!

ACA rates don’t look like they’re jumping too high

Initial rate filings from health insurers seems to show that “massive premium hikes may be a thing of the past” as the market settles down.

The emperor is not as forgiving as I am

The Chinese government is about to start looking more carefully at the financial reports of drug companies. One hopes it doesn’t find anything … misleading.

The Chinese government will audit 77 randomly selected pharmaceutical companies over the next two months, including the local arms of major players like Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly, in an attempt to monitor prices in the drugmakers’ supply chain and potentially target profit margins.

Don’t put words in my mouth

A class action lawsuit against CVS claims that the company is contacting physicians without patients’ consent, falsely claiming the patients were interested in certain drugs… even for conditions they don’t have.

Plaintiff Charles Tashjian says that CVS sent letters to his physician without his knowledge or consent, and those letters…

…falsely stated that CVS spoke to him about diabetes care and that Tashjian requested CVS reach out to his doctor on his behalf to ask if it is appropriate to start a statin therapy.

The CVS class action claims Tashjian does not have diabetes and did not make these requests. He says that he never spoke with any employee, agent, or representative about statin therapy, contrary to the assertions made in the letters.

Swamp things

You’ve heard of “food deserts”? Now, with drugstore chains selling more food than grocers, the concern is “food swamps” of cheap, over-processed food … and the health concerns that go with it.

Measles update

981 total cases nationwide. Highest number since 1992 — that’s more than 25 years.

Circadian rhythm method

Early to bed and early to rise will probably only make you healthy, wealthy, and wise if you do it on a regular schedule. People with irregular sleep patterns are more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. (They may still be wealthy and wise; the study doesn’t cover that.)

Insulin: One size doesn’t fit all

Young children with diabetes have much more variability in their insulin requirements than adults do, especially at night.

When compared with insulin delivery variance for adults, the measures for children aged 12 years or younger were 10.7 percentage points higher during the night and 6.4 percentage points higher during the day

Tastes like chicken, hurts like steak

Think eating chicken is better for your cholesterol than eating red meat? Think again (at least until the next study comes out).

We expected red meat to have a more adverse effect on blood cholesterol levels than white meat, but we were surprised that this was not the case — their effects on cholesterol are identical when saturated fat levels are equivalent.

Tide Pods update

In case you’re wondering, kids are still eating those delicious Tide Pods. The annual “number and rate of exposures” for kids under 6 (who make up 91 percent of Pods consumers) has gone down a bit — 18.0 percent since 2015 — but they’re still trying to eat ’em.

The long read: The business of drugs

“Pfizer had clues its blockbuster drug could prevent Alzheimer’s. Why didn’t it tell the world?“

Convention is almost here!

Look for your official “Know before you go” e-mail coming soon, with everything you need to, well, know before you go to the Georgia Pharmacy Convention.

Speaking of … it’s not too late even if you haven’t registered — just come to the registration desk on Amelia Island and our friendly staff will take care of you!

Swamp things

You’ve heard of “food deserts”? Now, with stores like CVS selling more food than grocers, the concern is “food swamps” of cheap, over-processed food … and the health concerns that go with it.

It was was found but now it’s lost

Or at least it could be. Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but thanks to the efforts of anti-vaxxers the disease has made a comeback — and that could cost the country that “eliminated” status. It’s more than a name; there are billions of tourist dollars at state, for starters.

Pile on Purdue

There are lots of analogies to be made, but we’ll go with “blood in the water.”* California, Hawai’i, Maine and Washington, D.C., have joined 45 other states in suing Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family as individuals for its/their role in the opioid crisis.

* Another would be how British warships swarmed the crippled Bismarck, but that’s a bit of an obscure reference

Breathing room

CVS Health is planning to build 1,500 “HealthHub” locations by the end of 2021 as it works to expand its healthcare footprint.

The stores have an increased focus on health services, including a wellness center and more chronic care management for diseases like diabetes. In those stores, CVS is committing about 20% of the physical store space to health endeavors rather than snacks or other convenient store supplies.

Small signs of major epidemics

UGA researchers have developed a new mathematical model that may predict the emergence of epidemics, as well as the effectiveness of vaccine programs. The team published “The statistics of epidemic transitions” in PLOS Computational Biology.

In short (and not doing the team justice), the model looks at the small changes that take place over long periods of time — mutation rates, lack of vaccination, broader contact between people — that hit a tipping point leading to an epidemic. That epidemic may seem to come out of nowhere, but the small signs were there. And now UGA knows to look for them.

