The aim was to assess the clinical relevance of antiepileptic drug (AED) nonadherence by means of therapeutic drug concentration monitoring (TDM). Two hundred eighty-two consecutive patients with epilepsy acutely admitted to hospital for seizures were included. Nonadherence was defined as having a serum concentration/dose ratio at admission of

Since 1990, sixteen new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have been introduced. Most of these new AEDs have only been insufficiently studied with respect to women-specific aspects such as endogenous sex hormones, hormonal contraception, pregnancy, breastfeeding, or menopause. This is of concern because it has been shown for some of the new AEDs that these factors may have a clinically significant impact

Caffeine acts as a central nervous stimulant by blocking A1 and A2A adenosine receptors. Its effect on seizures is complex. Animal studies and case reports indicate that acute caffeine exposure may induce seizures, whereas chronic exposure might have an opposite effect. Patients acutely hospitalized for seizures (n=174) were asked for their consumption of caffeinated beverages 24. h prior to admis

This study investigated data obtained from whole blood fatty acid (FA) composition of 3476 Norwegian and Swedish individuals, which provided background information including age, gender, nationality and self-motivated n-3 supplement consumption. The aim of this paper was to statistically relate this background information on the subjects to their whole blood FA profile, focusing mainly on the n-3

When treating pregnant women with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), clinicians have to balance potential fetal adverse effects against the risks of uncontrolled maternal disease. Only recently have emerging scientic data provided a rational basis for treatment decisions considering both aspects. The focus of research is currently moving from the first to the second AED generation. Lamotrigine is relativ

A chemoenzymatic approach towards benzoylated uronic acid building blocks has been investigated starting with benzoylated hexapyranosides using regioselective C-6 enzymatic hydrolysis as the key step. Two of the building blocks were reacted with the antiepileptic drug lamotrigine. Glucuronidation of lamotrigine using methyl (2,3,4-tri-O-benzoyl-a-D-glycopyranosyl bromide)uronate proceeded to give

Purpose: To investigate the physiological mechanisms behind the pronounced decline of lamotrigine (LTG) serum concentrations during pregnancy. Methods: Serum and urine concentrations of LTG and its main metabolite, LTG-N2-glucuronide (LTG-GLUC), were measured monthly in 21 pregnancies of 19 women using LTG. Simultaneously, a panel of biochemical variables was monitored to evaluate liver and kidney

Bakgrunn.I 2007 kom det anbefalinger om at serumkonsentrasjonen av digitoksin bør ligge i området 8 – 15 nmol/l, noe som er ca. halvparten av det som tidligere var ansett som optimalt, og forslag til nye doseringsrutiner.Materiale og metode.Utviklingen for angitt dosering og serumkonsentrasjoner av digitoksin er undersøkt med utgangspunkt i 13 054 prøver sendt til Avdeling for klinisk farmakologi

Purpose: To investigate long-term trends and changes in the pattern of use of lamotrigine (LTG). Methods: Retrospective survey of a large, routine therapeutic drug monitoring database. Results: Twelve thousand one hundred and seven samples from 4123 subjects were analysed from October 1999 to May 2007. Within this period, the mean daily dose rose from 183 to 253 mg, whereas the median dose remaine

The placenta contains a large variety of metabolizing enzymes, among them UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT). Several UGT2B isozymes have so far been detected in human placenta, but little is known on placental expression of UGT1A isozymes. The antiepileptic drug lamotrigine (LTG) is a UGT1A4-substrate, and its serum concentration falls by over 50% during pregnancy, leading to impaired seizure cont

Bakgrunn.I Norge blir det hvert år analysert hundretusener av urinprøver for å påvise inntak av rusmidler og legemidler med ruspotensial. Ved Avdeling for klinisk farmakologi ved St. Olavs hospital analyseres årlig rundt 60 000 urinprøver for rusmidler og legemidler med ruspotensial. Vi ønsket å finne ut om vårt standard analysepanel avdekker de fleste.Materiale og metode.Alle urinprøver mottatt i

We present a systematic study on the interaction potential of lamotrigine, with focus on psychoactive drugs. A review of routine serum concentration measurements of lamotrigine performed in our laboratory yielded a total of 1733 serum samples from 829 patients (530 women, 299 men) suitable for statistical analysis. Main results for the whole study population were (median; interquartile range in pa

Purpose: To study the interaction between lamotrigine (LTG) and hormonal contraception. Methods: LTG serum concentrations of female patients using either no hormonal contraception (n = 18), an ethinyl estradiol (EE)-containing (n = 11), or a progestogen (PG)-only-containing compound (n = 16) were analyzed. Patients were recruited prospectively, and blood samples were drawn during drug fasting and

Objective: To investigate the impact of age and co-treatment with other drugs on the serum concentrations of lamotrigine in children and adolescents. Methods: A review of routine serum concentration measurements of lamotrigine performed in our laboratory yielded a total of 744 serum samples from 296 subjects (110 males, 186 females, age: 2-19 years) suitable for statistical analysis. The primary o

Efficient prevention of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) requires knowledge about their severity and pharmacological mechanisms and is dependent on reliable data on their frequencies and possible risk factors. The study was conducted to investigate the prescribers' experience and understanding of the ADRs of psychotropic drugs, and their attitude towards reporting these. In a questionnaire, physician