Abstract:
For use in bodily cavities, a topical anesthetic combination having a pH adjusted to optimize the effectiveness of the anesthetic, a viscosity appropriate to displace tissue debris and enhance retention, and addition of chemicals which increase the bio-availability of the anesthetic molecules.

Description:
[0001]     This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/625,816 which was filed on Jul. 22, 2003, and claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/602,501 which was filed on Aug. 17, 2004. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     1. Technical Field  
         [0003]     This invention relates generally to topical anesthetics and more specifically to a combination of topical anesthetic ingredients having pH, viscosity, and bio-availability properties suitable for use in bodily cavities.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of Prior Art  
         [0005]     In their “natural” state, topical anesthetics such as Lidocaine, also known as Lignocaine, have a low (acidic) pH of 3.5 to 4.5, good solubility in aqueous solution, and potentially indefinite stability. Objectionably though, low pH anesthetics when applied to patients can be irritating and are not as active as when the pH is within the range of the human tissues.  
         [0006]     In contrast, it has been observed that an anesthetic solution buffered to a pH of around neutral pH=7 is less irritating and hence more patient acceptable. The onset of action of buffered anaesthetics may be more rapid (DiFazio et al. Anesthetic Analg. 1986 July: 65(7): 760-4) and more effective on prior inflamed tissue (Murakami et al, Journal Dermatology Surgical Oncology 1994).  
         [0007]     However, raising the pH from 3.5 to neutral makes the anesthetic gradually less soluble and more likely to precipitate (Larson et al. Journal Dermatology Surgical Oncology 1991; 17:411-14 and Trisiel L A, “Stability of Compounded Formulations” 2nd ed 2000). When precipitated, the anesthetic molecules are not bio-available and have no anesthetic effect.  
         [0008]     To compensate for the decrease in solubility caused by increasing pH, commercially available preparations of higher (neutral) pH-caine anesthetics limit their concentrations to a low (&lt;1%) percentage. This trade-off of concentration against pH maintains the anesthetic in solution. However, the active ingredients are subject to degradation in higher pH solutions. For example, lignocaine maintained at a pH of 7 even at low concentration can degrade 35% within 4 weeks. A low concentration of an anesthetic with tissue-adjusted pH may be satisfactory for injection right into the site of action, but not when the anesthetic molecules must penetrate through the mucosa to reach the site of action. For topical applications, anesthetics need high concentrations to promote penetration of the molecules toward the tissues. Low concentration preparations, even at a pH close to the target tissue, are not effective. Resorting to administering drugs intravenously causes major side effects.  
         [0009]     There is therefore a need for a topically applied product which delivers anesthetic molecules at body-adjusted pH, and which maintains its bio-availability.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0010]     The invention in a preferred embodiment includes pharmacological agents which can be used as topical anesthetic with 1) body-adjusted pH, 2) viscosity agents which provide the ability to displace blood and exudates without preventing the product from reaching all areas of the cavity and to increase retention of the product within the cavity, and 3) chemical agents which prevent crystallization of the active molecules to increase their availability for migration from the product toward the target tissue, which provides for optimal usage within bodily cavities.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0011]     An un-buffered solution of amide anesthetic can remain stable for years, but once it is buffered to make it more bio-active, the solution will remain stable for only a few days before it loses solubility, precipitates, and becomes useless. To mitigate the problem of insolubility following buffering high concentration anesthetics, the invention provides two components, an aqueous solution of anesthetic at low pH, and a buffering solution comprising preferably a mixed phosphate base. The invention stores the anesthetic component and the buffer component separately, which allows maximizing the buffer pH independently of the anesthetic concentration.  
         [0012]     Mixing a high (&gt;8) pH buffer solution with a high (&gt;2%) concentration anesthetic solution produces a high (&gt;1%) concentration aqueous solution of topical anesthetic having a pH around 7. This combination verges on instability: A small increase in pH would cause the active ingredient to become insoluble and to precipitate immediately, thereby dramatically reducing the bio-availability of the active ingredient.  
         [0013]     To obtain a margin of solubility, preferably a mixed phosphate base (Potassium Dihydrogen Orthophosphate and Dipotassium Hydrogen Orthophosphate) buffering solution having a pH of 8 is used for the buffering component. Sodium Hydroxide may also be a suitable buffering component. A &gt;2% concentration of pH 3.8 Lidocaine is preferably used for the anesthetic component, although other amide anesthetics may also be suitable. The pH and viscosity levels are set to reflect the target organ.  
         [0014]     Ranges of pH and concentration in components and mixture:  
                                                                             Anesthetic   Buffering               Component   Component   Mixture                                        pH   2.5-5   7-11   5.5-7           Concentration   &gt;2%   0   &gt;1%           of Anesthetic                      
 
