Novel drug-delivery systems for hypertension.

Although novel controlled-release drug-delivery systems have been used in other areas of medicine, their application in the treatment of hypertension has been relatively recent. Biotechnical use of chemical-dispensing systems has been applied to propranolol, clonidine (the transdermal therapeutic system), nifedipine (the gastrointestinal therapeutic system), verapamil (the sodium alginate and spheroidal oral-delivery absorption system), felodipine (the hydrophilic gel principle), metoprolol succinate (the multiple-unit pellet system), and diltiazem (one system comprising sustained-release beads and the other utilizing the patented Geomatrix extended-release system). Oral drug-delivery systems allow antihypertensive agents that previously had to be administered two to four times daily to be administered once each day. Potential disadvantages of the oral controlled-release products include delayed attainment of pharmacodynamic effect, unpredictable or reduced bioavailability, enhanced first-pass hepatic metabolism, dose dumping, sustained toxicity, dosing inflexibility, and increased cost. Potential advantages include reduced dosing frequency, enhanced compliance and convenience, reduced toxicity, stable drug levels, uniform drug effect, and decreased total dose. Although skin reactions are common, the transdermal drug delivery of clonidine provides another innovative approach to supplying transcutaneous, controlled, continuous delivery of drug for 7 days. It is possible that future research will prove that the agents that provide complete 24-hour control may reduce the cardiovascular events associated with the early-morning blood pressure surge. This evolution in antihypertensive therapy to achieve once-daily dosing may prove to be of great value to both physicians and patients in the 1990s.