Sure, you’re tough, but let’s face it – most of us get a bit squeamish when we’re vaccinated. After all, who really looks forward to that needle? Well, if new research in mice pans out, the words we’ll hear from our doctors before our immunizations will be…open wide? Yes, you read that correctly.
You’ve probably heard of oral vaccines, but to date, they only work for a small portion of illnesses. As such, most of us still face that dreaded needle when we need protection from diseases. So what’s so new about these particular inoculations? Well, they’ve overcome one of the main problems facing oral vaccines – getting digested (i.e. destroyed) by your stomach before they can do their job.
How exactly do these new immunizations work? Well, they’ve been souped-up with new protective shells. This armour keeps the components intact until they reach their target destination – the lower portion of your gut. Think of it as a twist on “melts in your mouth and not in your hands”. Instead, the coating “melts in your lower GI tract and not in your stomach”. When they reach their target (the cells that line your gut), these vaccines can help protect from infections, including HIV. Now that’s news that’s easy to swallow.
Oral vaccines would definitely be an improvement over the needles, especially for kids. Thanks!
视野|口服疫苗来了！
translated by VicChen灰灰
是的，你很强壮。但是当我们接种疫苗时，我们中的大部分人会有点生气。毕竟，谁还期望着被针头扎呢？好吧，如果我们在免疫之前从我们医生那儿听说在老鼠身上的新研究成功了，你将…大开眼界？是的，这篇文章你读对了。
也许你听说过口服疫苗，但是至今，这仍然只适用于小病。大部分人在接种疫苗时还是得面对那令人生寒的针头。那，关于接种有啥新消息吗？是的，人们已经解决了口服疫苗出现的主要问题——在它们产生药效之前被你的胃消化（也就是被破坏）。
这种新型的接种是怎么运作的？是的，它们（疫苗）被新型保护壳所改造。这种外壳可以保持药物成分的完整性，直到它们到达特定地方——你的肠的最底端。这种糖衣“只融在胃肠，不融在口”。想象这是“只融在口，不融在手（译者注：这是M&M‘s 巧克力的广告语）”的篡改吧。当他们到达目标（你肠胃的细胞），这种疫苗能够让你免受感染，包括艾滋病毒。