Advanced drug delivery reviews
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Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. · May 2012
ReviewChallenges in drug delivery to tumors of the central nervous system: an overview of pharmacological and surgical considerations.
The majority of newly diagnosed brain tumors are treated with surgery, radiation, and the chemotherapeutic temozolomide. Development of additional therapeutics to improve treatment outcomes is complicated by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which acts to protect healthy tissue from chemical insults. The high pressure found within brain tumors adds a challenge to local delivery of therapy by limiting the distribution of bolus injections. Here we discuss various drug delivery strategies, including convection-enhanced delivery, intranasal delivery, and intrathecal delivery, as well as pharmacological strategies for improving therapeutic efficacy, such as blood-brain barrier disruption.
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Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. · Jan 2012
ReviewHow to improve exposure of tumor cells to drugs: promoter drugs increase tumor uptake and penetration of effector drugs.
Solid tumors are characterized by an abnormal architecture and composition that limit the uptake and distribution of antitumor drugs. Over the last two decades, drugs have been identified that improve the tumor uptake and distribution of drugs that have direct antitumor effects. ⋯ This review gives an overview of promoter drugs, by classifying them according to their mechanism of action: promoter drugs that modulate tumor blood flow, modify the barrier function of tumor vessels, induce tumor cell killing, and overcome stromal barriers. Eventually, we discuss those that we feel are the main conclusions to be drawn from promoter drug research that has been performed so far, and suggest areas of future investigation to improve the efficacy of promoter drugs in cancer therapy.
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Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. · Jun 2011
ReviewComparative requirements for exploratory clinical trials -- eIND, eCTA and microdosing.
Exploratory clinical trials provide a strategy for rapid human entry of investigational drugs. Such clinical studies are typically conducted during early clinical development in phase I as first-in-human studies, have no therapeutic intent, are not intended to examine clinical tolerability and involve a small number of human subjects at limited dose/exposure. ⋯ This review critically discusses the various exploratory clinical trial strategies, their advantages and disadvantages as well as the regulatory safety requirements. In this respect, strategies for exploratory Investigational New Drugs (eIND), exploratory Clinical Trial Applications (eCTA) and microdosing are highlighted and compared in view of the new ICH M3(R2) guideline including options for biotechnology-derived pharmaceuticals such as monoclonal antibodies.
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Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. · Jun 2010
ReviewPotential of endogenous regenerative technology for in situ regenerative medicine.
Endogenous regenerative technology (Endoret) involves the use of patient's own biologically active proteins, growth factors and biomaterial scaffolds for therapeutic purposes. This technology provides a new approach for the stimulation and acceleration of tissue healing and bone regeneration. ⋯ This review discusses the state of the art and new directions in the use of endogenous technology in the repair and regeneration of injured tissues by means of a controlled and local protein and growth factor delivery. The next generations of engineering strategies together with some of the most interesting therapeutic applications are discussed together with the future challenges in the field.
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Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. · Feb 2010
ReviewMolecular imaging of HPMA copolymers: visualizing drug delivery in cell, mouse and man.
N-(2-Hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymers and their drug conjugates are some of the most intensively investigated drug delivery systems for over 30years. Some of the HPMA copolymer drug conjugates have entered clinical trials. ⋯ Magnetic resonance imaging and nuclear medicine, including gamma-scintigraphy, SPECT and PET, have been used for the non-invasive visualization of pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and drug targeting efficiency of HPMA copolymers in animal models. gamma-Scintigraphy has been used to study HPMA copolymer drug conjugates in human patients. The application of imaging technologies in the study of HPMA copolymers and properties of the copolymers demonstrated by imaging is summarized in this review.