FDA supplement warning

Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should avoid any supplement containing vinpocetine, according to a statement from the FDA.

Vinpocetine may be referred to on product labels as Vinca minor extract, lesser periwinkle extract, or common periwinkle extract.

Dietary supplements containing vinpocetine are often marketed for uses that include enhanced memory, focus, or mental acuity; increased energy; and weight loss.

Be careful with PPIs

Long-term use of proton-pump inhibitors like Nexium and Prilosec can be deadly. A new study published in the British Medical Journal found that…

The evidence from all available studies suggests that long term PPI use is associated with serious adverse events, including an increased risk of all cause mortality, and our results specifically suggest an increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and upper gastrointestinal cancer.

(The above link is to the study. Here’s a news article.)

Double-duty drugs

Can antidepressants act as antibiotics? We wouldn’t be asking if the answer wasn’t “Maybe.” That’s what a team from Virginia Commonwealth University (and others) has found.

Antidepressant drugs called FIASMAs, including desipramine, amitriptyline, and nortriptyline, halt the growth or kill four different intracellular bacterial pathogens in tissue cell culture and animal models.

The 4,400

Women: You don’t need to take 10,000 steps a day to make a difference. It turns out that less than half that — a mere 4,400 steps — is enough. (And any more than 7,500 is wasted.)

Wait a sec. Where did that “10,000 steps” figure come from, anyway?

The researchers aren’t sure where that 10,000-step daily goal came from. They suspect it was from a pedometer made by a Japanese company in the 1960s. The name of the device was Manpo-kei. Translated into English, that means 10,000-step meter.

I guess this means you don’t need to clean your kitchen 409 times a day, or eat 19 bowls of cereal for breakfast, either.

Death to skeeters

Mosquitos kill more people than any other creature on Earth (yes, even more than humans do), so finding ways to control the little buggers is a good idea.

The latest way: A fungus, genetically engineered to include a spider toxin, that kills malaria-carrying mosquitos. In tests. In the lab. In specific conditions. But in the wild it may not work, or it may mutate into the plot of the next post-apocalyptic young-adult thriller. Stay tuned.

Brush your teeth to avoid dementia

Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway have found that the bacteria that causes gingivitis produces a protein that apparently kills brain cells — and can lead to Alzheimer’s. “[I]f you have established gingivitis and have Alzheimer’s in your family, to go to your dentist regularly and clean your teeth properly.”

FDA looks at CBD

CBD-toting products are everywhere these days, promising … well, promising the sorts of effects that used to be hawked by a guy with a covered wagon, top hat, and handlebar moustache. All those claims finally got the attention of the FDA, which is holding its first hearing on questions of CBD’s actual powers, not to mention how safe it is.

I have no idea what this means, but it could be important

“Scientists reported a novel molecular mechanism for the regulation of PCNA cycling during DNA replication. They proved that ATAD5-RLC opens PCNA ring to be removed from DNA as a bona-fide PCNA unloader.”

Mercer trains pharmacist entrepreneurs

We’ve heard it plenty: Schools teach students how to practice pharmacy, but they don’t do enough to teach the business end of the profession.

Mercer University is trying to alleviate that with its new entrepreneurship track for student pharmacists.

“The curriculum includes required pharmacy and business courses and pharmacy electives,” according to Kay Torrance, the CoP’s director of communications & marketing, with courses like “Pharmacy Management,” “Community Pharmacy Ownership,” and our favorite, “Pharmacy Association Management.”

Synthetic CBD helps seizing rats

If you know some rats that are having issues with seizures, chemists at UC Davis might have some help for them. They’ve developed a “synthetic, non-intoxicating analogue of cannabidiol*” that can be synthesized inexpensively — not grown — and works as well as “herbal” CBD to treat seizures.

* “8,9-Dihydrocannabidiol” (H2CBD) — so I guess they slap a couple of hydrogen atoms onto a cannabidiol molecule? Whatever. Science!

FDA wants to change opioid packaging

The agency is considering requiring that opioid manufacturers supply blister packs of 5, 10, and 15 tablets, at least of some immediate release opioids.

The agency said it believes the utilization of these fixed-quantity unit-of-use blister package configurations “would substantially reduce the quantity of opioid analgesics dispensed per prescription compared to the status quo.”

Older folks really like their weed

In 2016 people over 65 were using recreational cannabis 10 times as often as the year before (so says the 2016 National Survey of Drug Use and Health). Researchers at the University of Colorado wanted to know why. The big reasons they found: reluctance to ask their physicians for a prescription for medical marijuana. It was easier (if more expensive) to buy the recreational stuff.

