Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Current standard treatment for adrenal insufficiency in neonates and infants is unsatisfactory as unlicensed adult dosage formulations are used. These are generally difficult to administer and may give rise to inconsistencies in dose as the content uniformity of the dosage form cannot be verified.Methods: Infacort is a newly-developed immediate release formulation of hydrocortisone that is provided in appropriate unit dosage units (0.5, 1, 2,...

Cortisol has a distinct circadian rhythm; levels rise from 0300 h to peak within an hour of waking and gradually decline until 1800 h before a quiescent period lasting from 1800 to 0300 h. Current hydrocortisone replacement regimens are unable to replicate this rhythm and we have been investigating modified release technology. Our initial formulation, using tableting technology, demonstrated it was possible to replicate the overnight rise in cortisol but the tablet had reduced...

Background: The adrenal glucocorticoid, cortisol, has a distinct circadian rhythm regulated by the brain’s central pacemaker. This cortisol rhythm acts as a secondary messenger to peripheral tissues and loss of the rhythm is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. This is a specific problem in adrenal insufficiency and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Based on pharmacokinetic modelling we have developed a modified-release formulation of hydrocortisone (MR-...