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A medical research team has created a prototype of a new type of pill which unfolds inside the stomach so it can release a drug slowly over ten days or more.
The new device, which has been tested in pigs, could be a potential solution not only for patients with chronic diseases, but also as a way to treat conditions in third world countries that require long-term therapies, such as malaria. The researchers published the results of their proof-of-concept study in the journal Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday.
The pill had to overcome some major hurdles. The stomach contains extremely strong muscles that ensure every last drop of food makes its way out into the small intestine, so it's hard for pills to have staying power. To combat this, the researchers designed the drug so that when swallowed, the capsule opens up into a sort of star. This shape prevents the pill from leaving the stomach and entering the small intestine.
[...] Once the pill releases the last dose, it breaks apart and can finally pass out of the stomach and into the small intestine.
It's still in early stages of development, but this could be a life-saving development for the up to 50% of patients who do not take their medications as prescribed.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday November 21 2016, @05:29PM
I suspect this will get militarized ... don't take "E" kids because some pills explode in your stomach. Of course the only people making and shipping the exploding pills will be "just say no to drugs" police who will at the same time use the situation as an unfortunate example of why drugs should remain illegal because the police make them dangerous.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 21 2016, @06:28PM
You are joking right? I'm asking because I really can't tell.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 21 2016, @07:47PM
Well, "denatured" alcohol is just regular alcohol, but with poison added. This is done solely to make this alcohol not be a way around the sin tax put on alcohol for consumption.
So, yeah, we would rather poison people than let them get away with getting drunk without paying the proper taxes. I'd say he's not too far off from what some people would do.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 21 2016, @08:10PM
Nobody is tricking people into drinking denatured alcohol. In fact, denatured alcohol is explicitly made to taste horrible so you won't drink it and it is also typically dyed purple so you won't even try drinking it by accident.
Nor does anyone point at some poor slob who tried drinking it and got sick and say he got what he deserved because alcohol is bad.
VLM is claiming a deliberate malicious intent that your example contradicts.
(Score: 3, Funny) by VLM on Monday November 21 2016, @08:59PM
Heck I'm not even sure, and I'm me.
Not so much a blueprint for what to do as "hey you hard science fiction author, here's a free weird plot line"
Here have another. I'm so old I remember the contaminated tylenol story from the late 70s or maybe it was early 80s by then. How about a sci fi plot with this stuff where 1 in a billion anti-anxiety pills makes the pill taker pop like that alien in the Aliens movie. I can't imagine that resulting in high levels of anxiety or anything. Maybe done by a James Bond-ian bad guy complete with his pet white cat and mysterious island lair and all that.
Or like some sort of Russian Roulette.
Here's a plot device thats been done to death in fiction, dude tricked into eating a poison and he gets antidote after (some naughtiness here) and I guess authors are always looking for a new plot device so why not exploding stomach pills, ye got 3 hours to steal and turn over the whatever or boom.
Of course one problem with this is people could just puke before it dissolves. Although exploding small intestine can't be too healthy either.
(Score: 2) by jdavidb on Monday November 21 2016, @10:39PM
Here have another. I'm so old I remember the contaminated tylenol story from the late 70s or maybe it was early 80s by then. How about a sci fi plot with this stuff where 1 in a billion anti-anxiety pills makes the pill taker pop like that alien in the Aliens movie. I can't imagine that resulting in high levels of anxiety or anything. Maybe done by a James Bond-ian bad guy complete with his pet white cat and mysterious island lair and all that.
Sounds vaguely like Visioneers.
ⓋⒶ☮✝🕊 Secession is the right of all sentient beings
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday November 21 2016, @11:36PM
Utterly dreadful movie, I'd like those two hours of my life back.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 21 2016, @06:51PM
While a rather extreme example that I sincerely hope police wouldn't do, such tactics are not without precedent. Law enforcement undercover protest agitators inflict violence upon persons or property, yet it still happens all the time. Ruining lives, pushing drugs, helping borderline nutjobs carry out terrorist activities, hosting kiddie porn, these are all things that law enforcement agencies have done and still do! I wouldn't be too surprised if bad drugs are pushed in a similar fashion, cause fuck those godless heathen teens trying to have a party with the devil!
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Monday November 21 2016, @07:32PM
That would be the same as law enforcement lacing drugs with cyanide.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 21 2016, @08:51PM
In fact, cyanide would be a hell of a lot easier than designing some high-tech device that would be detected if the pill gets cut in half because recreational drug users split pills all the time.
But VLM isn't known for his thinking skills. He does rule at the irrational though, top 5 on the site, that's for sure.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 22 2016, @02:28AM
I was thinking it would be really nice to get a hand on some capsules and have a 10 day E high