Fentanyl is a strong opioid analgesic, which is commonly used in the form of a transdermal patch for the treatment of chronic cancer pain. An intranasal route of fentanyl administration is a novel treatment for breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP). The prevalence, assessment, and management of BTCP is outlined in this paper, and basic pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, dosing guidelines...

OBJECTIVE To compare the effects of intranasal and oral administration of 17beta-estradiol (E2) and norethisterone(acetate) [NET(A)] in healthy postmenopausal women on activated protein C (APC) resistance and other hemostatic parameters associated with venous thrombosis. METHODS AND RESULTS In this 2-center, randomized, double-blind, 1-year trial, 90 postmenopausal women (56.6+/-4.7 years of ...

The effectiveness of gentamicin administered by the intranasal route in healthy human volunteers was studied. Thirty minutes after gentamicin in a solution of 1% sodium glycocholate was administered at 2 mg/kg of body weight, gentamicin concentrations of 2.48 +/- 0.42 mg/ml were present in the sera. Serum concentrations decreased to 0.94 +/- 0.13 mg/ml at 180 min. No serious side effects were o...

Intranasal ethmoidectomy is a common otolaryngological procedure. Despite the potential for serious intracranial complications, there is a paucity of reports describing the neurosurgical complications of the procedure. Two patients with intracranial complications of intranasal ethmoidectomy, and the relevant medical literature, are reviewed. The anatomy of the ethmoid air cells and their relati...

Interaction of the antipsychotic drug risperidone with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPBCD) in solution and in the solid state was studied with the aim of overcoming the limitations associated with nasal administration of low solubility drugs. Risperidone solubility studies revealed inclusion complex formation with a 1:1 stoichiometry. Low concentrations (0.1 w/v %) of hydroxypropylmethyl ce...

It has been suggested that intranasal (IN) drug delivery could be used to administer drugs directly to the brain, bypassing the blood-brain barrier. Conclusive evidence of this proposed route of drug transport has not been observed by IN-IV comparison. In eight neurosurgery patients with a CSF drain, the uptake in CSF and plasma after IN and IV drug administration was compared. No evidence of d...

Mice were successfully immunized against the intestinal nematode Trichinella spiralis by intranasal administration of a 30-mer peptide antigen with cholera toxin B. Immunized mice developed antigen-specific serum immunoglobulin G1, intestinal immunoglobulin A, and a type 2-biased cytokine response. Intranasal immunization therefore generates the Th2-mediated responses required for immunity agai...