A comparative study of antipyrine and lignocaine disposition in normal subjects and in patients treated with enzyme-inducing drugs.

1 The disposition kinetics of lignocaine and antipyrine were compared in eight normal subjects and in eleven patients receiving chronic therapy with antiepileptic drugs. The urinary excretion of D-glucaric acid (D-GA) was measured in 16 subjects. 2 In patients treated with antiepileptic drugs antipyrine clearance and D-GA excretion were significantly increased, whereas lignocaine biovailability was significantly reduced. 3 When all the subjects included in the study were considered, a significant positive correlation could be found between the apparent oral clearance of lignocaine (Dose/area under the blood concentration curve) and both antipyrine clearance (r = 0.73) and D-GA excretion (r = 0.74). 4 When normal subjects and epileptic patients were considered separately, a significant positive correlation could be confirmed between the apparent oral clearance of lignocaine and both antipyrine clearance (r = 0.71) and D-GA excretion (r = 0.76) in normal subjects, and between antipyrine clearance and D-GA excretion (r = 0.75) in epileptic patients. 5 These results suggest that the reduction of the oral availability of lignocaine in epileptic patients is secondary to induction of first-pass metabolism of the latter drug.     

Serum protein binding of tolbutamide in patients treated with antiepileptic drugs

The possible development of a displacement interaction involving tolbutamide, in epileptic patients, has been explored by studying the serum protein binding of this drug in vitro in 199 samples of sera from patients treated with antiepileptic agents included in a programme of therapeutic drug monitoring. 82 of the samples were from patients receiving a single drug, 86 from patients treated with 2 drugs, and 31 from patients treated with 3 drugs. The free fraction of tolbutamide was higher in serum from patients treated with antiepileptic drugs than in serum from untreated 'normal' volunteers. The increase was more marked the greater the number of antiepileptic drugs administered. Valproate appeared to be the most powerful displacing agent.     

Paracetamol disposition and metabolite kinetics in patients with chronic renal failure

Summary The disposition of paracetamol following an oral dose of 1.0 g was compared in 10 healthy volunteers, 7 patients with moderate chronic renal failure and 6 patients with end stage renal failure on maintenance haemodialysis.Paracetamol absorption was normal in the patients with renal failure. The mean plasma half-life of paracetamol from 2 to 8 h was similar in the 3 groups (2.1 to 2.3 h) but from 8 to 24 h it disappeared much more slowly in the renal failure patients (half-life 11.7 compared with 4.9 h in the healthy volunteers). Plasma concentrations of paracetamol glucuronide and sulphate conjugates were greatly increased in the patients with moderate renal failure and the mean plasma half-lives were 30.5 and 21.8 h respectively compared with about 3 h in the healthy volunteers. Plasma concentrations of these metabolites were even higher in the dialysis patients and there was no significant fall over 24 h. The cysteine and mercapturic acid conjugates of paracetamol could only be measured in plasma in the patients with renal failure and concentrations were very low.The fractional urinary recovery of paracetamol and its glucuronide, sulphate, cysteine and mercapturic acid conjugates was similar in healthy volunteers and patients with moderate renal failure. The mean renal clearances of paracetamol and its glucuronide and sulphate conjugates in the healthy volunteers and patients with moderate renal failure were 15.7, 137 and 172, and 5.9, 14.5 and 14.8 ml/min respectively. In the latter patients the mean renal clearances of the cysteine and mercapturic acid conjugates were much greater at 35.4 and 80.2 ml/min. In the patients with moderate renal failure the AUC's of the glucuronide and sulphate conjugates were related to the plasma creatinine and there were significant negative correlations with the renal clearances of these metabolites and total urinary recovery. Marked cumulation of the polar glucuronide and sulphate conjugates of paracetamol would seem inevitable in patients with renal failure and the parent drug is apparently regenerated to a limited extent from retained metabolites.     

Interactions with antiepileptic drugs.

