Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society Email Content Delivery
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dolovich, M.
Right arrow Articles by Labiris, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Dolovich, M.
Right arrow Articles by Labiris, R.
The Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society 1:329-337 (2004)
© 2004 The American Thoracic Society

Imaging Drug Delivery and Drug Responses in the Lung

Myrna Dolovich and Renee Labiris

Departments of Medicine and Radiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Myrna Dolovich, P.Eng., McMaster University, Health Sciences Centre, Room 1V18, 1200 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8N 3Z5 Canada. E-mail: mdolovic{at}mcmaster.ca

Conventional two-dimensional and three-dimensional single photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography imaging tools and specific inhaled radiotracers allow accurate and reliable measurements of drug delivery to the lung. Pharmacokinetics and patterns of drug distribution can be monitored over time. In addition, physiologic measurements of ventilation, perfusion, mucociliary clearance, inflammation, and respiratory absorption can be determined using imaging; the results correlate with "black-box" outcomes (for example, spirometry, airway responsiveness, and inflammatory markers in sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid), providing an indication of the disease state in situ and the effectiveness of therapeutic and other interventions on these critical lung functions. Imaging is widely used in drug discovery. Screening of new drugs using animal models and specifically molecular imaging before human studies is an approach used extensively by the pharmaceutical industry. Topical drug delivery to the lung remains the route of choice for administering respiratory therapies; recently, inhaled therapies have been formulated to gain access to the systemic circulation via the distal lung. Imaging provides a means of validating drug delivery to the site of action in the lung and of measuring the resulting pharmacokinetics of these therapies. No other tool or test provides this type of visual detail supported by numerical information related to a specific drug molecule.

Key Words: deposition • drug delivery • inflammation • pharmacokinetics • positron emission tomography




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JNMHome page
B. L. Franc, P. D. Acton, C. Mari, and B. H. Hasegawa
Small-Animal SPECT and SPECT/CT: Important Tools for Preclinical Investigation
J. Nucl. Med., October 1, 2008; 49(10): 1651 - 1663.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc Am Thorac SocHome page
M. B. Dolovich and D. P. Schuster
Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography versus Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography: Tools for Imaging the Lung
Proceedings of the ATS, August 1, 2007; 4(4): 328 - 333.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
D. P. Schuster
The Opportunities and Challenges of Developing Imaging Biomarkers to Study Lung Function and Disease
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., August 1, 2007; 176(3): 224 - 230.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2004 by the American Thoracic Society. 		 
ATS Clinical Skills Tests