A brain surgery patient who is battling an infection must go through a second procedure to completely remove and wash an intracranial abscess. The patient also needs to undergo extended hospital stay for antibiotic treatment of the infection.
The traditional treatment options for such infections usually employ local-delivery methods which may also cause inflammation and necessitate post-treatment removal of the parenteral delivery instrument.
As an answer to this problem, a team of scientists in Taiwan have employed a biodegradable plastic material in the construction of a nanofibrous membrane which can be used to locally deliver Vancomycin, a strong antibiotic. This technology helps the membrane to effectively treat the infection for more than 8 weeks without causing any inflammation.
The good part is that the membrane need not be removed as it is fully biodegradable. This technology will also lower the cost of treatment for brain surgery patients who suffer from infection.
"The experimental results suggested that the biodegradable nanofibers can release high concentrations of vancomycin for more than 8 weeks in the cerebral cavity of rats. Furthermore, the membranes can cover the wall of the cavity after the removal of abscess more completely and achieve better drug delivery without inducing adverse mass effects in the brain. Histological examination also showed no inflammation reaction of the brain tissues. By adopting the biodegradable, nanofibrous drug-eluting membranes, we will be able to achieve long-term deliveries of various antibiotics in the cerebral cavity to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of cerebral infections," researchers said.
Source-Medindia
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