Most of the currently available antiepileptic drugs have a low therapeutic ratio and therefore a drug interaction causing elevation of the serum level of one of these compounds can readily lead to drug intoxication. Phenytoin, in particular, is vulnerable because its metabolism is dose-related and at therapeutic serum levels the enzyme system involved in its degradation is easily inhibited by concurrent drug administration. As multiple drug therapy has traditionally been practised in the management of epilepsy, clinically important interactions are common. Furthermore, most of the drugs used in the treatment of major epilepsies are potent inducers of hepatic microsomal enzymes and can therefore stimulate the metabolism of concurrently-administered drugs to such an extent that they may be rendered ineffective. The use of one drug alone is recommended, where possible, in the management of epilepsy.     

Phenylethylmalonamide serum levels in patients treated with primidone and the effects of other antiepileptic drugs

Data are presented for the serum levels of 2-ethyl-2-phenylmalonamide (PEMA) in patients receiving anticonvulsant medication. Statistical analysis of these data indicates that the serum level of PEMA, which is a metabolite of primidone, is affected not only by the dose of primidone but also by the serum levels of other prescribed anticonvulsant drugs. In particular, phenobarbitone is shown to be a major perturbation upon the PEMA serum level.     

The acute effects of ethanol on acetanilide disposition in normal subjects, and in patients with liver disease.

1 The effects of single doses (25 g and 50 g) oral ethanol on the disposition of acetanilide (50 mg/kg metabolic active mass) has been studied in normal subjects, and in patients with chronic non-alcoholic liver disease. 2 In normal subjects, ethanol produced a dose-dependent increase in acetanilide half-life, and a decrease in acetenilide clearance. There was a significant correlation (rs = 0.71, P less than 0.01) between the 90 min blood ethanol concentration and the reduction in acetanilide clearance. 3 In patients with liver disease, ethanol produced a similar proportional change in acetanilide half-life and clearance, but these were less consistent. Moreover, liver disease itself was associated with an increase in acetenilide half-life, and a reduction in clearance. 4 It is concluded that single oral doses of ethanol, comparable to those consumed during social drinking, may inhibit some forms of microsomal oxidation and thus have important clinical implications.     

Interactions between clobazam and standard antiepileptic drugs in patients with epilepsy.

We retrospectively collected plasma level assessments performed in 96 adult patients with epilepsy on stable monotherapy, including 9 patients on clobazam (CLB), 34 on carbamazepine (CBZ), 24 on phenobarbital (PB), 9 on phenytoin (PHT), and 20 on valproate (VPA); these results were compared to those obtained in 54 adult patients on stable bitherapy with the association of CLB with either CBZ (n = 17), PB (n = 17), PHT (n = 5), or VPA (n = 15). Our results show that CLB has no significant effect on the level to dose ratio (LDR) of CBZ, PB, PHT, or VPA. Conversely, CBZ, PB, and PHT significantly decrease the LDR of CLB. CBZ and PHT significantly increase the LDR of N-desmethylclobazam (NCLB), the major metabolite of CLB. A significant increase in the NCLB/CLB ratio was found in CBZ + CLB, PB + CLB, and PHT + CLB bitherapies. These findings are of clinical significance: clobazam is useful as adjunctive treatment in human epilepsy and is often chosen as the benzodiazepine adjunctive drug in chronic resistant epilepsy. Sedative side effects may occur, especially in patients treated by a CBZ + CLB or PHT + CLB bitherapy, and both CLB and NCLB plasma levels should be monitored in such patients.     

The disposition of four tetracyclines in normal subjects

Summary The disposition of minocycline, tetracycline, doxycycline and oxytetracycline was investigated in four male volunteers after multiple dosing. Values for half life, renal clearance and volume of distribution were calculated and corrected for plasma protein binding. Tetracycline and oxytetracycline have a much larger volume of distribution than minocycline and doxycycline but similar half lives. They give higher tissue levels for equivalent plasma levels. Since their cost per unit dose is much lower they should be the tetracyclines of first choice.     

