Puff, the magic injector

The idea of sending an injection through the skin isn’t new, but it’s always been a bit painful and inexact. Now University of Texas engineers have developed a system that not only delivers a payload through the skin painlessly, but can encapsulate that payload (e.g., vaccines, cancer treatment) as a powder, eliminating the need for refrigeration.

They put the “cargo” inside a metal-oxide framework (MOF) that’s relatively simple and cheap to make. Then a puff of gas delivers a dose — as they’re in Texas, they call it a “bullet.”

Neat trick: By changing the gas used to propel the therapy, they can adjust how quickly the coating dissolves. “If you shoot it with carbon dioxide, it will release its cargo faster within cells; if you use regular air, it will take four or five days.”

They’re testing the system to treat melanoma now, and of course, “research is still ongoing.”

The Georgia DCH is moving…

…to a deluxe apartment in the sky-y-y. Specifically, to 2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE, East Tower, Atlanta, GA 30334. Please make a note of it.

A new omega 3 for the eyes

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s and diabetes is vision loss, but there may now be a treatment for that — a new omega-3 fatty acid that can enter the retina.

University of Illinois researchers have created a new form of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that, unlike the kind people can get from fish oil or fish-oil supplements, is able to cross from the bloodstream into the retina, where it “successfully increased DHA in the retina and reduced eye problems associated with Alzheimer’s-like processes.”

(The chemistry: The DHA you know and love is a triacylglycerol or TAG-DHA. This new for is a lysophospholipid or LPC-DHA.)

In case you didn’t know, DHA helps maintain photoreceptors in the retina:

People with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as those with diabetes, retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration and peroxisomal disorders, frequently have abnormally low levels of retinal DHA, and visual impairments are common as a result.

The downside: So far this has only been tested in mice, but the UI folks hope it can someday be available as a supplement for we humans.

White House pushes bio development

As part of its plan for a growing US “bioeconomy,” the Biden administration wants to see the country a lot less dependent on drug ingredients from China and India.

The official goal is, “In 20 years, produce at least 30% of the U.S. chemical demand via sustainable and cost-effective biomanufacturing pathways,” and that includes more than just pharma. It’s part of a transition from petroleum-based to bio-based … well, everything.

Calm down there, ACS

The American Chemical Society headline: “Marijuana-derived compounds could reverse opioid overdoses”.

The reality: There are some CBD-based compounds that seem to reduce fentanyl’s ability to bind to opioid receptors, thus — in theory — boosting the effects of naloxone. It’s only been tested in mice, and a lot more research is needed.

The latest coffee research

Drinking a lot of coffee does a body good … and bad. Which of it applies depends on the latest study. That latest one is out of Germany, and it finds that high coffee consumption increases LDL cholesterol but lowers blood pressure — effects that, cardiovacularly, cancel each other out. Sort of.

[M]ajor cardiovascular diseases including heart failure and its diagnostic precursors were not associated with coffee consumption, connoting a neutral role of coffee in the context of cardiovascular health.

Is Himalayan sea salt better for you than store-brand table salt?

No. “Salt is sodium chloride, and Himalayan salt, pink salt, rock salt or sea salt, all of these are also sodium chloride.”

The Long Read: Fentanyl Fear edition

Fentanyl — or, rather, the fear of it — is a boon for pharmaceutical companies, which are coming out with new forms of naloxone with questionable benefits.. But it’s not just pharma companies; law enforcement is getting carried away as well:

The drug’s dangers have, however, have spawned a number of highly misleading, fear-driven narratives. The DEA warned last year of “rainbow fentanyl” disguised to appear like candy, implying that it was meant to target children (the drugs’ bright colors, experts said, have nothing to do with appealing to young people). Numerous police officers have claimed to have overdosed on fentanyl simply from touching it — medically speaking, a near-impossibility.

Short Takes

Pharma R&D: In case you’re curious

Fierce Biotech has the latest rankings of pharmaceutical company research and development spending, which has few surprises — that’s why it’s down here in Short Takes.

Roche spent the most as usual ($14.7 billion) followed by J&J ($14.6 billion) and Merck (a mere $13.6 billion).

Nuts — with a grain of salt

“Eating peanuts and peanut butter could have a beneficial impact on vascular health in young and healthy people” … according to a study funded by the Peanut Institute.

But …

Blueberries — thanks to their anthocyanins (which give them the “blue” part) — might help the body burn more fat during exercise, while decreasing the use of carbohydrates. And that’s according to a study NOT funded by Big Blueberry.