Aerosol drug delivery in lung transplant recipients.
BACKGROUND
Inhaled drug delivery after lung transplantation provides a unique opportunity for direct treatment of a solid organ transplant. At present, no inhaled therapies are approved for this population though several have received some development. Primary potential applications include inhaled immunosuppressive and anti-infective drugs.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this article is to review potential applications of inhaled medications for lung transplant recipients, the techniques used to develop inhaled drugs and the challenges of aerosol delivery in this specific population.


METHODS
The results of relevant studies are reviewed and two developmental examples are presented.


CONCLUSIONS
Inhaled medications may provide significant advantages for lung transplant recipients. Past studies with inhaled cyclosporine and amphotericin-B provide useful guidance for clinical development of new preparations.
Corcoran
T E
TE
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, NW628 UPMC MUH, 3459 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. corcorante@upmc.edu
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D016572:Cyclosporine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016040:Lung Transplantation
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D000666:Amphotericin B; D016572:Cyclosporine