Dose-dependent disposition of oral propranolol in normal subjects

The pharmacokinetics and relative systemic availability or oral propranolol were studied in three healthy volunteers following administration of 10, 40, and 80 mg of propranolol hydrochloride. Plasma concentrations of propranolol were determined using a sensitive and specific fluorometric high pressure liquid chromatographic technique. In the dosage range studied, the amount of propranolol reaching the systemic circulation increased with dose, while half-lives remained unchanged. The apparent ‘threshold dose’ for propranolol was much smaller than previously reported, and its contribution to the observed dose-dependent availability is doubtful. Apparent intrinsic clearance values were shown to decrease with increase in dose, with a true maximal intrinsic clearance of 5·4 1kg^?1 h^?1. These data suggest the saturation of a low capacity enzyme system in the liver and are consistent with theoretical characteristics of a drug that is extensively metabolized during its first pass through the liver.     

The concentration-dependent disposition of intravenous p-aminohippurate in subjects with normal and impaired renal function.

1. The disposition and kinetics of p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) were studied in 27 healthy male volunteers, 10 healthy female volunteers and 10 patients with chronic renal impairment following rapid intravenous injection of 10 mg kg-1. In addition, the renal clearances of PAH and its metabolite N-acetyl-PAH were measured in 10 of the healthy male volunteers following conventional administration of PAH by loading dose and constant infusion, and in another eight during sequential 'step-up' and 'step-down' infusions intended to maintain low, medium and high plasma concentrations below the threshold for onset of saturation of tubular transport. 2. PAH was eliminated rapidly with a mean half-life of less than 30 min in the healthy volunteers and 72 min in the renal patients. The corresponding estimates for acetyl-PAH were 49 and 153 min. In both groups the rate of disappearance of PAH slowed progressively over the period of observation and there was no true log-linear terminal elimination phase. 3. In the healthy volunteers about 50% of the dose was excreted in the urine in 30 min with quantitative recovery in 3 h. In 8 h, 17% of the dose was recovered as acetyl-PAH. In the patients with renal impairment the 8 h recovery was only 83.6% of the dose with 26.9% of the total appearing as acetyl-PAH. 4. The volume of distribution (Vss) of PAH was 16-18 l in the healthy subjects and renal patients. Acetyl-PAH appeared to have a much larger distribution volume (mean 65.5 l in the healthy volunteers). 5. In the healthy volunteers the renal clearance of PAH fell dramatically from 599 +/- 115 ml min-1 1.73m-2 during the first hour after administration to 300 +/- 208 ml min-1 1.73 m-2 during the second hour (P < 0.001). The corresponding renal clearances of acetyl-PAH were 775 +/- 196 and 916 +/- 212 ml min-1 1.73 m-2. In the patients with renal impairment the renal clearance of PAH fell from 194 +/- 83 ml min-1 1.73 m-2 in the first hour to only 61 +/- 19 ml min-1 1.73 m-2 from 4 to 6 h. Over the same period there was no significant fall in the clearances of acetyl-PAH or total PAH (acetyl-PAH + PAH).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Negative effects of antiepileptic drugs on mood in patients with epilepsy.

