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Orally administered medicines are among the most convenient and safest types of medications . Many drugs currently on the market are low molecular weight compounds that can be absorbed by the small intestine. Bio-medicines such as insulin, antibodies, and nucleic acids have attracted attention in recent years but are almost completely unabsorbed in the small intestine because they are macromolecular compounds with large constituent molecular weights. Therefore, there are currently no oral formulations for these biopharmaceuticals so they are administered through injections, which are physically and mentally burdensome to the patient. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are peptides that facilitate the delivery of various molecules with low cell membrane permeability, such as proteins or nucleic acids, through the cell membrane. It is therefore attracting attention as a method to facilitate small intestine absorption (penetration) of polymer drugs. However, when using existing CPPs to ...

The OSU/OHSU College of Pharmacy teamed with the Oregon Health Authority and other collaborators on a two-year study of Acinetobacter baumannii, an opportunistic pathogen associated primarily with infections among patients who have compromised immune systems and are in health care facilities. Looking at multiple sites in the Pacific Northwest, the scientists identified 21 cases, including 16 isolates of  A. baumannii  that contained a rare gene responsible for resistance to the carbapenem class of antibiotics. The patients' transfer history among the studied facilities and the isolates' genetic profiles illustrated how the organism spread from place to place, aided by a lack of interfacility communication that patients who were infected or colonized by A. baummanii were being transferred. Jon Furuno, co-author on the study and an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy, noted that the findings support a recent Oregon law requiring written notification from the ...

Researchers studied how immune cells known as neutrophils might assist shield the mind from injury brought on by intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke. Credit score: Courtesy of Aronowski lab, College of Texas Well being Science Heart, Houston Whereas immune cells known as neutrophils are recognized to behave as infantry within the physique's warfare on germs, a Nationwide Institutes of Well being-funded research suggests they'll act as medics as nicely. By finding out rodents, researchers confirmed that as a substitute of attacking germs, some neutrophils might assist heal the mind after an intracerebral hemorrhage, a type of stroke brought on by ruptured blood vessels . The research means that two neutrophil-related proteins might play essential roles in defending the mind from str...

“If we would like to have the ability to ship mRNA, then we want a mechanism to be simpler at it as a result of all the pieces that’s been used to this point offers you a really small fraction of what could be the optimum effectivity,” says professor Paula Hammond. Credit score: Bryce Vickmark By delivering strands of genetic materials often called messenger RNA (mRNA) into cells, researchers can induce the cells to provide an y protein encoded by the mRNA. This system holds nice potential for administering vaccines or treating illnesses corresponding to most cancers, however reaching environment friendly supply of mRNA has confirmed difficult. Now, a workforce of MIT chemical engineers, impressed by the best way that cells translate their very own mRNA into proteins, has designed an art...

"These results need to be confirmed with additional studies, but the results are intriguing," said study author Brenda C.T. Kieboom, MD, MSc, of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. "Since the current treatment and prevention options for dementia are limited, we urgently need to identify new risk factors for dementia that could potentially be adjusted. If people could reduce their risk for dementia through diet or supplements, that could be very beneficial." The study involved 9,569 people with an average age of 65 who did not have dementia whose blood was tested for magnesium levels. The participants were followed for an average of eight years. During that time, 823 people were diagnosed with dementia. Of those, 662 people had Alzheimer's disease. The participants were divided into five groups based on their magnesium levels. Both those with the highest and the lowest levels of magnesium had an increased risk of dementia , com...

The findings are published in  Journal of the American Heart Association , the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Unlike cigarettes, e-cigs have no combustion or tobacco. Instead, these electronic , handheld devices deliver nicotine with flavoring and other chemicals in a vapor instead of smoke. "While e-cigarettes typically deliver fewer carcinogens than are found in the tar of tobacco cigarette smoke, they also usually deliver nicotine. Many believe that the tar -- not the nicotine -- is what leads to increased cancer and heart attack risks," said Dr. Holly R. Middlekauff, senior study author and professor of medicine (cardiology) and physiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "So, we asked the question, are e-cigarettes safe?" The researchers had previously reported that chronic e-cig users have elevated sympathetic nerve activity which increases adrenaline directed to the heart and are more...

As many as one in five adults meet the criteria for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a disorder that can cause chronic abdominal pain, gas, diarrhea, and constipation. Many patients with IBS try diets based on blood tests that claim to identify foods that trigger their symptoms. However, the majority of these food intolerance tests have not been validated by rigorous study, said the researchers. The Yale team conducted a double-blind, randomized clinical trial of 58 patients with IBS. For each individual, the researchers collected blood samples and used a specific test that measures immune cell activation in response to individual foods. The study participants were then put on individualized diets that either restricted foods consistent with test results or restricted foods inconsistent with test results. After several weeks on the individualized diets , participants were assessed for IBS symptoms and quality of life. The research team found that while both sets of participants e...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term used to describe two conditions that involve inflammation of the gut: ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease . People of any age can get IBD, but it's usually diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 40. Previous studies have identified higher rates of cancer among patients with IBD than the general population, but these studies have lacked the population size or follow-up to assess trends in lifetime risks in childhood onset IBD. So a team of international researchers set out to assess the risk of cancer in patients with childhood onset inflammatory bowel disease in childhood and adulthood. They compared 9,405 people living in Sweden who were diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease before they were 18 years of age with 92,870 healthy individuals (reference individuals) matched for sex, age, birth year, and place of residence. They analysed risk of cancer before 18th birthday, 25th birthday, and throughout the study period (19...

In higher income countries, raising tobacco taxes could increase revenues that could be spend on prevention and control programs, while in lower income countries tax revenues may be negatively affected, researchers at Overseas Chinese University, Taiwan suggest. Dr Christian Schafferer, a co-author of the study said: "Our findings could assists policy makers in adopting effective measures to reduce nicotine consumption in Europe. We show that the implementation of MPOWER measures, which were proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 and include increases in tobacco tax and support for quitters, has positive effects on reducing tobacco consumption in all countries and we encourage health authorities to increase efforts to implement these measures. However, since individual countries are differently affected by these measures, they should adopt different policies to fight nicotine use. For example, in high-income countries, where taxation is less effective than in...

Worldwide, asthma and COPD affect hundreds of thousands of people and they are commonly treated with steroid inhalers to reduce symptoms and improve lung function. However, the new study suggests that these inhalers also increase t he risk of lung infections caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria, which are notoriously difficult to treat and resistant to a number of common antibiotics. The research was led by Dr Sarah Brode, Assistant Professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, Canada and a staff respirologist at the University Health Network and West Park Healthcare Centre. She explained: "These infections are not particularly common but they are chronic and difficult to treat, and are associated with an increased risk of death. Treatment typically requires at least three antibiotics given for longer than a year and this can still fail to tackle the infection." The study included 417,494 people with COPD o r asthma aged 66 and older, who had all been prescrib...