There is an increasing interest for Pentravan® transdermal cream in scientific literature(1-4). A new publication in the most recent edition of the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding concludes that human female sexual hormones incorporated into Pentravan® and applied topically, are expected to exert their biological activities systemically with good efficacy due to their satisfactory permeation through human skin(5).
The article evaluates the permeation performance for progesterone, estradiol, and estriol in formulations containing each of those drugs separately, as well as an association of estradiol + estriol (Biest), regarding their compounding process and their potential biological application.
The conclusion is an important one. Progesterone, estradiol and estriol are used in hormone replacement therapy (HRT), to replace the female hormones no longer produced after menopause. This is a very effective method for controlling menopause symptoms, which severally affect about 20% of all women. For these women, HRT can make a significant difference to quality of life and overall wellbeing.
Administering hormones transdermal in Pentravan® has several benefits over traditional administration routes, such as:
- Prevention of peak-levels in blood, through continuous absorption
- Less frequent and more patient-friendly dosing
- Avoidance of first-pass metabolism of hormones in the liver
- Ease of discontinuation in case of adverse effects
1 Lehman PA, Raney SG. In vitro percutaneous absorption of ketoprofen and testosterone: comparison of pluronic lecithin organogel vs. pentravan cream. Int J Pharm Compd. 2012;16(3):248-52.
2 H. Maia Jr.1,2, C. Haddad2, R. Maia2 et al. Pulsatile administration of testosterone by the vaginal route using Pentravan®. Monduzzi Editoriale. 2013;181-184.
3 Polonini HC, de Bastos CA, de Oliveira MA et al. In vitro drug release and ex vivo percutaneous absorption of resveratrol cream using HPLC with zirconized silica stationary phase. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2014;947-948:23-31.
4 Hudson CP, Pedro PSm Marcone ALO et al. Transdermal formulations containing human sexual steroids: development and validation of methods and in vitro drug release. Quím. Nova. 2014;37(4):720-728.
5 Polonini HC, Brandão MAF, Ferreira AO et al. Evaluation of Percutaneous Absorption Performance for Human Female Sexual Steroids into Pentravan Cream. IJPC 2014; 18(4):332-340.