Researchers to explore 3D printing medication tailored to pediatric patients

The interdisciplinary initiative is funded by a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

2023-08-18

(Press-News.org) Researchers at Texas A&M University will spearhead a groundbreaking project to revolutionize medication administration for pediatric patients, thanks to an approximately $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This pioneering initiative explores using additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, to create customized tablets tailored to the unique needs of young children. The project is an interdisciplinary collaboration of experts from the College of Engineering, the College of Pharmacy and the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Traditional manufacturing methods yield mass-produced medicinal tablets with standardized dosages and sizes. However, due to their frequently changing weight and dosage requirements, pediatric and geriatric patients need greater flexibility in administering medications effectively.

Dr. Mathew A. Kuttolamadom, co-principal investigator and associate professor from the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, and his team will work on a manufacturing method that adapts to the evolving needs of pediatric patients, ranging from infants to 17-year-olds, by tailoring medication dosage and tablet size accordingly.

In addition to investigating the use of additive manufacturing, the team will work to maintain the drugs’ integrity and effectiveness.

“The additive manufacturing of pharmaceuticals presents a relatively new process that differs significantly from the additive manufacturing of metals or ceramics,” Kuttolamadom said. “Our primary challenge lies in comprehending this novel process and unraveling the unique aspects specific to pharmaceuticals. Overcoming these challenges is essential as we strive to advance the field and ensure the drug’s efficacy remains intact throughout/beyond the manufacturing process.”

Traditional mass-produced medications lack flexibility, which is needed in pediatric oncology. By leveraging the capabilities of 3D printing, medications can be customized in terms of size and dosage and the combination of multiple medicines within a single tablet.

By Jesus A. Reina, Texas A&M Engineering

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Diagnosis of voice condition from call audio

2023-08-18

Overview Assistant Professor Yuya Hosoda of the Center for IT-Based Education (CITE), Toyohashi University of Technology developed a method for estimating the pitch of vocal cord vibrations of humans from call audio. In this method, the pitch is estimated by integrating the feature quantities extracted from the amplitude and phase spectra of speech on the complex plane. Through experiments, we have demonstrated that the proposed method is not only efficient for call audios whose frequency band is restricted by communication standards, but also works robustly in an environment with background ...

New insights into the protein-mediated motor neuron loss in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

2023-08-18

Niigata, Japan – our movements are controlled by multiple neural pathways that connect the brain and spinal cord. In particular, neurons in the cerebral cortex send commands to the motor neurons in the spinal cord and then to the muscles, thus eliciting the required movement. However, this flow of neural information is compromised in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—a widespread progressive neurodegenerative disease in which the muscles gradually atrophy, making movement and breathing difficult. Moreover, a protein called TDP-43 has been found to abnormally ...

Invasive orange pore fungus wins third BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition

2023-08-18

A striking image of the invasive orange pore fungus (Favolaschia calocera), which highlights the potential threats the species may pose to Australian ecosystems, has won the third BMC Ecology and Evolution image competition. The competition showcases the wonder of the natural world — both past and present — and celebrates those working to understand it. The winning images are open access and freely available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CCBY) license. The overall winning image depicts bright ...

Scientists zero in on timing, causes of ice age mammal extinctions in southern California

2023-08-18

The end of the last Ice Age also marked the end for more than three dozen genera of large mammals in North America, from mammoths and mastodons to bison and saber-toothed cats. Details concerning the precise timing and circumstances, however, have remained murky ever since. A team of scientists that included Texas A&M University archaeologist Dr. Michael Waters recently focused on the well-known Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in southern California in their quest to provide answers to these questions, resulting in the most exact and detailed timeline for the extinctions that happened during the latter part of the Pleistocene ...

Alarm as FDA fast-tracks first antipsychotic drug for agitation in dementia

2023-08-18

In trials, the antipsychotic drug brexpiprazole (Rexulti) failed to provide a clinically meaningful benefit and increased the risk of death. Yet the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has fast tracked its approval, making Rexulti the first antipsychotic for treating agitation in elderly patients with dementia. At a cost of around $1,400 a month Rexulti’s makers, Otsuka and Lundbeck, are forecasting an additional $1 billion in annual sales, but there are serious questions about the harm-benefit balance of this drug, writes investigative journalist Robert Whitaker in The BMJ today. The decision may also reverse ...

UArizona College of Nursing receives $2.6M HRSA grant to support Doctor of Nursing Practice students' clinical placements

2023-08-18

The University of Arizona College of Nursing was one of 50 institutions nationwide to receive a Health Resources and Services Administration grant to increase the number and diversity of Doctor of Nursing Practice students in clinical rotations at Federally Qualified Health Center partners in southern Arizona. The project will use the $2.6 million in funding from the HRSA’s Advanced Nursing Education Workforce Program to deploy immersive managed practice adaptable clinical training, or IMPACT, starting in the spring semester of 2024. The grant will support students pursuing doctorates in the specialty areas ...

Blue-light filtering spectacles probably make no difference to eye strain, eye health or sleep quality

2023-08-18

Spectacles that are marketed to filter out blue light probably make no difference to eye strain caused by computer use or to sleep quality, according to a review of 17 randomised controlled trials of the best available evidence so far. Nor did the review find any evidence that blue-light filtering lenses protect against damage to the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, as included studies did not evaluate this outcome. Blue-light filtering lenses, also known as blue-light blocking spectacles, have been increasingly prescribed or recommended, often by optometrists, ...

Demon Hunting: Physicists confirm 67-year-old prediction of massless, neutral composite particle

2023-08-18

In 1956, theoretical physicist David Pines predicted that electrons in a solid can do something strange. While they normally have a mass and an electric charge, Pines asserted that they can combine to form a composite particle that is massless, neutral, and does not interact with light. He called this particle a “demon.” Since then, it has been speculated to play an important role in the behaviors of a wide variety of metals. Unfortunately, the same properties that make it interesting have allowed it to elude detection since its prediction. Now, a team of researchers led by Peter Abbamonte, a professor of physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, ...

Stanford Medicine-led research identifies gene ‘fingerprint’ for brain aging

2023-08-18

Most of us who’ve reached middle age have noticed a slowing in memory and cognition, but scientists don’t have a clear picture of the molecular changes that take place in the brain to cause it. Now, a study in mice has determined that the most pronounced changes occur in the white matter, a type of nervous system tissue that’s integral to transmitting signals across the brain. The study also examined two treatments — caloric restriction and infusions of plasma from young mice — that affect certain regions of the brain, with ...

Study observes sudden acceleration of flow, generates new boundary layer

2023-08-18

In an experiment on how turbulent boundary layers respond to acceleration in the flow around them, aerospace engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign observed an unexpected internal boundary layer. “Not only were we able to identify a new internal boundary layer, but we were able to systematically track its height so we can understand its growth rate. We also noticed that it only formed if our pressure grading, our acceleration, was sufficiently strong. There was a threshold under which we didn't ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Tracing the quick synthesis of an industrially important catalyst

New software sheds light on cancer’s hidden genetic networks

UT Health San Antonio awarded $3 million in CPRIT grants to bolster cancer research and prevention efforts in South Texas

Third symposium spotlights global challenge of new contaminants in China’s fight against pollution

From straw to soil harmony: International team reveals how biochar supercharges carbon-smart farming

Myeloma: How AI is redrawing the map of cancer care

Manhattan E. Charurat, Ph.D., MHS invested as the Homer and Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Insilico Medicine’s Pharma.AI Q4 Winter Launch Recap: Revolutionizing drug discovery with cutting-edge AI innovations, accelerating the path to pharmaceutical superintelligence