Long-lasting pill
A tablet has been created that has been active for more than two weeks
Anna Stavina, XX2 century
Scientists have developed a new shell for medicines. It can persist in the stomach for two weeks after ingestion, gradually releasing the contents.
The shell may be useful for combating diseases, the success of treatment of which depends on the regular intake of the drug. According to the results of a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine (Bellinger et al., Oral, ultra–long-lasting drug delivery: Application towards malaria elimination goals), scientists have created a capsule primarily for the delivery of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin, which they hope will help defeat malaria.
The "long-lasting pill" can be used in other areas of medicine: from the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and mental diseases to the fight against HIV and tuberculosis. Long-term drug delivery systems already exist, but they are manufactured either in the form of injections or in the form of implants. To introduce such a remedy into the body, a special procedure is required, which is difficult in many situations.
"Until now, medications administered by mouth have almost never worked for more than a day," said one of the authors of the work, Robert Langer, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). – Our development paves the way for the creation of ultra-long-acting oral drugs. It has a lot of uses that we will master someday."
Medications administered by mouth usually have a short-term effect, since they quickly bypass the body, being exposed to aggressive environmental influences as they pass the gastrointestinal tract.
Langer said that he and his staff have been working on solving this problem for several years, initially focusing on the fight against malaria. The drug ivermectin used by scientists kills mosquitoes that have bitten a person who has taken the medicine.
The new long-acting tablet is made in the form of a star with six rays that can be folded. On the outside it is covered with a smooth capsule. The drug is injected directly into the rays, which are loosely attached to the central part of the tablet – after some time after taking them, they break off.
Figure from an article in Science Translational Medicine – VM
When a person swallows a pill, the gastric juice dissolves its outer shell, and the rays are straightened. The resulting "asterisk" remains in the stomach – it is too large to penetrate into the lower gastrointestinal tract, and too small to cause obstruction.
"When the asterisk opens in the stomach, it stays there as long as it needs to," said Tyler Grant, another author of the study.
During tests on pigs, scientists observed how doses of the active substance were gradually released from the tablet for more than two weeks. Then the parts of the "asterisk" attaching the rays to its center dissolved, and the fragments of the tablet naturally descended through the gastrointestinal tract.
The researchers created a mathematical model to assess the prospects of using a new capsule for the delivery of ivermectin. According to this model, if 70% of the population of regions where malaria occurs receives these capsules, the cumulative effectiveness will be the same as if 90% of residents received standard antimalarial treatment.
Currently, scientists are working on changing the capsule so that it can be used to treat other tropical diseases, as well as to fight HIV and tuberculosis.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
21.11.2016