Pharmacotherapeutic aspects of drug transporters in the placenta

Abstract

Drug treatment during pregnancy is often inevitable. The number of pregnant women in need of pharmacotherapy continues to grow, partly due to advanced diagnostic tests and partly due to advanced maternal age. Obviously, knowledge about the function of drug transporters in the placenta allows for a more accurate analysis of drug penetration (and other xenobiotics) through the placental barrier, and therefore safer pharmacotherapy. The paper provides information on the role of drug transporters in the pharmacotherapy of pregnancy-associated pathologies which require long-term treatment, e.g. cardiac arrhythmias, gestational diabetes, epilepsy, HIV infection, preeclampsia, and conditions which require the use of glucocorticoids.