Challenges and trends in apomorphine drug delivery systems for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Nrupa Borkar*, Huiling Mu, René Holm

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

27 Citations (Scopus)
313 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic debilitating disease affecting approximately 1% of the population over the age of 60. The severity of PD is correlated to the degree of dopaminergic neuronal loss. Apomorphine has a similar chemical structure as the neurotransmitter dopamine and has been used for the treatment of advanced PD patients. In PD patients, apomorphine is normally administered subcutaneously with frequent injections because of the compound's extensive hepatic first-pass metabolism. There is, hence, a large unmet need for alternative administrative routes for apomorphine to improve patient compliance. The present review focuses on the research and development of alternative delivery of apomorphine, aiming to highlight the potential of non-invasive apomorphine therapy in PD, such as sublingual delivery and transdermal delivery.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAsian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Volume13
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)507-517
Number of pages11
ISSN1818-0876
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2018

Keywords

  • Alternative apomorphine therapy
  • Apomorphine
  • Drug delivery
  • Excipients
  • Non-invasive delivery
  • Parkinson's disease

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