Citalopram

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Abstract
The pharmacokinetic interactions between the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram, given as an oral dose of 40 mg/day for 10 days, and (1) levomepromazine (50 mg single oral dose), (2) imipramine (100 mg single oral dose), and (3) lithium (30 mmol/day orally for 5 days) were examined in three panels each of 8 healthy young male volunteers (age 20–31). All volunteers were classified as extensive metabolizers of sparteine and mephenytoin. Each subject completed three study phases—one with citalopram alone, one with one of the three other drugs alone, and one with citalopram combined with the corresponding other drug. For citalopram and its metabolites, a nonenantioselective analytical method (high-performance liquid chromatography) was used. Only two statistically significant interactions were indicated. First, levomepromazine caused a 10–20% increase from the initial steady-state levels of the primary citalopram metabolite, desmethylcitalopram. Second, citalopram caused ∼50% increase in the single-dose area under the serum concentration/time curve of desipramine (primary metabolite or imipramine) and a corresponding reduction in the level of the subsequently formed metabolite 2-hydroxydesipramine. These findings are in agreement with the recent observations that (1) the demethylation of desmethylcitalopram (to didesmethyl-citalopram) is partly mediated via the sparteine/debrisoquine oxygenase (CYP2D6) and that levomepromazine is a potent inhibitor of CYP2D6, and (2) that desmethylcitalopram has a somewhat stronger affinity for CYP2D6 than desipramine, and therefore may inhibit the hydroxylation of desipramine, which is also a substrate of CYP2D6.

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