Short Communication Carbamazepine Revisited in a Monkey Model

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Abstract
A previous study on carbamazepine (Lockard et al., 1974) demonstrated the problem of its low bioavailability in solid form and its short half-life in the monkey. Experiments were designed to evaluate carbamazepine under constant-rate i.v. infusion in the alumina-gel monkey model. Since carbamazepine is insoluble in an aqueous solution, polyethylene glycol 400 was used as the vehicle for administration of this drug to 8 epileptic monkeys [Macaca mulatta]. The attenuation of seizures by carbamazepine was not statistically significant since the serum levels of carbamazepine after enzyme induction were < 2.0 .mu.g/ml. This study illustrates: some problems in drug evaluation may be insoluble with present technology; the efficacy of carbamazepine is a function of adequate serum levels; endogenous oscillations of carbamazepine serum concentrations; and simultaneous serum levels of carbamazepine and its 10-11 epoxide in the monkey model.