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Biomedical subjects

D J Edwards

Publications and source records attributed to D J Edwards.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Displacement of lidocaine from serum alpha 1-acid glycoprotein binding sites by basic drugs.

Since little is known of the number and types of binding sites on alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) and because drug-drug protein binding interactions often fail to fit a simple model, a study of the effect of 9 known AAG binding drugs on lidocaine free fraction (LFF) was performed. Serum was obtained from 10 healthy males, pooled and various concentrations (from 0.15 to 1000 micrograms/ml) of amitriptyline, bupivacaine, chlorpromazine, disopyramide, imipramine, meperidine, nortriptyline, propranolol and quinidine were added. LFF was determined by equilibrium dialysis at an initial lidocaine concentration of 2.0 micrograms/ml. LFF increased from 0.30 +/- 0.019 (mean +/- SD) in the absence of displacing agents to maximum values ranging from 0.59 (nortriptyline) to 0.73 (bupivacaine). Plots of LFF vs. the logarithm of displacing drug concentration yielded simple sigmoidal curves in all cases. LFF was increased 50% by an initial bupivacaine concentration of 6.0 micrograms/ml with all other drugs requiring more than 10 micrograms/ml to increase LFF to that extent. Lidocaine binding in a 4.5 g/dl albumin solution was unaffected by concentrations of quinidine, meperidine, nortriptyline and bupivacaine up to 200 micrograms/ml. Addition of AAG to serum reduced LFF as expected. A plot of the reciprocal of bound drug concentration vs. the reciprocal of free drug concentration in the presence and absence of quinidine suggested a competitive binding interaction. These data indicate that the binding interactions between lidocaine and the various displacing compounds are not significantly complicated by cooperative effects and that, with the possible exception of bupivacaine, displacement of lidocaine by any of these drugs is likely to be of clinical significance.

Binding Sites↗

Effect of food on hepatic blood flow: implications in the "food effect" phenomenon.

It has been suggested that alteration in the apparent oral bioavailability of propranolol taken with food may be due to a transient increase in QH. To investigate this hypothesis more closely, the time course of effect of a high-protein meal on QH was examined with the model compound ICG. Forty minutes postprandial, the mean increase in estimated QH was 69% above the control. QH was still elevated a mean of 36% at 100 min but by 280 min had decreased to a value that did not differ from control. Computer simulations were performed to predict the magnitude of change in the apparent oral bioavailability of propranolol that would be expected based on the observed QH changes. These simulations suggest that simple changes in QH alone cannot account for the increase in apparent oral bioavailability when propranolol is taken with food.

Adult↗

Possible role of octopamine and tyramine in the antihypertensive and antidepressant effects of tyrosine.

The administration of a dose of 200 mg/kg of tyrosine (as either the free amino acid or the ethyl ester) increased the 24-hour excretion of p-hydroxyphenethyleneglycol (p-HPG) and p-hydroxyphenylethanol, metabolites of octopamine and tyramine, by 147 and 50%, respectively. One hour after this dose of tyrosine, brain levels of p-HPG and p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (p-HPA), another metabolite of tyramine, were increased by 82 and 196%, respectively. Pretreatment with Ro4-4602, a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor, reduced by 50% the tyrosine-induced increases in brain p-HPA levels, suggesting that tyramine was partially formed in the brain parenchyma. Tyrosine caused only slight, but non-significant increases in brain levels of catecholamine metabolites. These results suggest that tyrosine-induced increases in the production of tyramine and octopamine in brain may account for some of the effects of tyrosine, such as its antihypertensive and reported antidepressant properties.

Animals↗

Alpha1-acid glycoprotein concentration and protein binding in trauma.

Alpha 1-Acid glycoprotein (AAG) concentrations were measured every 2 to 3 days in eight trauma patients and seven healthy subjects for approximately 3 wk. Mean AAG concentrations in the trauma patients rose from 100 mg/dl to a peak value of 243 mg/dl at 10 to 14 days. AAG levels averaged more than 200 mg/dl at 15 to 21 days. Mean AAG concentration in healthy subjects was 70 mg/dl with little inter- or intraindividual variability. Lidocaine was added to all serum samples from four of the patients and to selected samples from all of the healthy subjects and protein binding was determined. The binding ratio (bound concentration/free concentration) correlated strongly with AAG concentration in the trauma patients (r = 0.92), in the healthy subjects (r = 0.84), and in both groups combined (r = 0.96). AAG concentration and binding ratio for each of the four patients individually also correlated (P less than 0.05 in all cases). The change in free fraction associated with this increase in AAG was approximately doubled in each patient. Similar findings with drugs commonly used in trauma patients would be expected to alter serum concentration-response relationships significantly.

Adolescent↗

Effects of L-dopa on dopamine and norepinephrine concentrations in rat brain assessed by gas chromatography.

A highly specific and sensitive gas chromatographic method has been developed which is capable of determining picogram amounts of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) simultaneously. The catecholamines are converted to the N-2,6-dinitro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl, O-trimethylsilyl derivatives, which are analyzed by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection. The method has been applied to the assay of catecholamines in rat brain extracts. One hour after an acute dose (150 mg/kg i.p.) of L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, the rat brain concentration of DA increased by 130% while the concentration of NE was unchanged.