“Although study participants discussed recreational cannabis more negatively than medical cannabis, they felt it was more comparable to drinking alcohol, often asserting a preference for recreational cannabis over the negative effects of alcohol,” the study said.

That’s a lot of blueberries

Scientists at the University of East Anglia have found that eating a cup of blueberries a day reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

This may be because blueberries are high in naturally occurring compounds called anthocyanins, which are the flavonoids responsible for the red and blue colour in fruits.

The team pointed out that you need that full cup (about 150 grams): “Unexpectedly, we found no benefit of a smaller 75 gram (half cup) daily intake of blueberries in this at-risk group.”

The fat in the bacteria in the dirt… that’s good for you

It started with the “hygiene hypothesis” — too many people were living a sterile lifestyle, increasing cases of asthma and allergies. But that morphed into the idea that it’s not exposure to germs that helps, but exposure to particular soil microbes — specifically Mycobacterium vaccae.

When M. vaccae is injected into rats, it works like an antidepressant and has anti-inflammatory effects. Now researchers (publishing in Psychopharmacology) have narrowed it down further: It’s actually a particular lipid — 10(Z)-hexadecenoic acid — that does the trick.

Simply knowing the mechanism of action by which M. vaccae reaps benefits could boost confidence in it as a potential therapeutic. And if further studies show the novel fat alone has therapeutic effects, that molecule could become a target for drug development, he said.

Cancer drugs can cause diabetes

And no one knows why. “Roughly 1% of patients receiving immunotherapy drugs experience the same irreversible side effect” — type 1 diabetes.

Convention is almost here!

What are you waiting for? The Georgia Pharmacy Convention is only about two weeks away!

Don’t risk missing out on the biggest networking event of the year — not to mention the perfect family vacation, plus all those sweet, sweet CPE hours.

Register now! (Or if you really need to find out more, go to GPhAconvention.com for everything you need to know.)

Get ready to rumble

In this corner (after Purdue and Teva settled), Johnson and Johnson — maker of the Duragesic fentanyl patch.

In this corner, the state of Oklahoma* “a state brought to its knees by addiction and overdose deaths” contending that J&J and its marketing is responsible for the opioid epidemic.

It’s the trial of the century!

Obesity/diabetes disconnect

It’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Or just a little odd: “The number of new diabetes cases among U.S. adults keeps falling, even as obesity rates climb, and health officials aren’t sure why.”

You can dance if you want to (but you might run into FDA problems)

FDA inspectors toured an Indian drugmaker’s facility last October, and wasn’t impressed. The agency found enough problems to place the company (Centurion) on “import alert.”

One of the issues was cleanliness — or the lack thereof. The company’s excuse? A nine-day dance festival meant a shortage of employees to do the cleaning.

Anxiety and allergies

A study out of Germany finds that people who are anxious are more likely to suffer from seasonal allergies: “There was a positive correlation between perennial allergies and depression or depressive episodes.”

But when it comes to causation and correlation, it’s not clear. Do allergies make depression more likely, or does being depressed increase your chances of allergies?

The long read: CBD / opioids crossover episode

“CBD: The next weapon in the war against opioid addiction?” from The Conversation.

Medical shocker

Drinking a quart of energy drink in an hour can be bad for your heart. (Aka, “Impact of High Volume Energy Drink Consumption on Electrocardiographic and Blood Pressure Parameters.”)

Ambass* at convention!

We want to invite you to become part of something new and different during this year’s Georgia Pharmacy Convention on Amelia Island. (And it’s free!)

It’s volunteering to become a Student Ambassador: a GPhA member who extends a warm welcome to pharmacy
students attending the Georgia Pharmacy Convention, answers their questions, maybe even attends events with them (general sessions, PharmPAC dinner, President’s Bash, etc.) and simply helps making students at the convention feel welcome.

If you’re coming to the convention (smart move!), why not connect with a student while you’re there? Check out the details at GPhAconvention.com/ambassadors and sign up!

* I assume that’s the verb form of “ambassador”

Congrats, PCOM grads!

Congrats to the PCOM’s Class of 2019, and the new pharmacists who just commenced their careers! Check out photos from the 11th annual ceremony here.

Potential vaccine game-changer

One of the biggest problems in spreading vaccines to the developing world is the cold chain: keeping the drugs at the proper temperature for long periods in places where the electrical grid isn’t reliable.

Now scientists at Canada’s McMaster University have developed a way to store vaccines for months at more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s simple, inexpensive, and was tested on two of the most fragile vaccines — those for herpes and influenza A.

