title: Distribution of azithromycin into brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid, and aqueous humor of the eye.
abstract: To measure the concentrations of azithromycin in the central nervous system, 20 patients with brain tumors (group I) received a single 500-mg oral dose of azithromycin either 24, 48, 72, or 96 h prior to the tumor removal operation and 10 patients with cataracts undergoing surgery (group II) and 7 patients scheduled to undergo lumbar puncture (group III) received the same dose of azithromycin 24 h prior to the operation or procedure. Serum from all patients, brain tissue from group I, aqueous humor from group II, and cerebrospinal fluid from group III were assayed for azithromycin concentration. The mean concentrations of azithromycin in brain tissue 24, 48, 72, and 96 h after administration were 2.63 +/- 2.58, 3.64 +/- 3.81, 0.74 +/- 0.37, and 0.41 micrograms/g, respectively. In contrast, the concentrations of azithromycin in cerebrospinal fluid and aqueous humor of the eye were very low or undetectable. Therefore, these data show that azithromycin appears to be widely distributed into brain tissue but not into cerebrospinal fluid or aqueous humor of the eye.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkla, Thailand.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jaruratanasirikul
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hortiwakul
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tantisarasart
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Phuenpathom
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tussanasunthornwong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000378:metabolism*; D017963:Azithromycin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D017963:Azithromycin