No abstract

Our study shows a faster absorption of both ASA and omeprazole after RYGB. The exposure to ASA is higher post-surgery, but the standard dose of 80 mg does not need to be modified, considering its range in effective dose. The exposure to omeprazole is, on average, decreased after surgery. Clinicians should be aware to increase the dose of omeprazole if symptoms suggest inadequate response.

Four healthy men took a single oral dose of 200 mg spironolactone after a standardized breakfast. Blood samples were drawn until 24 hours after dosing. A specific HPLC method was used to determine the serum concentrations of spironolactone and its metabolites 7 alpha-thiomethylspirolactone, 6 beta-hydroxy-7 alpha-thiomethylspirolactone, and canrenone. Pharmacokinetic parameters were derived from the serum concentration-time course of each compound. Spironolactone, 7 alpha-thiomethylspirolactone, and canrenone are known to have antimineralocorticoid activity in man. Our study demonstrated that: (1) 7 alpha-Thiomethylspirolactone is the main metabolite of spironolactone after a single oral dose as judged by the AUC(0-24) and the maximum concentration; and (2) unchanged spironolactone was detected in serum, with a maximum concentration at 1 hour and detectable levels up to 8 hours after dosing. Our findings are contrary to the widely accepted belief that spironolactone is metabolized too rapidly to be detected in serum after oral dosing and that canrenone is the principal metabolite of spironolactone.

Spironolactone, a competitive aldosterone antagonist, has been used for almost 30 years in those disorders associated with primary or secondary hyperaldosteronism. This review is confined to its metabolism and biopharmaceutics in man. Spironolactone undergoes extensive metabolism with no unchanged drug appearing in the urine. Its metabolites can be divided into two main categories: those in which the sulfur of the parent molecule is removed and those in which the sulfur is retained. The dethioacetylated metabolite canrenone, belonging to the former category, was long considered to be the major active metabolite of spironolactone. For this reason pharmacokinetic studies have focussed on its kinetic behaviour. However, pharmacodynamic studies indicated that canrenone could only partly explain spironolactone's action. Furthermore, with the advent of modern high-performance liquid chromatographic techniques to measure canrenone concentrations, it was shown that previously employed assay techniques were unspecific and consequently considerably overestimated true canrenone levels. Recently, it was demonstrated that after a single oral dose of spironolactone, 7 alpha-thiomethylspirolactone is the main metabolite and that unchanged spironolactone reaches maximum serum concentrations which are in the same order of magnitude as canrenone. Both spironolactone and 7 alpha-thiomethylspirolactone are known to possess anti-mineralocorticoid activity, and they may be mainly responsible for the activity of spironolactone. It also appears likely that endocrine side effects of spironolactone, such as gynaecomastia, are mediated by these sulfur-containing compounds. The oral absorption of spironolactone is improved by using micronized drug or inclusion complexes of spironolactone with cyclodextrins. Concomitant food intake has also been shown to enhance the bioavailability, by increasing the absorption and decreasing the first-pass effect of spironolactone.