TSA will permit seizure meds

The Transportation Security Administration has updated its rules to allow Epidiolex — an FDA-approved anti-seizure medication for children — on flights. Epidiolex contains CBD, you see.

The newest most-expensive med

Novartis has set the price of Zolgensma, its new treatment for spinal muscular atrophy in babies, at $2.125 million, the highest price ever set for a medication. It’s a one-time treatment. Patient out-of-pocket costs will of course depend on their insurance.

“Early diagnosis is crucial, so Novartis has been working with states to get genetic testing for newborns required at birth.”

Worried about beriberi?

Did you wake up this morning and think, “Gosh, I know so little about treating beriberi”? No worries — Medical News Today has you covered. (Spoilers: Alcohol abuse can cause it, and thiamine can treat it.)

Elsewhere: Colorado Cap™ edition

Colorado became the first state to set a co-pay cap for insulin: $100 per month regardless of dosage. “Insurance companies will have to absorb the balance.”

Dramatic price hikes have left some people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes who use insulin to control their blood sugar levels in the unfortunate position of making dangerous compromises. They either forego the medication or they ration their prescribed dose to stretch it until they can afford the next prescription.

Tornado hits just blocks from Missouri Pharmacy Association

From Bob Coleman, CEO, GPhA:

Some of you may have pharmacist friends in the Jefferson City, Missouri, area, so I wanted to send you this update I received today. Over the last two years, I’ve gotten to know their state association exec, Ron Fitzwater, very well. Ron and I see each other often at pharmacy events and sit on the PACE Board of Directors together. I was so glad to learn that he and his family are safe.

Please see the e-mail below I received from Ron and let’s keep our brothers and sisters in Missouri in our thoughts and prayers as they begin the arduous process of recovery.

Greetings,

As you know by now, Jefferson City was hit by a catastrophic tornado at approximately 11:40 PM yesterday. As of now MPA staff and families are all safe. Fortunately, there have not been any reported deaths in the county as of right now. Law enforcement, the fire department and public safety personnel from a number of nearby cities are volunteering to assist the amazing team of officers and firefighters that we have here in Jefferson City, to assist in rescue operations It is amazing to watch the cooperation in the city with neighbors helping neighbors and others.

Our preliminary look at the MPA building doesn’t show any signs of damage at this point. The same cannot be said for Capitol Avenue a couple of blocks east of us. It looks like a war zone. I talked to a number of people, including at least one association, that lost everything. Their buildings are damaged beyond repair. It is going to change the look of the city.

On top of the tornado, we are expecting flooding over the next few days. The Missouri River has reached the top of the levy (30 feet). It is expected to crest at 35-36 feet based on current data. That is now projected for Sunday. For reference, the 1993 flood crested at just over 38 feet.

Due to the ongoing emergency activities, the MPA office is closed today and won’t be re-opened until Tuesday. You can reach me by cellular telephone or e-mail if you need anything.

Best wishes for a very Happy Holiday Weekend.

Photos (provided by Ron) from Capitol Avenue about 3-5 blocks east of the MPA offices:

Congrats to the Taylors

Specifically Monica and Arnold, who just opened the Taylor Pharmacy & Wellness Center — “a pharmacy and clinic that offers prescription and over-the-counter medications, and cannabidoil products” — in Douglasville.

The heat is on (and she wants it that way)

A new study finds that women’s productivity goes down with the temperature.

In a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, researchers reported that at colder temperatures, men scored higher than women on verbal and math tests. But as a room grew warmer, women’s scores rose significantly.

Green is good

Take a book by a 19th century botanist who researched medicinal plants in the South for the confederacy, add some modern-day Emory researchers looking for answers to antibiotic resistance, and you get a paper on how “American Civil War plant medicines inhibit growth, biofilm formation, and quorum sensing by multidrug-resistant bacteria.”

Don’t want the paper itself? Check out the article from WABE.

Meanwhile in Singapore, researchers there found that the leaves of a variety of plants “can stop the growth of breast, cervical, colon, leukemia, liver, ovarian, and uterine cancer.” They published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, but you can also read the layperson’s version in Futurity.

Drug warnings to note

The Japanese Health Ministry issued a warning about breast-cancer drug Verzenio, saying the drug “is suspected of adversely affecting patients’ lungs, after 14 recipients in Japan developed a serious lung disease and three died.”

Meanwhile the European Medical Agency has restricted use of Xeljanz (aka tofacitinib, for ulcerative colitis) while it investigates how often an in whom it produces dangerous blood clots.