Enhanced analgesic activity by cyclodextrins – a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Analgesics can be ineffective in treating some types of pain, hence, improved drug delivery systems could optimize their efficacy.

Area covered: The authors conducted a systematic review to evaluate the analgesic activity of compounds complexed in cyclodextrins, analyzing whether these complexes improved analgesic efficacy. The search terms ‘analgesics’, ‘cyclodextrins’ and ‘drug effects’ were used to retrieve articles in SCOPUS, PUBMED and EMBASE. A total of 22 papers were identified. In the clinical studies, there was greater efficacy in the complexed drug when compared with control groups, with differences ranging from 25 to 83%. Through a meta-analysis, the preclinical studies showed that the complexed drug had a significantly (p < 0.01) greater effect than the non-complexed drug.

Expert opinion: The use of cyclodextrins can improve the efficacy of analgesic compounds, and they are an important tool in the search for greater analgesic effect. They may also be a way to reduce the therapeutic doses, and hence increasing the potential of the drug.

Keywords:

• analgesics
• cyclodextrins
• drug effects
• meta-analysis
• pain
• systematic review

Acknowledgments

RG Brito is a doctoral student in a sandwich model and LJ Quintans-Júnior had a post-doctoral stage at the University of Iowa (UIOWA). We thank Emine O Bayman for the methodological support.

Declaration of interest

This work was supported by grants from the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq/Brazil), the Research Supporting Foundation of the State of Sergipe (FAPITEC-SE/Brazil) and Coordinating Development of Senior Staff (CAPES/Brazil). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Notes

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