| Iontophoresis | |
|---|---|
| ICD-9-CM | 99.27 |
| MedlinePlus | 007293 |
 | This Physicsneeds attention from an expert in medicine. The specific problem is:The language in this article is difficult for the layperson. Reliability of sources needs checking by experts in these fields. The article could be more informative about the use of this treatment for hyperhidrosis.WikiProject Medicine may be able to help recruit an expert.(December 2018) |
Iontophoresis is a process oftransdermal drug delivery by use of a voltage gradient on theskin.[1][2] Molecules are transported across thestratum corneum byelectrophoresis andelectroosmosis and the electric field can also increase the permeability of the skin.[3][4] These phenomena, directly and indirectly, constitute active transport of matter due to an applied electric current. The transport is measured in units of chemicalflux, commonly μmol/(cm2×hour). Iontophoresis has experimental, therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
Iontophoresis is useful in laboratory experiments, especially inneuropharmacology.[5]Transmitter molecules naturally pass signals betweenneurons. By microelectrophoretic techniques, including microiontophoresis, neurotransmitters and other chemical agents can be artificially administered very near living and naturally functioning neurons, the activity of which can be simultaneously recorded. This is used to elucidate their pharmacological properties and natural roles.[6]
Therapeutically, electromotive drug administration (EMDA) delivers a medicine or other chemical through the skin.[7] In a manner of speaking, it is an injection without a needle, and may be described as non-invasive. It is different fromdermal patches, which do not rely on an electric field. It drives a charged substance, usually a medication or bioactive agent, transdermally by repulsive electromotive force, through the skin. A small electric current is applied to an iontophoretic chamber placed on the skin, containing a charged active agent and its solvent vehicle. Another chamber or a skin electrode carries the return current. One or two chambers are filled with a solution containing an active ingredient and its solvent vehicle. The positively charged chamber, called theanode, will repel a positively charged chemical species, whereas the negatively charged chamber, called thecathode, will repel a negatively charged species into the skin.[8]
It is used to treat some types of palmar-plantarhyperhidrosis.[9] In the treatment of hyperhidrosis,tap water is often the chosen solution for mild and medium forms. In very serious cases of hyperhidrosis, a solution containingglycopyrronium bromide or glycopyrrolate, acholinergic inhibitor, can be used.[10][11]
Iontophoresis ofacetylcholine is used in research as a way to test the health of theendothelium by stimulating endothelium-dependent generation ofnitric oxide and subsequent microvascular vasodilation. Acetylcholine is positively charged and is therefore placed in the anode chamber.
Pilocarpine iontophoresis is often used to stimulate sweat secretion, as part ofcystic fibrosis diagnosis.[12]
Reverse iontophoresis is a technique by which molecules are removed from within the body for detection. The negative charge of the skin at buffered pH causes it to be permselective tocations such as sodium and potassium ions, allowing iontophoresis which causes electroosmosis, solvent flow towards the anode. Electroosmosis then causes electrophoresis, by which neutral molecules, including glucose, are transported across the skin. This is currently being used in such devices as theGlucoWatch, which allows for blood glucose detection across skin layers.
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