| Popis: |
Traditionally, hormone replacement therapy products have administered systemic doses of hormones utilising simple oral delivery. The major disadvantage of oral delivery is that it can lead to deviations from therapeutic targets and, especially if the therapeutic window is narrow, may lead to either reduced efficacy or unwanted side effects. There are now several alternatives to oral delivery of hormones such as transdermal, intrauterine, vaginal, intranasal which are available. These options are usually based on either controlled release or pulsatile delivery. Whilst the benefits of the former are often clear, the physician should always weigh the obvious benefits of controlled drug delivery against those of compliance and patient acceptability. Although sound design principles have been applied to achieve the elegant drug delivery systems now available, many have practical difficulties associated with their chronic use. The methods available will be described. |
