New Treatment Option: Capsule With Long-term Effect

Since this capsule is larger than the pylorus (stomach gatekeeper), it is not diverted through the bowel movement but remains in the stomach, where it gradually releases drugs. 

This new capsule  could, for example, deliver drugs to treat cholesterol, high blood pressure, anemia or numbness in the hands for 15 days without having to take them every day.

Amazing and very interesting, because the more regularly certain active ingredients are taken, the better they help. And that is often not that easy.

This new invention can be of great help in particular for patients with chronic complaints who have to take different drugs at different times every day.

This means that you can treat a wide variety of complaints over a longer period of time with a single capsule .  It is not a dream of the future because this method has already been researched and developed.

The Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston (USA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge (USA) are participating in this development project.

The scientists involved initially had a different goal: They wanted to develop a new treatment for malaria.

To do this, they researched the possibility of administering the drug with just a single dose, which they achieved. At the same time, the researchers have opened the doors to new treatment options for chronic diseases. 

Then you will learn more about it.

A multi-purpose capsule

Many people who suffer from chronic diseases such as osteoarthritis need daily medicines to relieve the symptoms.

If you forget to take the medication or take it irregularly, the treatment is far from being as effective.

For example, problems are very common in older people who have to take several medications a day. If these are not organized by others, they very often forget about them.

Anyone in this situation knows how useful this new long-term capsule can be.

Capsule as an active ingredient depot

The study was published in the journal of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Under the direction of Dr. C. Giovanni Traverso was to develop a new treatment against malaria.

• This disease is very common in many developing countries. Current drugs must be given in multiple doses in order for them to be effective. This entails significant financial expenses and great administrative difficulties.

• The scientists have developed an “all-purpose capsule” that  unfolds in the stomach almost like a small robot. 
• The capsule enlarges so that it does not reach the small intestine and cannot be excreted when the bowel is emptied.

The gastric porter or pylorus is two centimeters wide. However, the capsule unfolds in the stomach into a star with a size of 4 cm and remains trapped in the stomach. After a while it decomposes by itself and disappears.

This capsule contains ivermectin, a substance used against parasites, and various polymers that allow the drugs to be released gradually.

Invention with a great future

With this capsule with ivermectin not only malaria can be treated, this invention is also very useful for a number of other tropical diseases, for example diseases that are transmitted by mosquito bites.

So it’s a hopeful innovation. The research team explains that after the patient has taken the capsule,  it delivers the correct dose of active ingredients for 15 days.

The goal, however, is to allow three months of treatment.

The positive results that were achieved with this research (against malaria) give rise to researching this method with other drugs to treat chronic diseases (high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, chronic pain …).

If there is a way to get three months of treatment from a single capsule, several things can be improved:

• The expenses are reduced  (hopefully this is not a problem for the pharmaceutical companies).
• Patients receive more effective and precise treatment and do not have to think about their medication all the time.
• This allows infections and other illnesses, including psychiatric problems, to be treated in a completely new way.

We hope that this new option will be available to everyone in a short time.