Needle pills may replace injections

can this painless pill replace injection? Photo Source: Felice Frankel
good news for those who are afraid of needles. Pills containing miniature subdern syringes showed promising prospects in preliminary tests on pigs. This syringe injects the drug painlessly into the stomach mucosa. The results were published in the journal Science.
capsule contains multiple tiny syringes. Each syringe contains a "needle" where the "tip" is mainly made from dry drugs such as insulin. The shape of these syringes - round with flat bottoms - is inspired by leopard-print tortoises and can be self-corrected in about 1/10 second after "landing" the bottom of the stomach, ensuring that the "tip of the needle" is facing down.
the bottom of the "needle" is a compressed spring fixed by sugar. When the sugar dissolves in the stomach, the needle is fired downwards, prompting the needle tip to enter the gastric mucosa at a depth of about 1 mm. There, the drug is released and enters the bloodstream.
the stomach wall is 4 to 6 mm thick, so this "needle" should never penetrate it. At the same time, the stomach mucosa does not have a subject for severe pain and will soon heal.
the test, the researchers fed the pig a syringe without putting it in a pill capsule. The syringe successfully delivered insulin to the animals' blood. The experimental pig showed no signs of pain and appeared to have a normal stomach when examined by an endoscope 1 week after taking the pill.
, however, test results show that the pills only work when empty stomachs, so they may not be available after meals. "It's probably the best way to think of it as the first thing in the morning." Giovanni Traverso of Harvard University, a team member who conducted the study, said.
Iversen, of Dano and Nord, says that, in principle, this method can be used in any treatment that requires injections. The company developed the devices in collaboration with university researchers.
one in 10 people in the world is afraid of needles. For these people, the latest results will have a big impact. Diabetics who are afraid of needles are more likely to develop complications and die prematurely as a result, the study found.
, more importantly, more and more new drugs contain large molecules that must be injected. If patients can do everything at home without being trained in how to inject their own drugs, this will greatly reduce the cost of treatment. (Source: Zong Hua, China Science Daily)