Compounding with Sarah

  Stabilization of Oxidation Prone Ingredients by Sarah Taylor, PharmD One of the constant struggles compounding pharmacists face is the stabilization of ingredients and formulations that are subject to change depending on a patient’s specific needs and conditions. Compatibility of different individual ingredients and combinations of ingredients at a wide potential range of concentrations can be difficult to ascertain without trial, error, and observation in the lab. In this newsletter, we will discuss a few active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that often cause issues and review stabilizers that can be added that have demonstrated efficacy for reducing oxidation. Some ingredients commonly used for hyperpigmentation or other cosmetic conditions, such as aging skin are prone to oxidative degradation. Common examples include hydroquinone, kojic acid, and tretinoin. 1 The degradation of hydroquinone and kojic acid is associated with a darkening of color usually to a yellowish ...

  Sirolimus and Aging Skin By Sarah Taylor, PharmD As the average age of the world population increases, there has been growing demand for anti-aging products. Recent estimates put the size of the global anti-aging marketplace at about 50 billion Dollars (USD). 1 Compounding pharmacies often get requests from doctors for products that comprise anti-wrinkle or skin tightening creams. The pathophysiology of aging is multi-modal, and though of course aging is inevitable, it can be accelerated by a variety of factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to: hormonal changes, metabolic processes, and external factors such as UV light, smoking, and air pollution. The reversal of photoaging is often targeted as the main culprit in early wrinkles and skin degeneration. 2 A variety of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) are often used for aging skin, including niacinamide, tretinoin, retinol, and ascorbic acid (among others). Described in more detail below, sirolimus is...

  Flavoring Compounds for Animals by Sarah Taylor, PharmD In a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance released in 2019, they estimated that over 11 million prescriptions are written for compounded animal drugs annually. 1 Despite the number of prescriptions compounded each year, one recent study of pharmacy schools in the US found that only 27% of pharmacy schools offered didactic courses in veterinary pharmacy, and only 60% offered experiential education opportunities in this area. 2 The gap between the need for compounded veterinary medications and the amount of training available to pharmacists can leave a significant hole where the necessary knowledge to compound safely and effectively for animals is not available. Knowledge of differences in animal and human prescriptions including potentially dangerous excipients, altered processing of active pharmaceutical ingredients, flavor and consistency preferences, and available dosage forms is essential for the appropriate...

Topical Management of Alopecia Sarah Taylor, PharmD Alopecia affects a significant number of Americans. One study of men between the ages of 18 to 49, found that 42% of the men had moderate to extensive hair loss. ' Hair loss is less prevalent in women and has a reported incidence of between 29 to 38% in women over 70 years of age. 2 There are a variety of different pathologies that can contribute to hair loss including noncicatricial alopecias such as androgenic alopecia, alopecia areata, and telogen effluvium as well as cicatricial alopecias such as lichen planopilaris.   Androgenetic alopecia is the most prevalent form of hair loss in both men and women. 3 In this newsletter, we will focus on noncicatricial alopecias and review topical treatments and their evidence for efficacy for various types of hair loss.   The most common variety of hair loss, androgenetic alopecia, has been well studied. It can be precipitated by acute stressors,...