title: Entry of substances into perilymph through the bone of the otic capsule after intratympanic applications in guinea pigs: implications for local drug delivery in humans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Drugs applied to the middle ear enter perilymph through the bony otic capsule.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Drugs applied intratympanically in humans are thought to enter the cochlea primarily through the round window membrane (RWM). Local drug treatments of the ear are commonly evaluated in rodent models. The otic capsule is much thinner at the cochlear apex in rodents than in humans. We therefore investigated whether drugs applied to the middle ear could enter perilymph through the otic capsule as well as through the RWM.
  
  
  METHODS
  The distribution of gentamicin and the marker trimethylphenylammonium (TMPA) along the guinea pig cochlea was assessed with sequential apical perilymph sampling after 2 delivery paradigms that included 1) completely filling the tympanic bulla with solution and 2) applying the solution to the RWM only. In addition, TMPA entry into perilymph of the third turn was measured with ion-selective electrodes after the bulla was filled with TMPA solution.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In application protocols that allowed drug to contact the otic capsule (by completely filling the bulla), markedly higher drug concentrations were found in the apical, low-frequency regions of the cochlea compared with drug applications to the RWM only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gentamicin and TMPA can enter perilymph of guinea pigs through the RWM and simultaneously through the bony otic capsule. Drug distribution along the cochlea after intratympanic applications will therefore be dramatically different in rodents and humans. Results obtained from intratympanic drug treatments of animals, in which the bulla is filled with solution and contacts the bony capsule of the cochlea, do not provide a good model for the situation in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA. mikuleca@slu.edu
authors.forename: Anthony A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Mikulec
authors.forename: Stefan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Plontke
authors.forename: Jared J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hartsock
authors.forename: Alec N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Salt
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism*; D003051:Cochlea / Q000378:metabolism*; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008297:Male; D010498:Perilymph / Q000378:metabolism*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D012405:Round Window, Ear / Q000378:metabolism; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005839:Gentamicins; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; C009571:phenyltrimethylammonium