Nifty implanted drug delivery system

Implanted drug-delivery isn’t new, but it has drawbacks: A passive system just does its thing and eventually is absorbed by the body — but patients can’t control the dosage. And active systems give control, but include electronics that eventually have to be surgically removed.

But now Northwestern bioengineers have created the best of both worlds: an implantable drug-delivery device that can be controlled biologically using external lights of different colors, rather than with electronics.

They implanted test devices containing lidocaine into rats.

Then, three LEDs were placed over the implantation sites to trigger release of the drug. Subsequent testing showed marked pain relief among the rats. Moreover, researchers were able to achieve different patterns of pain relief depending on the LED color-light sequencing.

Science-fiction authors, take note: In future, DJs at wild raves could change the lighting to deliver different drug combos to dancers….

Embrace the darkness

How can a pregnant woman reduce her risk of diabetes? By turning the lights out sooner.

British researchers found that “pregnant women who are exposed to greater levels of light in the three hours before sleep appear to be more likely to develop diabetes during their pregnancy.”

This might sound odd … until you realize that previous studies have found that nighttime shift workers also have a higher risk thanks to that artificial light. Could it be due to melatonin suppression? You know the answer: More research is needed.

Drinks are on Wellstar!

Congrats to the pharmacist-led team at Wellstar that saved the hospital system a whopping $21 million by developing a system-wide opioid-stewardship program.

It started, as these things do, with committees. Those developed ideas that were taught in a “pharmacy opioid stewardship bootcamp” for training ambassadors who spread the ideas to individual hospitals.

Paying particular attention to the highest risk drugs, the team conducted more (and more formal) safety assessments to alert nurses of issues before they got out of hand.

The team developed pharmacist practice changes, such as a therapeutic interchange for morphine for patients with renal dysfunction. They also made it a requirement for pharmacists and prescribers to register for the state prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), and worked with the information technology department to implement one-click access to the program to make it easier to verify patients’ medication regimens upon admission.

Results included opioid dosage decreases (and increases in acetaminophen and ketorolac), better PDMP use, “discontinuation of inappropriate therapies,” and more — all adding up to that $21 million savings.

Next up: brining AI into the mix to get an even bigger jump on potential problems.

The Long Read: Cancer “Vaccines” edition

There’s been news about vaccines for cancer, but aside from the HPV vax against cervical cancer, these “vaccines” are really treatments, and they could be poised to make a huge difference. An Aussie cancer expert explains.

mRNA bacterial-vaccine breakthrough

Researchers at Tel Aviv University have created an mRNA vaccine against bacteria. Why is this a big deal? Because it was assumed that mRNA vaccines could only work against viruses.

mRNA works, in part, by getting human cells to create the bacterial proteins that will trigger an immune response. But for [insert science here] reasons, when it comes to bacteria, human cells can’t secrete those proteins without changing them too much.

But the TAU folks were able to create bacterial proteins that human cells could produce. Those proteins were then used to create the appropriate mRNA for a vaccines.

According to the researchers, their new technology can enable rapid development of effective vaccines for bacterial diseases, including diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria — in case of a new fast-spreading pandemic, for example.

Gettin ’em vaccinated

…against the flu

One way to get those shifty Danes to get their flu shots is sending the right message. A study out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital (cautiously working with their Danish counterparts) tested nine kinds of message to see which got the best response.

None made a huge difference, but one strategy stood out.

In particular, the trial found that emphasizing the potential cardiovascular benefits of vaccination and a repeat-letter strategy with a 14-day follow-up letter resulted in 0.89 percent and 0.73 percent increases in vaccinations, respectively.

Of course, with flu having an R0 value of 0.9 to 2.0, each vaccinated person sorta-kinda protects 1.9 to 3.0 people.

…against Covid-19

Emphasize the dangers of Covid and how it can affect lifestyle. Even with a mild infection, the specter of brain fog, long-term organ damage, and long Covid is there — and no one wants to deal with that.

That’s what an NC State study found when looking at the reasons people chose to be vaccinated. Those who planned ahead (like for a cough-free vacation) were more likely to get jabbed. Those whose retirement plans were “Win lottery” … not so much.

Short Takes

Closing the door to SARS

Yale researchers have found a way, via turning off certain genes, to disrupt cells’ ability to produce the ACE-2 receptor. Without that receptor, viruses like SARS-CoV-2 can’t infect cells, so if their research pans out, it could mean a treatment for existing and future Covid-19 variants.