A medicament carried within a perforate or semipermeable shell is gradually released, as by dissolution into body fluids, to provide effective therapy with reduced concentration and dosage. The medicament may be in dry powdered form. For treatment of the eye, the carrier comprises a capsule less than 1 millimeter in diameter which is placed in the conjunctival sac or mounted in a contact lens. The capsule may be colored for easy location and removal, may be absorbable by the body, or may gradually swell to allow washout by the tears. For glaucoma treatment, less than 1 milligram of pilocarpine or phospholine in a single sustained release capsule may be an adequate daily dosage. In another embodiment a soft contact lens itself may serve as the medicine containing carrier. For burn, ulcer, or wound treatment, the carrier may be of planar configuration or incorporated in a film forming spray comprising many minute particles or capsules each containing a medicament. The resultant film will protect the tissue from exposure, will provide sustained release medication, and may be absorbable to eliminate the need for removal with concomitant damage to newly formed granulation tissue.
A blink-activated duct for supplying a solution to the eye of the user has a particular utility in introducing an artificial tear solution to the eye of those persons who are incapable of producing such a solution themselves. The duct consists of a reservoir section which contains the solution, and a pump section consisting of a contact lens or a Silastic tube assembly for delivering the solution directly to the eye. This pump section is activated by the eyelid compressing the contact lens or the Silastic tube assembly, causing the solution to be displaced to the eye and successively drawing additional solution from the reservoir section to the pump section due to the creation of a temporary vacuum.
A drug delivery device for the continuous and controlled administration of a predetermined therapeutically effective dosage of eye drug to the eye of a mamallian patient over a prolonged period of time. The device meters the flow of polylactic acid polymer micro-encapsulated eye drug by means of a drug release rate controlling material comprised of an anionic polyvalent metal cation cross-linked polyelectrolyte. The device bioerodes in the biological environment of the patient concurrently with the dispensing or at a point in time after the dispensing of the therapeutically desired amount of drug.
An osmotic device for releasing a useful agent at different release rate patterns from the device in a selected environment is disclosed. The device is comprised of a wall surrounding and forming a compartment as a means for containing a useful agent and having a passageway for releasing the agent. The wall is comprised in at least a part of a material permeable to an external fluid and impermeable to the agent. A layer of pattern rate controlling material that erodes in a selected environment for changing the release rate pattern of the device is carried on the semipermeable wall distant from the compartment. The agent is soluble in the fluid and exhibits an osmotic pressure gradient across the semipermeable wall against the fluid or the agent has limited solubility and is admixed with an osmotically effective solute soluble in the fluid that exhibits an osmotic pressure gradient across the semipermeable wall against the fluid. In operation, agent is released from the device at different release rate patterns by the pattern rate controlling material eroding at a controlled rate to increase the amount of fluid available to the semipermeable wall for imbibition, which fluid is imbibed through the wall into the compartment producing a solution of the soluble agent or a solution of the osmotically effective solute containing the agent which is released through the passageway to the exterior of the device at a rate controlled by the permeability of the semipermeable wall and the osmotic pressure gradient across the wall of the device.
This invention provides a method for treating sleep apnea, hyponea and snoring in a human patient by administering to said patient a pilocarpine compound that results in an exposure of the tissues of the naso-pharyngeal and oro-pharyngeal region to pilocarpine levels in an amount effective to reduce or eliminate such sleep apnea, hyponea and snoring condition in such patient during the treatment interval. Pilocarpine hydrochloride or nitrate solutions may be applied nasally in drop form for convenience.
An ophthalmic treatment system is provided which includes three-dimensional particles of bioerodible material suspended in a liquid carrier or ointment carrier having a pH acceptable to the eye. The particles are at least 0.5 mm in greatest dimension and are not greater than 0.4 mm to 0.7 mm in smallest dimension when disposed in the ocular environment. The treatment system provides reliable, prolonged continuous treatment without irritating the eye.
