Skin Permeation of Different Steroid Hormones from Polymeric Coated Liposomal Formulations

October 2005 in “ European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics ”

Babette Biruss, Claudia Valenta

17-beta-estradiol progesterone cyproterone acetate finasteride polycarbophil chitosan-EDTA polymeric emulsifier carrageenan DPPC liposomes estradiol Propecia

From the encyclopedia

Cyproterone →

a synthetic anti-androgen and weak progestogen that inhibits DHT binding to androgen receptor

Finasteride →

Frontline, gold standard treatment for combatting androgenic alopecia

carrageenan →

Studysummary This study found that polymers significantly improved the chemical and microbial stability of steroid hormones in liposome formulations over eight weeks, with finasteride showing the highest diffusion rate. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.

In this study, researchers investigated the effect of various polymers (polycarbophil, chitosan–EDTA, polymeric emulsifier, and carrageenan) on the permeation, chemical, and microbial stability of 17-β-estradiol, progesterone, cyproterone acetate (CPA), and finasteride incorporated in DPPC liposomes. The liposomes contained 1% (w/w) of the steroid hormones, and standard diffusion experiments were performed over 8 weeks. Results showed that the addition of polymeric agents improved the permeation rate and significantly enhanced both the chemical and microbial stability of the hormones compared to pure liposomes. Finasteride exhibited the highest diffusion among the tested formulations. The study concluded that polymers could form a stable layer around the vesicles, improving the stability and viscosity of the liposomal preparations.

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Research cited in this study

6 / 6 results

research A Stability-Indicating HPLC Method to Determine Finasteride in a Tablet Formulation

19 citations , December 2002 in “Journal of Liquid Chromatography & Related Technologies”

This study developed and validated a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for identifying finasteride and its degradation products, showing excellent resolution and sensitivity under various decomposition conditions.

research LC Determination of Finasteride and Its Application to Storage Stability Studies

27 citations , July 2001 in “Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis”

Finasteride remains stable for two years with proper storage.

research New Topical Antiandrogenic Formulations Can Stimulate Hair Growth in Human Bald Scalp Grafted Onto Mice

37 citations , January 2000 in “International Journal of Pharmaceutics”

In a study using human scalp skin grafts on SCID mice, topical flutamide and finasteride significantly improved hair growth in male-pattern baldness compared to placebo, with flutamide showing superior results to finasteride.

research In Vivo Time-Dependent Inhibition of Human Steroid 5α-Reductase by Finasteride

29 citations , January 1996 in “Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences”

This study developed a theoretical model that suggests finasteride may completely inhibit 5AR type 2, but not sufficiently suppress type 1, leading to only partial reduction of dihydrotestosterone at clinical doses.

research Local and Systemic Reduction by Topical Finasteride or Flutamide of Hamster Flank Organ Size and Enzyme Activity

37 citations , November 1995 in “Journal of Investigative Dermatology”

This study found that topical finasteride and flutamide both significantly reduced sebaceous gland growth and decreased prostatic weights in hamsters, indicating systemic effects despite local application.

research Finasteride: A Slow-Binding 5-Alpha-Reductase Inhibitor

70 citations , June 1993 in “Biochemistry”

This study found that the binding of finasteride to the enzyme 5a-reductase occurs at a slower rate than previously assumed, complicating the estimation of its real inhibitory constant.