Drug Name Emsam

They offer the advantage that a drug depot is attached noninvasively to the body, enabling the drug to be administered in a manner similar to an infusion. Drugs amenable to this type of delivery must: (1) be capable of penetrating the cutaneous barrier; (2) be effective in very small doses (restricted capacity of reservoir); and (3) possess a wide therapeutic margin (dosage not adjustable).
Preparations are now of such quality that the derivatives methyldigoxin and acetyldigoxin no longer offer any advantage. Renal reabsorption is incomplete; approx. 30% of the total amount present in the body (s.c. full “digitalizing” dose) is eliminated per day. When renal function is impaired, there is a risk of accumulation. Digitoxin undergoes virtually complete reabsorption in gut and kidneys.

 

On the basis of these parameters, differences between drugs can be quantified. As a rule, the therapeutic effect or toxic action depends critically on the response of a single organ or a limited number of organs, e. g. , blood flow is affected by a change in vascular luminal width.
A constant plasma level would, however, be undesirable if it accelerated a loss of effectiveness (development of tolerance), or if the drug were required to be present at specified times only.