National influenza vaccination week; parasite-inspired medical devices; reducing risk of opioid addiction while continuing to alleviate pain – Morning Medical Update

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National influenza vaccination week

From December 2-6, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) marks national influenza vaccination week, highlighting vaccine disparities and encouraging everybody to get their flu shots. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that flu was associated with as many as 75 million illnesses, 33 million medical visits, 900,000 hospitalizations and 100,000 deaths during 2023-2024’s flu season. Less than 50% of Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native adults received their flu shots in 2021-2022, leaving minority groups with a higher risk of serious complications from the flu.

Parasite-inspired medical devices

Researchers have designed a millimeter-scale mechanism for soft tissue anchoring, inspired by the attachment organs of parasites. The devices are made of stainless steel and polyimide film and have a series of curved hooks which automatically deploy when external force is applied to the platform. Inspired by the curved hook arrays employed by some species of tapeworm, the small-scale devices can be used in the gastrointestinal tract for sensing, sample collection and extended drug release. Weighing 44 mg and measuring less than 5 mm in diameter when deployed, the devices are small enough to be used with ingestible capsule robots and have the potential to be used in a wide range of medical applications, in addition to being used to affix sensors to marine organisms, or manipulate, repair or attach objects to textiles. Read the full PNAS Nexus article here.

Is there a way to reduce risk of opioid addiction while maintaining the drugs’ ability to alleviate pain?

According to investigators from Weill Cornell Medicine, working alongside researchers from The Center for Youth Mental Health at NewYork-Presbyterian, by increasing the levels of endocannabinoids, which are naturally produced in the body, the highly addictive nature of opioids like morphine and oxycodone could be offset while maintaining the drugs’ ability to relieve pain. Opioids prescribed to control pain can often become addictive because they produce a sense of euphoria. This new study, published in Science Advances, could lead to a new type of therapeutic which could be taken with an opioid regimen to reduce the reward aspect of the drugs. Read more here.