Overview on pharmacokinetics of nimodipine in healthy volunteers and in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage

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Abstract
The pharmacokinetics of Nimodipine were studied in healthy volunteers and in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) following cerebral aneurysm rupture. Nimodipine was absorbed rapidly. After an oral dose of 120 mg an average maximal plasma concentration 106 micrograms/l was recorded 45 to 60 minutes later. During a 7-day oral therapy with 40 mg t.i.d. no accumulation or change in the absorption or elimination kinetics occurred. After i.v. administration a biphasic elimination with half lives of 7 min and 1 hour was observed. In patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage receiving a continuous infusion of 2 mg/hour the mean nimodipine plasma concentrations ranged between 36 and 72 micrograms/l. Subsequent oral dose of 60 mg q.i.d. to the same patients resulted in concentrations ranging between 17 to 42 micrograms/l on the average one hour after the dosage. Mean cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels amounted to 0.3 +/- 0.2 microgram/l in patients whose mean plasma concentrations were 76.9 +/- 34.0 micrograms/l.