Pharmacokinetics of iontophoretic sumatriptan administration

1. A method for treating a sumatriptan responsive state in a human, comprising iontophoretically administering to said human an effective amount of sumatriptan using a current of about 4 mA for a high current treatment period of about one hour and a current of about 2 mA for a subsequent low current treatment period, such that said human is treated for said sumatriptan responsive state,

wherein the sumatriptan is administered such that an AUC 0-inf of between about 67 and about 158 hr*ng/mL within a 95% confidence interval is achieved in the human's plasma; and

wherein the sumatriptan is administered such that a C max of between about 14 and about 38 ng/mL within a 95% confidence interval is achieved in the human's plasma.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said amount of sumatriptan is about 10 mg.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sumatriptan is administered such that an AUC 0-inf between about 99 and 128 hr*ng/mL within a 95% confidence interval is achieved in the human's plasma and a C max between about 20 and about 28 ng/mL within a 95% confidence interval is achieved in the human's plasma.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein about 10 mg of sumatriptan is administered to said human.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the sumatriptan is administered such that an AUC 0-inf between about 99 and about 128 hr*ng/mL within a 95% confidence interval is achieved in the human's plasma; or

wherein the sumatriptan is administered such that a C max between about 20 and about 28 ng/mL within a 95% confidence interval is achieved in the human's plasma; or

wherein the sumatriptan is administered such that a C max of about 23-25 ng/mL is achieved and plasma concentrations are sustained for at least three hours; or

wherein the sumatriptan is administered such that an AUC 0-inf between about 99 and 128 hr*ng/mL and a C max between about 20 to about 28 ng/mL are achieved in the human's plasma.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said effective amount of sumatriptan is administered without substantial adverse effects.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein said adverse effects comprise pain, pressure sensations or atypical sensations.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said administration of sumatriptan results in an AUC 0-inf , t 1/2 , or C max coefficient of variance (CV) of less than about 25%.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein said administration of sumatriptan results in an AUC 0-inf coefficient of variance less than twice the AUC 0-inf coefficient of variance for subcutaneous administration of sumatriptan.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said effective amount of sumatriptan is administered without substantially irritating said human's skin.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein said iontophoretic administration of sumatriptan causes little or no erythema.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein said iontophoretic administration of sumatriptan causes little or no punctuate lesions.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said sumatriptan responsive state is a migraine.

14. A method for treating a sumatriptan responsive state in a human, comprising iontophoretically administering to said human an amount of sumatriptan using a current of 4.0 mA or greater for at least a portion of the treatment period, such that said sumatriptan responsive state in said human is treated,

wherein the sumatriptan is administered such that an AUC 0-inf of between about 67 and about 158 hr*ng/mL within a 95% confidence interval is achieved in the human's plasma; and

wherein the sumatriptan is administered such that a C max of between about 14 and about 38 ng/mL within a 95% confidence interval is achieved in the human's plasma.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said portion of said treatment period is about thirty minutes to about 90 minutes.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein said method further comprises a low current treatment period using a current of between about 1.5 to about 2.5 mA.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein said low current treatment period uses a current of about 2.0 mA.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein said low current treatment period is between about 2 hours and about 4 hours in length.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein an effective amount of sumatriptan is administered without substantially irritating said human's skin.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein said iontophoretic administration of sumatriptan causes little or no erythema.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein said iontophoretic administration of sumatriptan causes little or no punctuate lesions.

22. The method of claim 14 , wherein said sumatriptan responsive state is a migraine.