#loperamide

Nanomedicines is a very young branch of science. It has come into the picture only since the 1990s. Wonder what made researchers go down the nanoscale when we already had various drug development systems? The basic flaws in the conventional drug delivery system provided the spark for the emergence of a nano-drug delivery system.

 When we swallow a pill, its contents are constantly lost or tampered. This may be because of the acidic environment of the stomach, detoxification properties of the liver, or due to the presence of proteins and enzymes in the bloodstream which may bind to the drug and change its physiological properties. As the loss at these barriers is very high, a massive dose is required to compensate for this loss. According to David Anderson, a neurobiologist, current medication is like pouring a can of oil all over your car engine. Some of it will dribble into the right spot, but most of it is wasted, and some even does harm. This is the reason why chemotherapy patients lose hair. The drugs are so toxic that they not only affect but also kill normal healthy cells.

These problems can be dealt with if the delivery system of these drugs is altered. This is where nanoscience emerges as a potential solution. Nanomedicines are manufactured on a scale of 10^-9 m and can be even smaller than a virus! Due to its peculiar size, it can exude properties of both quantum and Newtonian mechanics thereby adding to the number of benefits we can avail. Moreover, its surface to mass ratio is exceedingly large, hence, it has the ability to bind, absorb, and carry various compounds. Coating them may also be necessary to prevent agglomeration. This can be done with various substances, such as natural, synthetic, inorganic, etc. To reach only the target site certain compounds are added which function as "Molecular keys". This technology is being harnessed mostly for the treatment of brain cancer as it is one of the most difficult malignancies due to the presence of blood brain barrier which tightly regulates the movement of molecules and ions between blood and brain. Nano-medicines recognize specific markers on cancer cells and their size opens the potential for crossing various biological barriers thereby increasing their efficacy. Anti-cancer drugs such as loperamide and doxorubicin bound to nanomaterials have been shown to cross the intact blood-brain barrier and released at therapeutic concentrations in the brain. In most cases, resistance develops when cancer cells begin expressing a protein, known as p-glycoprotein that is capable of pumping anticancer drugs out of a cell as quickly as they cross through the cell's outer membrane. New research shows that nanoparticles may be able to get anticancer drugs into cells without triggering the p-glycoprotein pump. The researchers studied in vivo efficacy of paclitaxel loaded nanoparticles in paclitaxel-resistant human colorectal tumors. Paclitaxel entrapped in emulsifying wax nanoparticles was shown to overcome drug resistance in a human colon adenocarcinoma cell line (HCT-15).

Many questions are still raised on the safety and cost of the nano-drug delivery system. Therefore, it remains irrefutable that the development of more sophisticated designs and further understanding of the properties at the nanoscale are required to yield such advanced therapies.

Citations:

·       https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2222591/

·       https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2527668/

I saw my GP this morning regarding both my loperamide prescription (I've been having a reaction to the liquid so needed a new script for the instand melt tablets) and my rehydration methods. She said she was happy to do a monthly prescription for 112 instant melt tablets of loperamide and I can always adjust the dose as I need to. So that's one thing fixed relatively easilly.

When talking about my rehydration, she admitted she wasn't as knowledgable about it so she would email my dietitian for me. I explained my reasons for no longer having the St Mark's rehydration solution and that I was instead drinking Lucozade and a suppliment drink called Sneak as both have a somewhat decent amount of sodium/salt.*

As I had a blood test just yesterday (Thurday) morning, she had a look at the results and it showed that my sodium was back to normal levels as were pretty much everything else. I asked if I should keep going with what I am doing and she agreed. She said she was still going to email my dietitian just to keep them in the loop which I am more than happy for her to do.

All in all, A good visit to the doctor. I just need to wait for my loperamide to be ready.

Just thought I’d do a little update before the new year.

I had my pre-assessment on Christmas Eve but still don’t have a date for the actual surgery. My mum said they usually do surgery within six weeks of pre-assessment because otherwise they have to do it again so I’m really hoping to get a date through soon.

I was hoping for it to be done by Christmas but I realise this time of year can get busy and I didn’t really fancy being in hospital over the winter holiday. This has meant I’ve needed to take some extra measures to make myself comfortable with my stoma; since getting out of hospital back in July, my output has been extra watery and really corrosive, meaning it burns through my convex bag within twelve hours.

I saw my stoma nurse a few months back and she gave me barrier rings which have helped a lot. However, even the rings aren’t enough to stop my output from burning through and damaging the skin around the blob so after speaking to both my GP and my stoma nurse again, I’ve upped my daily intake of Lopermide from a single table twice a day to two tablets twice a day. On top of that, I am also now taking a tablet of dehydrocodeine twice a day. All of this out together has helped to slow my system right down so the output is thicker and it doesn’t burn through anywhere near as quickly as before.

I still get the occasional day where I need to change the bag early because the output is burning the skin but those are few and far between.

Aside all that, I’m doing well, my weight is steady. I haven’t gained much since my surgery but I’m no longer underweight so, bonus! I’m still struggling with eating beg and fruit but I’m taking multivitamins which I feel are helping.

I’ve had blood tests done as well as a urine sample to see if I need another iron infusion before my surgery because I mentioned I’m very tired all the time. I don’t have the results yet but I’m hoping to get them soon.