The population pharmacokinetics of desmopressin in children with nocturnal enuresis and in healthy adults were compared using a 1-compartment model with first-order absorption and first-order elimination. In addition, the model consisted of a number of transit compartments before absorption to describe a lag-time. The model gave an adequate description of adult as well as children data and provided a statistically significant better fit to data than a standard lag-time model. The main difference in the pharmacokinetics between children and adults was the absorption delay. The pharmacokinetic difference was minor and presumably of no clinical relevance.

The preferred approach to determine the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) properties of insulin analogues is the euglycemic glucose clamp. Currently non-compartmental data analytical approaches are used to analyze data. The purpose of the present study is to propose a novel compartmental-model for analysis of data from glucose clamp studies. Data used in this trial only involved 18 of the 20 originally treated subjects. Data was obtained from a crossover trial where 18 healthy subjects each received a single subcutaneous (s.c.) dose of 1.2 nmol/kg (body weight) insulin aspart (IAsp) or 1.2 nmol/kg human insulin (HI) during a euglycemic glucose clamp after overnight fast. Serum insulin and glucose concentrations were measured and the glucose infusion rate (GIR) was adjusted after dosing, to maintain blood glucose near basal levels. Individual model parameters were estimated for IAsp, HI, and the corresponding glucose and GIR data. We found statistically significant differences between most of the HI and IAsp pharmacokinetic parameters, including the sigmoidicity of the time course of absorption (1.5 for HI vs. 2.1 for IAsp (unit less), P = 0.0005, Wilcoxon Signed-rank test), elimination rate constant (0.010 min-1 for HI vs. 0.016 min-1 for IAsp (P = 0.002)). The PD model parameters were mostly not different, except for the rate of insulin action (0.012 min-1 for HI vs. 0.017 min-1 for IAsp (P = 0.03)). The model may provide a framework to account for different PK properties when estimating the PD properties of insulin and insulin analogues in glucose clamp experiments.

NS11821 is a partial GABAA agonist with relatively dominant α2,3 and α5 subtype efficacy but negligible α1 agonism. This first-in-human study was performed in healthy male subjects using a single-dose, parallel, double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, dose-escalation study design. In total six cohorts (N=48) were enrolled. The eight subjects of each cohort received NS11821 (10 mg, 30 mg, 75 mg, 150 mg, 300 mg or 600 mg) or placebo in a 6:2 ratio. At low dose levels, NS11821 had a relatively low exposure and a more-than-proportional increase of the area under the curve and maximum plasma concentrations, probably due to poor solubility. Saccadic peak velocity decreased in a dose-related manner while limited impairments were seen on body sway and the visual analogue scale for alertness. The most common adverse events were somnolence and dizziness, which were more prominent with the higher doses. Although no positive control was used in this study, the results were compared post hoc with a Centre for Human Drug Research dataset for lorazepam 2 mg. The maximum saccadic peak velocity effects seemed comparable to the typical effects of lorazepam, whereas the other central nervous system effects were smaller. These results support the pharmacological selectivity of NS11821 and show that pharmacodynamic effective doses of NS11821 were safe and well tolerated in healthy subjects.

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Pridopidine is being developed for the treatment of impaired motor function associated with Huntington's disease and belongs to a new class of compounds known as dopidines, which act as dopaminergic stabilizers. In vitro studies have shown that pridopidine is a substrate for the P450 cytochrome 2D6 enzyme (CYP2D6), and clinical data show that the half-life of pridopidine is different following single dosing versus at steady state. To further investigate the pharmacokinetic profile of pridopidine and to establish whether dose adjustment is needed in poor CYP2D6 metabolizers, a single-centre, open-label, multiple-dose study in healthy volunteers was performed. In total, 24 extensive CYP2D6 metabolizers (EMs) and 12 poor CYP2D6 metabolizers (PMs) were enrolled. Both groups received 45 mg pridopidine twice daily (b.i.d.). Plasma samples were taken during the first day of b.i.d. dosing (Day 1) and at steady state, following 14 days of b.i.d. dosing. At Day 1, total exposure in PMs was almost three times higher than those in EMs (AUC0-∞ = 11,192 and 3,782 h·ng/mL, respectively; PM/EM ratio = 2.96; p < 0.001). However, at steady state, PMs and EMs had comparable exposure due to a reduction in pridopidine elimination in EMs over time. Thus, at steady-state peak (C max) and total (AUC0-24) exposures were only 1.24 and 1.29 times higher, respectively, in PMs than EMs. These results support that pridopidine is a CYP2D6 auto-inhibitor. Pridopidine was well tolerated in both EMs and PMs. The slightly higher exposure level in PMs at steady state does not indicate a need for dose adjustment or genotyping for CYP2D6 metabolizer status.

The pharmacokinetics of a new selective oestrogen receptor modulator levormeloxifene was investigated in mice, rats, cynomolgus monkeys and humans by compartmental pharmacokinetics. Levormeloxifene was administered as an oral solution in all studies. Allometric scaling was used to predict human pharmacokinetic parameters and the performance of the approach was evaluated. Mean values of clearance confounded by F(CL/F) were 0.073, 0.29, 3.18 and 2.4 l/h in mice, rats, monkeys and humans, respectively. Values of distribution volume at steady state confounded by F(V(ss)/F) were 0.073 and 7.5 l in mice and rats. In monkeys, values of the central volume F(V(c)/F) and volume at steady state F(V(ss)/F) were 28.9 and 57.9 l, respectively. In humans, values of V(c)/F and V(ss)/F were 106 and 587 l, respectively. Predicted CL/F and V(ss)/F showed a linear relationship when plotted vs BW on a log-log scale; for CL/F, r was 0.95-0.98 and for V(ss)/F, r was 0.99. Using allometric scaling the predicted human V(ss)/F deviated 3-fold from the experimentally determined values. Observed values of CL/F deviated 21-25 fold from the predicted, the latter depending on the scaling method. Confidence intervals for the predicted parameters showed major lack of precision for all the allometric scaling methods.

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