Twelve healthy volunteers received four single doses of atenolol (25-, 50-, and 100-mg oral solutions and a 50-mg intravenous infusion), each dose separated by at least one week. Blood and urine assayed for atenolol by a high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Kinetic analysis of the intravenous data indicates a three-compartment model with elimination from the central compartment. The mean (+/- SD) terminal elimination half-life is 6.06 +/- 2.02 hr, the mean volume of the central compartment is 0.173 L/kg, and 94.1 +/- 8.0% of the intravenous dose is excreted in the urine. The mean value of the plasma clearance is 10.7 +/- 1.27 L/hr and of the renal plasma clearance, 10.4 +/- 1.14 L/hr. The mean absolute bioavailability for the 25-, 50-, and 100-mg oral doses is 0.52 +/- 0.18, 0.54 +/- 0.12, and 0.58 +/- 0.16, respectively. The maximum plasma concentration varies as a linear function of dose. Time to mean maximum plasma concentration (3.0 hr) and the time for half of the bioavailable dose to be absorbed (2.0 hr) do not differ significantly with dose. The mean renal plasma clearance after oral doses (9.49 +/- 1.6 L/hr) is in the same range as renal clearance after intravenous doses.

A 56-day pharmacokinetic study of zonisamide was conducted in 24 healthy volunteers. Steady state was achieved in 29 days including two dose escalations, and in an average of 15 days from the last dose adjustment. Twice-daily administration of 200 mg every 12 hours produced a 14% serum level fluctuation at steady state. After once-daily administration of 400 mg, a 27% serum level fluctuation was observed. The terminal-phase half-life after the last dose was 63 to 69 hours, which is consistent with the half-life of 52 to 60 hours found in single-dose studies. This result demonstrates that zonisamide is not an autoinducer. Serum oral clearance of 0.60 to 0.71 L/hr (0.121-0.132 mL/min/kg) was similar to that observed in other multiple-dose studies.

The pharmacokinetics of baclofen, a centrally acting muscle relaxant, have been elucidated in man. The pharmacokinetic disposition was determined form plasma concentration-time data and urinary recovery after the administration of rate-limiting intestinal infusions and an oral bolus dose. Based on comparisons between the plasma concentration-time profiles from the intestinal infusions and the oral bolus doses, relative regression parameter assignments were made. The intestinal absorption of baclofen after intestinal infusion was very rapid, such that baclofen disposition was well characterized by an open two-compartment pharmacokinetic model with zero-order input. Intravenous administration of baclofen was precluded from this study because of the potential for severe adverse reactions. The average distribution phase constant (alpha) was 1.29 hours-1 and the average elimination phase constant (beta) was 0.191 hours-1. Average volume of the central compartment (Vc/F), volume of the body compartment (Varea/F), systemic clearance (CL/F), and renal clearance were 28.8 L, 59.0 L, 180 ml/min, and 103 ml/min, respectively. Pharmacokinetics were dose proportional in the dose range studied. The use of these pharmacokinetic parameters as determined in normal subjects in therapeutic management is particularly relevant, because baclofen is targeted to a patient population subject to renal dysfunction.

In this dose-ranging phase I study, the relationship between in vivo androgen to estrogen conversion kinetics and plasma concentrations of fadrozole was investigated in postmenopausal women receiving therapy with this aromatase inhibitor. Patients received ascending doses, ranging from 0.3-8 mg fadrozole twice daily, each for a period of 2 weeks. Drug kinetics and endocrine effects were evaluated specifically for the 2- and 8-mg twice daily treatment regimens. The in vivo activity of the drug was demonstrated by the suppression of estrone and estradiol biosynthesis from testosterone and androstenedione, respectively. The drug inhibitory constant, KI, for the estrone synthetic pathway, was 3.0 ng/mL (13.4 nmol/L) and was of similar magnitude as that determined under in vitro conditions. The KI for the estradiol synthetic pathway was 5.3 ng/mL (23.7 nmol/L). The disparity between KI values may indicate that the two pathways are not equivalent in terms of their inhibition by fadrozole. Pharmacokinetic data demonstrated tha the drug was rapidly absorbed after oral dosing, with peak plasma concentrations achieved in median times of 1 and 2 h, respectively, for the 2- and 8-mg twice daily treatment regimens. The average half-life and oral clearance values were 10.5 h and 621 mL/min, respectively. Oral clearance was independent of dose.