With the introduction of several new antiepileptic drugs into clinical practice, renewed attention has been focussed on treatment-emergent adverse effects, including mood disorders. There are several possible causes of psychiatric disorders in patients with epilepsy, including antiepileptic drugs, and it is often difficult to determine whether psychopathological manifestations, especially depressive symptoms, are due to drug therapy or to multiple other factors. Assessment of the negative effects of antiepileptic drugs on mood should always consider all potential factors. Case series, audits and open observational studies can identify psychopathological features, case-control studies are useful for identifying the endophenotypes of patients at risk of adverse effects on mood, and controlled clinical trials give good estimates of incidence of such effects, adjusted for the spontaneous occurrence of symptoms. The barbiturates, vigabatrin and topiramate show greater associations with the occurrence of depressive symptoms than other antiepileptic drugs, presenting in up to 10% of all patients, but even more so in susceptible patients. Data on zonisamide are scarce but it seems that mood disorders may occur in approximately 7% of patients who are receiving high dosages of this drug. In most cases, the use of monotherapy, with slow titration schedules, can significantly reduce the incidence of mood disorders. Tiagabine, levetiracetam and felbamate present an intermediate risk, with prevalence of depression of about 4% or lower. Phenytoin, ethosuximide, carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, gabapentin, sodium valproate, pregabalin and lamotrigine are all associated with low risks for depression (<1%), and several of these antiepileptic drugs seem to have a positive effect on mood. Antiepileptic drugs can negatively affect mood and behaviour by different mechanisms: potentiation of GABA neurotransmission, folate deficiency, pharmacodynamic interactions with other antiepileptic drugs in polytherapy regimens, forced normalisation. Individuals with a personal or family history of depression should be carefully followed after initiation of therapy with a new antiepileptic drug, especially if structural brain abnormalities such as hippocampal sclerosis are present.     

Hyponatremia induced by antiepileptic drugs in patients with epilepsy

Introduction: Hyponatremia induced by antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) has not received sufficient attention in patients with epilepsy.

Areas covered: We reviewed articles between 1966 and 2015 about hyponatremia as an adverse effect of AEDs in patients with epilepsy. The incidence, clinical symptoms, onset times of AEDs-induced hyponatremia are discussed in detail, as are the risk factors associated with AEDs-induced hyponatremia and mechanisms underlying its development. We also briefly describe strategies for treating AED-induced hyponatremia.

Expert opinion: Carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine are the most common AEDs which induce hyponatremia in patients with epilepsy. Recently, other AEDs, such as eslicarbazepine, sodium valproate, lamotrigine, levetiracetam and gabapentin have also been reported to cause hyponatremia. Understanding the risk associated with AED-induced hyponatremia and taking effective measures to combat serum sodium imbalance induced by AED therapy are necessary.     

Paracetamol disposition in renal allograft recipients

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the disposition of paracetamol in renal allograft recipients. METHOD: Eight fasting renal allograft recipients were given 1 g soluble paracetamol orally. RESULTS: Paracetamol was absorbed rapidly, and the mean plasma half-life from 2 h to 8 h was 2.6 +/- 0.5 h. After that, disappearance of paracetamol from the plasma was slower. Both the glucuronide and sulphate conjugates of paracetamol had slow elimination half-lives of 15.1 +/- 8.8 h and 26.2 +/- 14.6 h, and there were residual amounts of both conjugates in the plasma at 24 h. The renal clearances of both conjugates were low (21 +/- 14.2 ml/min and 32.4 +/- 31.4 ml/min) and there was a significant negative correlation between total amount of paracetamol recovered in the urine in 24 h and serum creatinine (r = -0.89, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Paracetamol disposition is abnormal in renal allograft recipients and seems to relate to abnormal renal function in these patients.     

新型抗癫痫药之间及其与传统抗癫痫药的相互作用和机制*

分别综述了几种新型抗癫痫药（托吡酯、非氨酯、奥卡西平、拉莫三嗪、唑尼沙胺、左乙拉西坦、噻加宾、加巴喷丁及氨己烯酸）与传统抗癫痫药联合应用时以及这些新型抗癫痫药之间的相互作用及其发生机制，阐明细胞色素P450酶和葡萄糖苷酸转移酶在新型抗癫痫药的相互作用中的意义及重要性。为临床合理联合应用提供理论依据，提高抗癫痫治疗的可靠性、安全性和有效性。     

Paracetamol disposition in Thai patients during and after treatment of falciparum malaria

