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Capsule Moment

NEW MARIJUANA FORMULATIONS:

A company called the Maricann Group Inc has received a licence from Health Canada for its encapsulated cannabis oil capsules.  The company calls this product a “critical innovation” in the therapy with marijuana.  It will provide precise dosing in each caposule, enhance patient compliance and will  be formulated to support therapeutic efficiency.  I read a press release from the company written in November 2017.  The product will come as 15mg and 25mg cannabidiol (CBC) capsules and 5mg and 10mg THC capsules.  The hope is that with these standardized products, physicians and patients can more easily control dose and choose the therapy that is suitable to their situation.  As a pharmacist, I like the idea of certainty of content and the ability to have the same effect with every dose.  This isn’t always achievable with many of  the marijuan products now available.  By the way, the company’s patented technology is called VesiSorb.  This technology has seemed to overcome the poor solubility and low dissolution rate in the aqueous enivironment of gastrointestinal fluids.  It has conveyed more certainty for the bioavailabilty of CBD and THC.  They are using it with other herbal products as well.

RADIOTHERAPY:

In those early years of radiation and cancer treatment, radiologists didn’t really know how much radiation was needed for treatment.  Many of them used themselves as guinea pigs to test exposure times based on getting a red area of the exosed skin.  Knowledge of the use of radiation was very limited in those days and it was quickly discovered that the radiation could cause cancer as well as eradicate it.  Many radiologists developed leukemia from regularly exposing themselves to radiation.  Much progress has been made over the century and now radiation beams can be matched to the shape of the tumour as well as delivered to the tumour from various directions.  Proton beams are often used instead of X-rays and cause less damage to the tissues on their path to the tumour. There are even chemical modifiers that are used to make the cancer more sensitive to radiation without affecting normal tissues.  Research is continuing in the field of radiography to make the treatment more efficient and less damaging to normal tissues. 

EMOJIS FOR HOSPITAL USE:

This is being used in hospitals in Australia.  Hospital staff found that the adoloscent patients were sometimes hard to communicate with so the emojis were a way of starting the conversation. Sometimes, when asked “how are you feeling today?” a child will say “Good”, but in reality feels something deeper.  The emojis are an aid bring those feelings out.

SHOES FOR FALL PREVENTION:

A good-fitting shoe with a wide opening to make them easier to put on and take off is ideal.  Velcro fasteners are helpful.  Some people feel silly wearing sneakers indoors so a good house-shoe that have all the attributes mentioned in the comment is good.  Besides shoes, certain foot conditions contribute to falls.  Conditions like bunions, claw toes, ingrown toe nails, corns and other foot maladies can contribute to problems with gait and balance.  A visit with a podiatrist can help a lot.