Pharmacokinetics of paracetamol in ischemic cerebral apoplexy

Pharmacokinetics of paracetamol, regarded as a model substance, was investigated after oral administration to patients suffering from ischemic cerebral apoplexy. Twenty men, 50-70 years old, suffering from a brain stroke in the region of internal carotid artery or median cerebral artery on the left or right side, were tested 2 and 6 weeks after the onset of the stroke, and compared with a control group of 10 men. Essential differences in the pharmacokinetics of paracetamol were found between control subjects and those suffering from apoplexy. Disturbances in the cerebral circulation caused, regardless of the affected hemisphere, a depressed absorption of paracetamol, its larger distribution volume and increased elimination. Some pharmacokinetic parameters (tmax, Cmax, V2) were changed to a greater extent after 6 than after 2 weeks following the stroke. Some minor differences in the observed parameters, especially elimination, were noted in patients with a damage to the right and to the left hemispheres.