Investigations in animals have suggested that conjugation of paracetamol may be reduced in malaria. We have measured plasma concentrations and the urinary excretion of paracetamol and its phase II metabolites in eight Thai patients during uncomplicated falciparum malaria and in convalescence, following a 1000 mg single oral dose.The apparent oral clearance (Malaria, 3.6; Convalescence, 3.9; ml·min^–1·kg^–1), the elimination half-life (Malaria, 3.8; Convalescence, 3.7 h) and apparent volume of distribution (Malaria, 1.2; Convalescence, 1.2; l·kg^–1) of paracetamol were similar during malaria and convalescence. In addition, the urinary excretion of paracetamol and its major phase II metabolites and their formation clearances from paracetamol were not significantly different between the two study phases.These data show that clinical malaria infection has no effect on the conjugation of paracetamol in man.     

The disposition of intravenous L-tryptophan in healthy subjects and in patients with liver disease.

The disposition of free and of total tryptophan following an intravenous load of 1.5 g of L-tryptophan was evaluated in eight patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease, 40 patients with cirrhosis of the liver (21 Child's A, 15 Child's B, 4 Child's C) and in 14 healthy subjects. Cirrhosis affected disposition of tryptophan by (a) decreasing the clearance of both free and total tryptophan by 64% (P less than 0.001) and 34% (P less than 0.01), respectively, (b) by increasing the apparent volume of distribution of total tryptophan by 42% (P less than 0.01) by expansion of the peripheral compartment, resulting in (c) a threefold increase in the half-life of tryptophan. Apart from a reduction in free tryptophan clearance, these changes in tryptophan disposition were not apparent in patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease. Elevated fasting free tryptophan plasma concentrations are an indicator of impaired tryptophan metabolism in cirrhosis. They result from a decreased hepatic clearance of tryptophan rather than from a reduction in tryptophan protein binding. This study emphasises the markedly differing pharmacokinetic behaviour of tryptophan in cirrhotic patients compared with normal subjects and with patients with non-cirrhotic liver disease.     

Sexual dysfunction related to antiepileptic drugs in patients with epilepsy

Introduction: Epilepsy is a common disease that is mostly treated with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). However, the sexual dysfunction (SD) side effects related to the use of AEDs have not received sufficient attention.

Areas covered: The purpose of this review is to examine the current evidence on SD-related side effects of AEDs. The incidence, clinical features and major types of SD are summarized. Furthermore, various AEDs that may cause SDs are addressed in detail. Finally, we briefly summarize the treatments for SD related to AEDs.

Expert opinion: SD related to AEDs is common. Symptoms include erectile dysfunction (ED), hyposexuality, hypersexuality and ejaculatory dysfunction. Traditional AEDs such as valproate and enzyme-inducing AEDs (EIAEDs) may produce high incidences of decreased libido. Recently, sexual function changes related to new AEDs have been reported. Topiramate, pregabalin and gabapentin may cause SD, whereas oxcarbazepine, lamotrigine and levetiracetam may improve sexual function. Although the treatment for SD related to AEDs remains unclear, switching to another AED may be an option. Further studies are necessary to better understand and treat SD related to AEDs.     

Valproic acid disposition in epileptic patients during combined antiepileptic maintenance therapy

Summary A previously developed mass spectrometric method was used to measure, in the presence of the unlabeled drug, the fate of pulse dose of tetradeuterated valproic acid given to epileptic patients. By this means the disposition of valproic acid (VPA) was studied in several epileptic patients on maintenance therapy with VPA and at least one other antiepileptic drug. For 6 patients with 6 different antiepileptic drug combinations, the mean VPA half-life was only 6.2 h, as compared to about 15 h after a single dose. The mean plasma clearance in those patients was 16.4 ml/min. The volume of distribution was 0.14 l/kg, which did not differ from values found in single dose studies. The clinical relevance of these findings is pointed out.