Individuals with motion sickness may receive more benefits from a newly developed type of medicated chewing gum than traditional oral solid dosage forms.

The finding is being revealed October 14th to 18th at the 2012 AAPS (American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Chicago, Ill., an international event which is expecting an attendance of over 8,000.

According to Medilexicon’s medical dictionary:

Motion sickness is the syndrome of pallor, nausea, weakness, and malaise, which may progress to vomiting and incapacitation, caused by stimulation of the semicircular canals during travel or motion as on a boat, plane, train, car, swing, or rotating amusement ride.

Approximately 33% of people are vulnerable to motion sickness in mild situations, such as riding on a bus, while almost 66% of people are shaken up by the condition in more severe circumstances.

Dimenhydrinate is an effective drug, sold as liquid, tablets and chewable tablets, used to prevent symptoms associated with motion sickness. However, a new gum was formulated by this drug, by a team of experts led by Mohsen Sadatrezaei of RoshaDarou Co., which can relieve symptoms faster by allowing the person to soak up the medicine through the cheek, while even improving patient conformity.

In order to analyze whether absorption through the buccal cavity (vestibule of the mouth) was faster, based on how quickly symptoms were reduced, the scientists called in a sensory panel – testers with extraordinary sensory ability. They also ranked how bitter the gum was and how easy it was to chew.

Sadatrezaei explained:

“The main challenge in delivering drugs through chewing gum is masking the bitter taste of its active ingredient. We have formulated dimenhydrinate as chewing gum with acceptable taste and sensory attributes. Dimenhydrinate is among the best drug candidates for treatment of motion sickness, providing a comfortable and acceptable drug delivery.”

The authors believe that their final product has the potential to be advertised for use in the near future. Other functional ingredients with unfavorable taste can be added into chewing gum, using these results as a guide, they concluded.

When contradictory messages are sent to the central nervous system from the other four systems – the eyes, the inner ear, skin pressure receptors, and the muscle and joint sensory receptors, symptoms of motion sickness will occur, including:

  • vomiting
  • dizziness
  • nausea
  • headache
  • sweating
  • short breath
  • drowsiness

Written by Sarah Glynn