Effect of tetracycline on mefloquine pharmacokinetics in Thai males

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Abstract
The kinetics of a single oral dose of mefloquine given either alone or with tetracycline has been studied in 20 healthy Thai male volunteers. There was a significantly higher maximum whole blood mefloquine concentration after coadministration with tetracycline (1600 vs 1160 ng · ml−1), as well as a significantly reduced terminal half-life (14.4 vs 19.3 days), mean residence time (11.9 vs 16.0 days) and volume of distribution at steady state (13.3 vs 19.91 · kg−1). Although there was no significant change in the AUC from zero time to infinity, the AUC from zero time to 7 days was significantly increased by tetracycline (6.18 vs 4.76 μg · ml−1 · day). The changes in mefloquine disposition after tetracycline treatment are probably due to a reduction in enterohepatic recycling. The initial increase in mefloquine AUC without an apparent increase in side-effects suggests that this combination may have a place in the treatment of multi-drug resistant falciparum malaria.