No abstract

An attempt was made to study the kinetics of penetration of ergotamine across the blood-brain barrier. A single therapeutic dose of ergotamine was given to 18 hospitalized patients; eight patients received 0.5 mg i.m., three patients 4 mg rectally, and seven patients 2 mg rectally. Plasma samples were drawn between 0.25 and 72 h and one CSF sample was taken from each patient between 0.5 and 6.5 h after administration. The ergotamine concentrations were measured using a RIA method. The 0.5 mg intramuscular injection showed the highest plasma levels of ergotamine, with a mean peak concentration of 1.27 ng/ml reached at 0.5 h. The 4 mg rectal administration resulted in mean plasma ergotamine levels of 0.44 ng/ml in the time interval of 0.75-2 h. The 2 mg ergotamine rectally resulted in mean plasma levels of 0.15-0.17 ng/ml 1-8 h after administration of ergotamine. Neither the plasma samples taken after 10 h nor the CSF samples had ergotamine concentrations above the detection limit of the RIA method (0.1 ng ergotamine/ml).

Chlorprothixene (CPX) and CPX sulphoxide were demonstrated in breast milk from two psychotic mothers taking 200 mg CPX daily. The milk concentrations of CPX were 120 to 260% greater than in plasma. The estimated amounts of drug administered in breast milk to one of the infants were 15 and 26 micrograms/day for CPX and CPX sulphoxide, respectively. Accordingly, the infant dose of the parent compound would be only 0.1% of the maternal dose/kg body weight. It is not likely that CPX or its metabolite would exert any immediate pharmacological effects in the nursing infant. However, the long term effect of low doses of neuroleptic drugs in the developing infants is not yet known.

No abstract

Liver and kidney samples obtained from 76 autopsies were analyzed for cadmium and zinc content. The patients had died of various internal diseases. None of them had any known occupational exposure to cadmium. A record was made of age, sex, place of residence, diagnosis, and smoking habits of each patient. The results showed no significant correlation between cadmium accumulation and hypertension or cardiovascular disease. There was, however, a significantly higher kidney cadmium level in smokers than in nonsmokers.