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Percutaneous absorption of hydrocortisone and testosterone on the vulva and forearm: effect of the menopause and site
Author(s) -
ORIBA H.A.,
BUCKS D.A.W.,
MAIBACH H.I.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1996.tb07606.x
Subject(s) - forearm , menopause , hydrocortisone , medicine , testosterone (patch) , vulva , percutaneous , absorption (acoustics) , endocrinology , urology , surgery , physics , acoustics
Summary The percutaneous absorption of hydrocortisone and testosterone was studied following their application to the vulvar and ventral forearm regions of pre‐ and post‐menopausal women. Percutaneous absorption of hydrocortisone was significantly greater in vulvar skin than forearm skin in both pre‐ and post‐menopausal women (P <0·05. respectively), whereas the percutaneous absorption of testosterone was significantly increased (P<0·01) on the vulva compared with the arm only in post‐menopausal women. The effect of age on the percutaneous absorption of hydrocortisone and testosterone was evaluated by using the menopause as a biological chronometric end point. It is a common misconception that older skin has a diminished barrier capacity, and that percutaneous absorption is therefore greater. Our studies showed that absorption of hydrocortisone vulval skin of pre‐menopatisal women was significantly greater (P<0·01) than in post‐menopausal women. The ventral forearm skin of pre‐menopausal women tended to show increased absorption compared with post‐menopausal women, but statistical significance was not reached. No significant differences (P > 0· 05) in the percutaneous absorption of testosterone in vulval or forearm skin were observed between the two age groups.