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Review article: issues in oral administration of locally acting glucocorticosteroids for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease
Author(s) -
David R. Friend
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
alimentary pharmacology and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.308
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1365-2036
pISSN - 0269-2813
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2036.1998.00348.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ulcerative colitis , inflammatory bowel disease , drug , gastrointestinal tract , oral administration , colitis , drug delivery , inflammatory bowel diseases , gastroenterology , disease , pharmacology , chemistry , organic chemistry
Inflammatory bowel diseases are treated in some cases by local administration of anti‐inflammatory drugs. Local delivery of drugs in the colon following oral administration may lead to improved efficacy/side‐effect profiles and may improve patient compliance. This review covers a number of issues important in the design of oral delivery systems of glucocorticosteroids for local therapy of colonic inflammation. The choice of specific glucocorticosteroids is based on the drug’s physicochemical and pharmacological properties. The conditions under which an orally administered glucocorticosteroid (or other drug) must be delivered to treat ulcerative colitis are also discussed. These conditions include variations in local pH, transit throughout the gastrointestinal tract, the potential role of gut microflora, and drug dissolution in both the healthly and diseased large intestine. The effective delivery of topically‐active glucocorticosteroids in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s colitis patients is complex, but if successful could improve their usefulness.