bl-4162a and Arrhythmias--Cardiac

The therapeutic strategy in patients with Essential Thrombocythemia (ET) is a difficult balance between the prevention of bleeding and thrombotic complications and the risks of drug side effects and toxicity. Major bleeding is rare and seem to be related to higher platelet counts: therefore, a platelet count over 1500 x 10(9)/L is generally regarded as an indication for cytoreduction. Thrombotic complications include microvascular occlusive symptoms, which are reversible with low-dose aspirin, and large vessels thrombosis. The risk of major thrombosis is higher in ET patients aged more than 60 ys. and with previous occlusive event. In this high-risk group, the non-alkylating agent hydroxyurea (HU) significantly reduces the rate of vascular complications and has emerged as the treatment of choice. However, the long-term risk/benefit of HU remains disputed because its leukemogenic potential has not been ruled out. This holds also for other myelosuppressive agents, such as busulphan and pipobroman. Other drugs of particular interest for young patients include recombinant alpha-interferon (IFN) and Anagrelide. Both of them are effective in lowering platelet count, but their efficacy in reducing clinical complications remains to be demonstrated. However, both IFN and Anagrelide have shown to have frequent and clinically important side effects. Thus, further clinical studies are required to establish their role in the strategy of ET patient treatment.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Alkylating Agents; Anemia, Megaloblastic; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Bone Marrow Diseases; Busulfan; Female; Hemorrhage; Humans; Hydroxyurea; Immunologic Factors; Incidence; Interferon-alpha; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Leukemia; Male; Middle Aged; Pipobroman; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; Platelet Count; Prognosis; Quinazolines; Risk Factors; Thrombocythemia, Essential; Thrombosis

Essential thrombocythaemia (ET) is a rare clonal myeloproliferative disorder characterized by a sustained elevation in platelet count and megakaryocyte hyperplasia. Anagrelide is used in the treatment of ET, where it has been shown to reduce platelet count. Anagrelide is metabolized by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A2, and previous studies of the effect of food on the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of anagrelide were conducted prior to the identification of the active metabolite, 3-hydroxyanagrelide.. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of food and caffeine on the pharmacokinetics of anagrelide and its active metabolite, 3-hydroxyanagrelide, to monitor electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters following drug administration, and to document the relationship between palpitations, ECG changes and caffeine intake. Thirty-five healthy subjects who received 1 mg of anagrelide following either a 10-h fast or within 30 min of a standardized breakfast, including two cups of coffee, were studied.. Time to maximum (peak) plasma concentration (C(max)) of anagrelide was 4.0 h in the fed and 1.5 h in the fasted group (p < 0.05); similar results were observed for 3-hydroxyanagrelide. The mean C(max) of anagrelide was 4.45 ± 2.32 ng/mL and 5.08 ± 2.99 ng/mL in the fed/caffeine and fasted groups, respectively; peak concentrations were higher for 3-hydroxyanagrelide in both the fed/caffeine and fasted groups. The most frequent adverse events (AEs) were headache (60 %) and palpitations (40 %). There were no serious AEs and all ECGs were normal, although significant reductions in PR interval, QRS length and QT interval were observed in both groups. Heart rate increased after anagrelide administration in both fed/caffeine and fasted states (p < 0.01); however, increased heart rate was significantly more frequent in the fed/caffeine state than in the fasted state (p < 0.001 for heart rate increase in the first hour after drug administration). There was a trend towards a greater heart rate increase in subjects reporting palpitations than in those without (mean heart rate ± SD at 1 h: 10.1 ± 6.4 vs. 8.0 ± 8.4 beats/min [p = 0.35]; at 4 h: 12.7 ± 7.5 vs. 9.1 ± 8.8 beats/min [p = 0.10], respectively).. We conclude that food/caffeine delayed absorption of anagrelide. Anagrelide was generally well tolerated and had small effects on ECG parameters and heart rate. Caffeine may be implicated in a higher increase in heart rate and increased frequency of palpitations observed following administration of anagrelide with food/caffeine versus fasting.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Analysis of Variance; Area Under Curve; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Biotransformation; Caffeine; Chi-Square Distribution; Cross-Over Studies; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2; Drug Interactions; Electrocardiography; Fasting; Female; Food-Drug Interactions; Half-Life; Headache; Heart Rate; Hematologic Agents; Humans; Hydroxylation; Intestinal Absorption; London; Male; Metabolic Clearance Rate; Postprandial Period; Quinazolines; Young Adult