LittleLab4CF
Super Moderator
I love this one, and I am being quite sincere. Science Daily recently published a new treatment for gastritis and GERD using microscopic "motors" that swim around in the stomach, neutralizing excessive acid. I had a bathtub toy that could have been the genesis of the idea. I have very few early memories compared to most people but this toy submarine must have been very special to remember it with such detail. Sometime in the mid-fifties, my toy actually performed as advertised, an unusual thing considering that marketing to kids was not exactly truth in advertising back then.
It's a near perfect example of the hard to imagine submarines cruising the stomach and why we should be interested in them. My miniature submarine motored around the tub like a boat and was powered by bubbles generated by baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and either warm water or dilute vinegar. A compartment in my toy submarine opened to reload the baking soda. And baking soda or sodium bicarbonate neutralizes stomach acid.
The medical version is quite simple and therefore scalable to a microscopic size, and in my experience, simple favors reliability. Miniscule balls of magnesium laid out on glass receive a nano-coat of gold and a polymer layer that is acid resistant. The contact with the glass leaves an uncoated opening to the magnesium and a future ion engine nozzle. From space to where no submarine has gone before. The article points out that the polymer is designed to protect the magnesium when the acid strength is just right, so we never get too much or too little action from the medicine.
Hyperacidity of the gastric juice in our stomachs is almost universal because of CF. The amount of hydrogen that is produced and/or the amount of chlorine determines just how hyper, the acid gets. Controlling gastritis or occasional gastric upset is historically treated with acid neutralizers. Antacids produce a salt byproducts, sort of like mixing baking soda and vinegar. After all the fizz, a salt remains. Too much salt in the stomach substitutes one misery for another.
The magnesium is attracted to hydrogen and chemically binds to it, lowering the available hydrogen protons to make a strong acid. The bottom line is it could be as effective as any antacid and the newer drugs like Prilosec, only better. This is the real beauty of magnesium metal, compared to magnesium hydroxide or other acid neutralizers. It does the work of a PPI by cleaning up excess hydrogen rather than shutting down the cells pumping out hydrogen protons. I can’t see any long term side effects, drug interactions and variations in dosing needs. Antacids are a guess, PPI’s shut down hydrogen production at the same rate, whether we need it, need more or need less. A PPI won’t kick in when your dog ate your homework and your stomach acid is in overdrive in anticipation of a scolding. The magnesium micro-motors would adjust to the current conditions.
I have been trying to control my stomach acid since I can remember. When my friends were buying candy I was buying rolls of Tums. Gastritis and GERD are common in CF. Today's drug of choice are various Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI). All of the OTC PPI drugs were once prescription drugs and I was on the very first one. I am on an apex PPI called Dexilant. In total I have been on PPIs 27 years at the maximum dose of the latest and greatest PPI drug. It might seem irresponsible but I have several, in fact most of the 14 medications I take have been for a decade or decades. Every one has some long term side effects that are almost certain, unlike the immediate side effects when you try a new drug.
Drug delivery research is as old as the first potion. Shortly after I started manufacturing automation in 1983, Kobe Laboratories requested that I drill 0.005 inch (.1mm) holes into pills at various depths. It was an attempt at timed delivery much like our tiny ion engines. The hole penetrated a polymer layer into starch, a common ingredient in pills and a standard they use in drug delivery testing.
Antacids are hit and miss at best and IMHO not much better than the gastritis in terms of how I feel. PPI’s have to be taken with supplemental calcium and magnesium to prevent bone calcium loss. Anybody being treated for low calcium knows that both calcium and magnesium are required to do the job. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 54 years, comparing my condition to a woman in her 90’s. Malabsorption/malnutrition are already problematic in CFers, adding a lifetime of PPI’s is far from ideal.
I suggest keeping an eye out for the availability of this new drug.
LL
The article is available at the following link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170123125559.htm
It's a near perfect example of the hard to imagine submarines cruising the stomach and why we should be interested in them. My miniature submarine motored around the tub like a boat and was powered by bubbles generated by baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and either warm water or dilute vinegar. A compartment in my toy submarine opened to reload the baking soda. And baking soda or sodium bicarbonate neutralizes stomach acid.
The medical version is quite simple and therefore scalable to a microscopic size, and in my experience, simple favors reliability. Miniscule balls of magnesium laid out on glass receive a nano-coat of gold and a polymer layer that is acid resistant. The contact with the glass leaves an uncoated opening to the magnesium and a future ion engine nozzle. From space to where no submarine has gone before. The article points out that the polymer is designed to protect the magnesium when the acid strength is just right, so we never get too much or too little action from the medicine.
Hyperacidity of the gastric juice in our stomachs is almost universal because of CF. The amount of hydrogen that is produced and/or the amount of chlorine determines just how hyper, the acid gets. Controlling gastritis or occasional gastric upset is historically treated with acid neutralizers. Antacids produce a salt byproducts, sort of like mixing baking soda and vinegar. After all the fizz, a salt remains. Too much salt in the stomach substitutes one misery for another.
The magnesium is attracted to hydrogen and chemically binds to it, lowering the available hydrogen protons to make a strong acid. The bottom line is it could be as effective as any antacid and the newer drugs like Prilosec, only better. This is the real beauty of magnesium metal, compared to magnesium hydroxide or other acid neutralizers. It does the work of a PPI by cleaning up excess hydrogen rather than shutting down the cells pumping out hydrogen protons. I can’t see any long term side effects, drug interactions and variations in dosing needs. Antacids are a guess, PPI’s shut down hydrogen production at the same rate, whether we need it, need more or need less. A PPI won’t kick in when your dog ate your homework and your stomach acid is in overdrive in anticipation of a scolding. The magnesium micro-motors would adjust to the current conditions.
I have been trying to control my stomach acid since I can remember. When my friends were buying candy I was buying rolls of Tums. Gastritis and GERD are common in CF. Today's drug of choice are various Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI). All of the OTC PPI drugs were once prescription drugs and I was on the very first one. I am on an apex PPI called Dexilant. In total I have been on PPIs 27 years at the maximum dose of the latest and greatest PPI drug. It might seem irresponsible but I have several, in fact most of the 14 medications I take have been for a decade or decades. Every one has some long term side effects that are almost certain, unlike the immediate side effects when you try a new drug.
Drug delivery research is as old as the first potion. Shortly after I started manufacturing automation in 1983, Kobe Laboratories requested that I drill 0.005 inch (.1mm) holes into pills at various depths. It was an attempt at timed delivery much like our tiny ion engines. The hole penetrated a polymer layer into starch, a common ingredient in pills and a standard they use in drug delivery testing.
Antacids are hit and miss at best and IMHO not much better than the gastritis in terms of how I feel. PPI’s have to be taken with supplemental calcium and magnesium to prevent bone calcium loss. Anybody being treated for low calcium knows that both calcium and magnesium are required to do the job. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 54 years, comparing my condition to a woman in her 90’s. Malabsorption/malnutrition are already problematic in CFers, adding a lifetime of PPI’s is far from ideal.
I suggest keeping an eye out for the availability of this new drug.
LL
The article is available at the following link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170123125559.htm
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