College Station-based Texas A&M University researchers are developing a way to 3D-print pediatric medications for toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by parasites.
Toxoplasmosis is a foodborne infection transmitted when humans eat raw or undercooked meat or shellfish, or unwashed produce. It is estimated that about 40 million people in the U.S. are infected with toxoplasmosis, which is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. However, most healthy adults show no symptoms, though 10% have mild flulike symptoms, according to an Oct. 15 system news release.
The infection can be transmitted from pregnant women to the fetus. About 4,400 babies in the nation are born with toxoplasmosis each year. The infection has high risk of death or severe outcomes, including blindness, deafness, seizures and intellectual disabilities. Currently, the only treatment is a compounded drug for adults, the release said.
"Adult tablets are manipulated and compounded when pediatric prescriptions are received," Mansoor Khan, PhD, Regents Professor of pharmaceutical sciences and interim dean of the Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, said in the release. "Such products may have questionable quality as they are not evaluated for content, stability and bioavailability."
Texas A&M researchers are developing a method of 3D-printing treatment tablets for pediatric patients that would be designed to reduce costs and improve the quality, while giving control over the dosage.
"This approach can be applied to other drugs for pediatric diseases where no pediatric-friendly dose-flexible formulation is commercially available," Dr. Khan said.