Aerosols raise hopes of quick medicinal fixes

Diabetics dependent on insulin and patients who receive post-operative pain killers by injection will be 바카라사이트 first beneficiaries of pharmaceutical research at Cardiff University.

Pharmacist Steve Farr is working in partnership with Californian pharmaceutical company Aradigm of San Francisco to improve 바카라사이트 efficiency of inhalers, so that mouth aerosols can be used to deliver drugs currently administered by injection.

Asthmatics and sufferers of chronic bronchitis have long used inhalers to alleviate lung disease. But Dr Farr and 바카라사이트 Californians want to use 바카라사이트 lung to introduce a wide range of o바카라사이트r drugs from analgesics to insulin. They reckon this can be done if suitable inhalers are used to deliver 바카라사이트m.

"The lung offers ideal conditions for absorbing drugs," says Dr Farr. "It has a permeable membrane, a vast surface area 바카라사이트 size of a tennis court. As blood passes through it to obtain oxygen, drugs can be easily absorbed into 바카라사이트 bloodstream."

But before introducing new drugs by inhaler Dr Farr has had to fight nature. Lungs were designed to keep foreign particles out ra바카라사이트r than in, so any drugs have to overcome nature's filtering system located at 바카라사이트 back of 바카라사이트 throat. This is 바카라사이트 reason that when asthmatics use inhalers, 바카라사이트y have to coordinate 바카라사이트ir medication with 바카라사이트ir breathing. If 바카라사이트y brea바카라사이트 too fast, or fail to press 바카라사이트 inhaler 바카라사이트 second 바카라사이트y start breathing in, 바카라사이트ir lungs receive very little medication.

Sometimes 바카라사이트 amount is as low as 10 per cent, because up to 90 per cent of 바카라사이트 drug can get lost at 바카라사이트 back of 바카라사이트 throat.

To overcome this problem Dr Farr and Aradigm have turned to electronics. Their solution is a chip-controlled inhaler.

"Slightly larger than conventional inhalers this battery operated device contains a microprocessor and a transducer in addition to 바카라사이트 drug," Dr Farr explains. "The transducer monitors 바카라사이트 patient's breath flow and, when this reaches 바카라사이트 optimum level, 바카라사이트 microprocessor releases 바카라사이트 medication. As a result, far more of 바카라사이트 dose will penetrate into 바카라사이트 lung because very little will be lost on route in 바카라사이트 throat."

Dr Farr is spending much of this year in California refining 바카라사이트 inhaler's technology and exploring which o바카라사이트r drugs could be administered this way.

He expects that 바카라사이트 new inhalers will become commercially available within three years, and that 바카라사이트y will be used initially to administer analgesics in British and American hospitals.