Animals↗

Conversion of 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and deuterated 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine to alcoholic metabolites of catecholamines in rat brain.

We have investigated the effects of 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) and its deuterated analogue on the concentrations of alcoholic metabolites of catecholamines in rat brain by means of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with selected-ion monitoring. Whole brain concentrations of the two neutral norepinephrine metabolites, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (MHPG) and 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (DHPG), were significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner by a single intraperitoneal injection of L-DOPA. Both MHPG and DHPG, as well as the corresponding dopamine metabolites, reached a maximum 1 h after injection. Brain MHPG and DHPG concentrations were elevated by 78 and 134%, respectively, 1 h after injection of 150 mg/kg L-DOPA. Analyses of discrete brain regions revealed that concentrations of the norepinephrine metabolites were elevated uniformly in all regions, except that MHPG showed a greater increase in the cerebellum than in other regions. The latter result appeared to be explained by the finding that 52% of the total MHPG in the cerebellum was unconjugated (compared to 15% in the whole brain). L-DOPA caused a proportionately greater increase in free MHPG than in total MHPG in the cerebellum and brain stem. By using deuterated L-DOPA in place of L-DOPA and measuring both the deuterated and nondeuterated norepinephrine metabolites, we demonstrated that virtually all of the increases in MHPG and DHPG were due to the conversion of the exogenous L-DOPA to norepinephrine. Thus, the effects of norepinephrine metabolism need to be considered in attempts to understand clinical and behavioral effects of L-DOPA.

3-Methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethanol↗

Predicted tissue accumulation of netilmicin in patients.

The two-compartment pharmacokinetics of netilmicin were investigated in 11 patients with stable renal function who were being treated for gram-negative infections. The initial dosage of netilmicin ranged from 2.5 to 5.0 mg/kg per day, with subsequent changes made on the basis of serum concentrations. Venous blood samples were obtained every 2 to 4 days during therapy and daily for an average of 10 days after the final dose. Serum concentrations were measured by both microbiological assay and radioimmunoassay. Peak and trough netilmicin concentrations were significantly greater (P less than 0.01) at the end of therapy than at the first dose, even though renal function was stable throughout treatment in all patients. After the final dose, serum concentrations declined in a biphasic manner, with a first-phase half-life of 5.4 h and a terminal half-life of 198 h. The total body clearance averaged 31 ml/min. An average of 99 mg of netilmicin (approximately 5% of the total dose) was predicted to be in the tissue compartment at the end of therapy. A comparison of these pharmacokinetic parameters with those obtained in a previously reported but similar study with gentamicin showed no significant differences between the two aminoglycosides with respect to peak and trough concentrations (initially or at the end of therapy), volumes of distribution, total body clearance, or amount of drug in the tissue compartment at the end of therapy. The terminal half-life of netilmicin was significantly greater than that of gentamicin, whereas the rate constant of netilmicin for tissue influx (k12) was significantly less.

Adult↗

Changes in plasma levels of calcium and in bone marrow mitosis after antigenic challenge in rats and mice.

When rats or mice were immunized with sheep red blood cells, bacterial lipopolysaccharides or bovine serum albumin, a proliferative response could be detected in the bone marrow and spleen. This response was associated with a hypercalcaemic phase. Parathyroidectomy, which resulted in a protracted hypocalcaemia, prevented the development of an increase in levels of plasma calcium. This operation also prevented the rise in bone marrow proliferations following antigenic challenge, but did not ablate the normal proliferative response to antigen by cells in the spleen. Antibody production and numbers of antibody-forming cells were not significantly reduced by parathyroidectomy. These results suggest that there is a pool of antigen-insensitive cells in the bone marrow which are stimulated after antigenic challenge. It is postulated that these events were mediated by the development of a parathyroid-dependent hypercalcaemia which stimulates the cells non-specifically. These events may form part of a cellular homeostasis, replacing cells in peripheral lymphoid tissues.

Animals↗

MHPG excretion in depression.

3-Methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (MHPG) was measured in 24-hour urine collections obtained from 44 drug-free patients hospitalized for a major depressive disorder, MHPG was significantly lower in a group of three biopolar 1 patients than in a group of unipolar patients. The excretion of MHPG did not significantly differ among patients classified as psychoatic, agitated, or retarded subtypes of depression as compared to patients not assigned to these subtypes.

Adult↗

MHPG excretion and EEG sleep in primary depression.

Measures of daily urinary 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) excretion and electroencephalographic (EEG) sleep data were examined in 30 patients hospitalized for depression. This sample (mean age = 35 years) comprised 17 females and 13 males, all of whom were drug-free for 2 weeks and met Research Diagnostic Criteria for primary depressive disorder. Data analyses were conducted on the entire group, as well as the male, female, unipolar, and recurrent subgroups. No significant relationships were observed between total MHPG excretion and rapid eye movement (REM) or non-REM sleep variables. In particular, the absence of an interrelatedness of MHPG and REM sleep fails to confirm earlier findings in a smaller patient sample. These results, therefore, raise new questions about the proposed role of central noradrenergic activity in the mediation of REM sleep in depression.

Adult↗