Protective effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists after focal cerebral ischemia in rabbits. (17/47)

We studied the efficacy of postischemic, systemic treatment with the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists dextromethorphan and dextrorphan in a rabbit model of transient focal cerebral ischemia. Twenty-two rabbits underwent 1-hour occlusion of the left internal carotid and anterior cerebral arteries followed by 4.5 hours of reperfusion before sacrifice. One hour after the onset of ischemia, immediately after removing the arterial clips, the rabbits were blindly assigned to treatment with dextromethorphan (20 mg/kg i.v. loading dose followed by 10 mg/kg/hr maintenance infusion, n = 7), dextrorphan (15 mg/kg i.v. loading dose followed by 15 mg/kg/hr maintenance infusion, n = 7), or an equivalent volume of normal saline alone (n = 8). The maintenance infusion of drugs or saline was continued for the duration of the experiment. The formalin-fixed brains were analyzed with magnetic resonance imaging using coronal T2-weighted images, and ischemic neuronal damage was assessed on standard coronal hematoxylin-and- eosin-stained sections. The area of neocortical ischemic neuronal damage was significantly reduced in the groups treated with dextromethorphan (4.2%, p less than 0.01) and dextrorphan (6.1%, p less than 0.01) compared with the controls (36.2%). Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated significantly smaller areas of cortical edema in the groups treated with dextromethorphan (14.6%, p less than 0.01) and dextrorphan (8.0%, p less than 0.01) compared with the controls (32.9%). These clinically tested antitussives with NMDA-antagonist properties may have therapeutic value in the treatment of human cerebrovascular disease.  (+info)

Dextromethorphan: polymorphic serum pattern of the O-demethylated and didemethylated metabolites in man. (18/47)

1. The interindividual differences in serum concentrations of dextromethorphan (DM) and its metabolites were studied in 29 healthy subjects given 120 mg orally. They were also phenotyped according to the urinary ratio of debrisoquine and 4-hydroxy-debrisoquine. 2. Four (14%) subjects were found to be poor metabolizers (PM) with a dextromethorphan/dextrorphan metabolite ratio in plasma of 3.6 or more compared with extensive metabolizers (EM) with a ratio of 0.11 or less. Significant levels of 3-hydroxymorphinan were measurable in all individuals except two, both of whom were PMs. This subdivision corresponded to the phenotype determined by the metabolic ratio of debrisoquine (r = 0.92). 3. Twelve of the 29 subjects reported adverse drug reactions after dextromethorphan administration compared with none after placebo.  (+info)

Extensive oxidative metabolism of dextromethorphan in patients with almitrine neuropathy. (19/47)

Almitrine bismesylate can induce a stereotypical sensory peripheral neuropathy probably through a toxic mechanism. High plasma concentrations of almitrine have been reported in a patient with neuropathy. Since large inter-individual variations in plasma drug concentrations are found it is possible that the development of toxicity may be linked to genetically determined polymorphic oxidation of the drug. Oxidation phenotyping was performed in fifteen patients with almitrine neuropathy using dextromethorphan, a test compound subject to oxidative metabolism similar to that of debrisoquine. All patients were of the extensive metaboliser phenotype. This result shows that, in contrast to perhexiline neuropathy, almitrine neuropathy is not related to slow oxidation of the compound with regard to the particular P-450 iso-enzyme involved in dextromethorphan and debrisoquine metabolism.  (+info)

Effect of liver disease on dextromethorphan oxidation capacity and phenotype: a study in 107 patients. (20/47)

1. The O-demethylation of dextromethorphan to dextrorphan exhibits a genetically-controlled polymorphism, co-segregating with that of debrisoquine hydroxylation. Dextromethorphan has been proposed as a test compound to assess drug oxidation polymorphism. 2. We studied the effects of liver disease of varying severity on dextromethorphan oxidation capacity. Phenotyping was performed using the urinary dextromethorphan/dextrorphan metabolic ratio after oral administration of 40 mg dextromethorphan hydrobromide in 56 patients with cirrhosis and in 51 patients with moderately severe liver disease. 3. Dextromethorphan oxidation capacity was impaired in cirrhotic patients and, to lesser extent, in non cirrhotic patients, as compared with 103 control subjects. 4. The impairment in dextromethorphan oxidation induced by liver disease, was however, much less than that caused by the genetic deficiency. As a result, the prevalence of the poor metabolizer phenotype remained in the same range in patients with cirrhosis (1.8%) and with moderately severe disease (2.0%) as in controls (3.9%). 5. This observation shows that, although liver disease causes some impairment of dextromethorphan O-demethylation, this impairment is not sufficient to modify the assignment of phenotypes.  (+info)

