Are lamotrigine kinetics altered in menopause? Observations from a drug monitoring database.
To assess possible alterations in the pharmacokinetics of lamotrigine (LTG) in menopause, we reviewed the database of the drug monitoring service at the Karolinska University Hospital. Dose/plasma concentration (D/C) ratios of LTG in different age groups of women under treatment with LTG were compared with ratios for men. For further comparison, D/C ratios were calculated for men and women treated with carbamazepine (CBZ). D/C ratios were available for 752 men and 1115 women on LTG, and for 3464 men and 3088 women on CBZ. The D/C ratios of CBZ were very similar among men and women in all age groups under study. In contrast, LTG D/C ratios seemed to decline in women 51-55 years of age, and were in this age group significantly lower among women than among men (P<0.05). Our data suggest that there may be a transient decline in clearance of LTG in conjunction with presumed menopause.
Tomson
Torbjörn
T
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. torbjorn.tomson@karolinska.se
Lukic
Stevo
S
Ohman
Inger
I
D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000077213:Lamotrigine; D008297:Male; D008593:Menopause / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014227:Triazines / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000927:Anticonvulsants; D014227:Triazines; D000077213:Lamotrigine