         [0015]     To delay coalescence and postpone precipitation of the ingredient molecules within the mixture of the two solutions, the two solutions are rapidly mixed together in a special technique called “speed mixing.”
    Enhancer    
 
         [0017]     Anesthetic compound molecules in a solution naturally tend to combine, crystallize, and precipitate as larger solids which can no longer penetrate through tissue to a target. A solubilizing agent (or “enhancer”) in a solution inhibits crystallization, and thereby increases the solubility, of chemicals (e.g., anesthetic agents) in the solution. This enables the solution to hold a higher concentration of the anesthetic agent and thereby increases the bio-availability, potency, and effect of the anesthetic agent. Since anesthetic concentration is not lost, it does not need to begin at a higher than optimum level.  
         [0018]     The invention in an embodiment having Lignocaine as the active ingredient and having a phosphate based buffer preferably incorporates into the buffer N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone as an enhancer. Afterwards, upon mixing the buffer and the anesthetic, any small quantities of drug that begin to crystallize are immediately solubilised and forestalled from acting as seed sites for precipitation. 
    Viscosity    
 
         [0020]     Topical anesthetics need to be applied directly to their site of action. Doing this may be relatively simple when the target tissue is visible to the physician and accessible without the need to pass body openings. However when the target tissue is within a body cavity, a major barrier is presented by the cumulative mass of secretions, tissue debris, blood, exudates, etc. In order to displace this mass, the viscosity of the anesthetic vehicle must be higher than that of blood and exudates, and high enough to help the solution adhere to uterine walls. A benefit of having a viscosity slightly higher than that of blood is that capillary force attracts the vehicle containing the anesthetic molecules to remain within the bodily cavity for the time needed for the anesthetic molecules to transfer from the liquid vehicle into the target tissue.  
         [0021]     On the other hand the viscosity must not be much higher than that of blood, to preserve the solution&#39;s ability to flow easily and enter intended-to-be-anesthetized nooks and crannies of the bodily cavity that are inaccessible to more viscous gels. Viscous aqueous X-Ray solutions are known to spread to nooks and crannies of uterine cavities and into tubes, and to remain there for hours.  
         [0022]     To obtain a suitable viscosity, the invention preferably adds Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose in 50:50 proportions to both components. Various concentrations were tested to find a level that provided a good balance of properties stable at the natural and buffered pH. A concentration of 0.1% was found to provide a suitable viscosity. This agent effectively maintains the viscosity of the aqueous solution, and is generally unaffected by pH in the range of 3 to 11. Sonography has shown the invention, with a similar level of viscosity in an embodiment identified as Hystagel™, penetrating and being retained in uterine cavities for several hours after instillation.  
         [0023]     Mixing is postponed until just prior to the procedure, and then done up to a number of hours prior to use. Mixing these anesthetic and buffering components in a 1:1 ratio produces a &gt;1% concentration aqueous solution having a pH of around 7. This delivers the product with good bio-availability and effectiveness. Once mixed, the anesthetic is stable for several hours, and in terms of efficacy, ease of use, application and persistence it is very effective as a local anesthetic.  
         [0024]     While the present invention is described in terms of a preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this embodiment may be modified without departing from the essence of the invention. It is therefore intended that the following claims be interpreted as covering any modifications falling within the true spirit and scope of the invention.