High-pressure liquid chromatographic assay of dextromethorphan hydrobromide, guaifenesin, and sodium benzoate in an expectorant syrup. (21/47)

An ion-pair reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatographic assay is developed that allows simultaneous quantitation of guaifenesin, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, and sodium benzoate in an expectorant syrup. The method is rapid and accurate. Average recoveries of 99.6, 99.8, and 99.7% with relative standard deviations of 0.5, 0.9, and 0.2% are obtained for guaifenesin, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, and sodium benzoate, respectively, from laboratory prepared samples. Chromatographic conditions are selected to afford a pH that provides adequate separation of guaifenesin, dextromethorphan hydrobromide, sodium benzoate, and sodium saccharin and a detection wavelength that effectively compensates for the great disparity in quantity between guaifenesin and dextromethorphan hydrobromide present in syrups. The relationships between the retention volume of dextromethorphan hydrobromide and the alkyl chain length as well as the concentration of the counterion are studied. The retention profiles for sodium saccharin, guaifenesin, sodium benzoate, and dextromethorphan hydrobromide in the apparent pH range of 2.5 to 6.6 are established.  (+info)

Dextromethorphan protects against cerebral injury following transient focal ischemia in rabbits. (22/47)

We investigated dextromethorphan, both a dextrorotatory opioid derivative and a clinically tested N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, in a rabbit model of transient focal cerebral ischemia. Fourteen rabbits were randomly assigned to treatment with a 20 mg/kg i.v. loading dose followed by a 10 mg/kg/hr infusion of 0.4% dextromethorphan in normal saline or with an equivalent volume of normal saline alone. One hour after treatment, the rabbits underwent a 1-hour occlusion of the left internal carotid and anterior cerebral arteries followed by 4 hours of reperfusion. The seven dextromethorphan-treated rabbits showed a significant decrease in the area of neocortical severe ischemic neuronal damage (10.5%) compared with the seven normal saline-treated controls (49.6%, p less than 0.001). The dextromethorphan-treated rabbits also demonstrated significantly smaller areas of cortical edema (10.2%) on magnetic resonance imaging than the controls (38.6%, p less than 0.01). Analysis of somatosensory evoked potentials revealed recovery of the ipsilateral amplitude to contralateral values within 5 minutes of reperfusion in the dextromethorphan-treated rabbits but not in the controls (p less than 0.01). In our rabbit model of transient focal cerebral ischemia, dextromethorphan appears to protect the brain against ischemic neuronal damage and edema, as well as to promote neurophysiologic recovery. This clinically available drug should be further investigated as having potential therapeutic value in the treatment of stroke.  (+info)

Polymorphism of dextromethorphan oxidation in a French population. (23/47)

Genetically-controlled drug oxidation capacity was studied using dextromethorphan, an anti-tussive drug, as the test compound in 103 healthy white French subjects (61 males and 42 females). Phenotyping was performed using the metabolic ratio (MR) calculated as MR = 0-10 h urinary output of dextromethorphan/0-10 h urinary output of dextrorphan, after oral administration of 40 mg (113.6 mumol) of dextromethorphan hydrobromide. The log MR was bimodally distributed: 99 subjects (96.1%) were phenotyped as extensive metabolizers; they had a log MR between -3.1 and -1.1, a urinary output of dextromethorphan below 5 mumol 10 h-1 and a urinary output of dextrorphan above 20 mumol 10 h-1. Four subjects (3.9%) were phenotyped as poor metabolizers; they had a log MR between -0.5 and +0.7, a urinary output of dextromethorphan above 5 mumol 10 h-1 and a urinary out of dextrorphan below 20 mumol 10 h-1.  (+info)

Effect of morphine analogues on chemotaxis in Escherichia coli. (24/47)

Pretreatment of Escherichia coli w3110 with levorphanol, a morphine analogue, reduced chemotaxis to serine, aspartic acid and galactose. This decreased chemotaxis was not due to decreased viability or motility. Pretreatment with 1.1 mM-levorphanol for 1 h, followed by washing to remove the drug prior to determination of chemotaxis, inhibited chemotaxis to each of the attractants by at least 80%. Pretreatment with dextrorphan, the enantiomorph of levorphanol, or levallorphan, the N-allyl analogue of levorphanol, resulted in a similar inhibition of chemotaxis. Reversal of the inhibition produced by pretreatment with levorphanol required a period of growth of at least one generation time.  (+info)