Researchers Develop Long-Term, Drug Release Capsule

 

Researchers have developed a long-lasting¹ capsule that, when swallowed, slowly releases medicine into the body.

The researchers say the capsule was developed for treatment of the disease malaria². But they believe it could hold medicines for a number of health problems.

Once inside the stomach, the plastic capsule opens up to release the drug in small, measured amounts. The plastic is designed to resist the stomach’s acidic environment. The device breaks down after about two weeks and is expelled with waste products. At that time, a patient would swallow another drug-containing capsule.

Researchers have tested capsules filled with the drug ivermectin on pigs and dogs. Ivermectin is used to treat parasitic³ organisms. It kills mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite⁴.

Scientists are now designing a program to test the capsule in people next year.

The scientists work with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts. They decided⁵ to test ivermectin because of what they saw when it was used to treat river blindness in Africa. Many people there have malaria infections. Ninety percent of malaria cases worldwide happen in countries south of the Sahara Desert.

Researcher Giovanni Traverso works at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“What was observed was that malaria would transiently drop. And so what we proposed was, you know, ‘what if we could increase the period of time during which individuals could have ivermectin in their system really to help suppress the mosquito population in those regions?’”

Researchers say the capsule could possibly be filled with ivermectin and another drug to decrease the number of malaria infections.

The World Health Organization says only about half of people in the West and 30 percent of those in developing countries take their medicine every day when told by doctors to do so. A computer model estimates that the capsule could increase that number to 70 percent.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Andrew Bellinger agrees.

“You can take advantage of the fact that patients don’t have to be reminded every day that they need to take their medicine. They can remember once a week to take their medicine and then live normally the rest of the time.”

Researchers say the capsule could be used to treat emotional disorders⁶, diabetes⁷, and cardiovascular and kidney diseases.

A study on the capsule and its development was published in the journal, Science Translational Medicine.

Words in This Story

capsule – n. a very small container that is filled with medicine and swallowed whole

acidic – adj. of or related to the qualities of an acid

parasite – adj. of or related to an animal or plant that lives in or on another animal or plant and gets food or protection from it

transiently – adv. not lasting long

region – n. a part of a country, of the world, etc., that is different or separate from other parts in some way

gradually – adv. moving or changing in small amounts; happening in a slow way over a long period of time

dissolve – v. to mix with a liquid and become part of the liquid

1 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

2 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

3 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

4 parasite   

n.寄生虫；寄生菌；食客

参考例句：

• The lazy man was a parasite on his family.那懒汉是家里的寄生虫。
• I don't want to be a parasite.I must earn my own way in life.我不想做寄生虫，我要自己养活自己。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。