fluvoxamine and Liver-Cirrhosis

In vivo inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A2 by fluvoxamine causes a reduction in the clearance of the high-extraction drug lidocaine, which decreases in proportion to the degree of liver dysfunction. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate the effect of liver cirrhosis on the inhibition by fluvoxamine of the metabolic disposition of theophylline, a CYP1A2 substrate with a low-extraction ratio, to assess whether decreased sensitivity to CYP1A2 inhibition in liver disease is a general characteristic of CYP1A2 substrates, regardless of their pharmacokinetic properties, and (2) to investigate the mechanism(s) underlying the effect of liver dysfunction on CYP1A2 inhibition.. The study was carried out in 10 healthy volunteers and 20 patients with cirrhosis, 10 with mild liver dysfunction (Child class A) and 10 with severe liver dysfunction (Child class C), according to a randomized, double-blind, 2-phase, crossover design. In one phase all participants received placebo for 7 days; in the other phase they received one 50-mg fluvoxamine dose for 2 days and two 50-mg fluvoxamine doses, 12 hours apart, in the next 5 days. On day 6, 4 mg/kg of theophylline was administered orally 1 hour after the morning fluvoxamine dose. Concentrations of theophylline and its metabolites, 3-methylxanthine, 1-methyluric acid, and 1,3-dimethyluric acid, were then measured in plasma and urine up to 48 hours.. Fluvoxamine-induced inhibition of theophylline clearance decreased from 62% in healthy subjects to 52% and 12% in patients with mild cirrhosis and those with severe cirrhosis, respectively. CYP1A2-mediated formations of 3-methylxanthine and 1-methyluric acid were almost totally inhibited in control subjects, whereas they were only reduced by one third in patients with Child class C cirrhosis. Inhibition of 1,3-dimethyluric acid formation, which is catalyzed by CYP1A2 and CYP2E1, progressively decreased from 58% in healthy subjects to 43% and 7% in patients with mild cirrhosis and those with severe cirrhosis, respectively.. The effect of liver dysfunction on the inhibition of CYP1A2-mediated drug elimination is a general phenomenon, independent of the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the CYP1A2 substrate. Therefore, for any drug metabolized by CYP1A2, the clinical consequences of enzyme inhibition are expected to become less and less important as liver function worsens. Two mechanisms, as follows in order of importance, are responsible for the effect of liver dysfunction: (1) decreased sensitivity to fluvoxamine of CYP1A2-mediated biotransformations in the cirrhotic liver, probably resulting from reduced uptake of the inhibitory drug, and (2) reduced hepatic expression of CYP1A2, which makes its contribution to overall drug elimination less important.

Topics: Adult; Antidepressive Agents; Bronchodilator Agents; Cross-Over Studies; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2 Inhibitors; Double-Blind Method; Fluvoxamine; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis; Middle Aged; Severity of Illness Index; Theophylline

This study was designed (1) to evaluate the effect of a cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A2 inhibitor, fluvoxamine, on the pharmacokinetics of intravenous lidocaine and its 2 pharmacologically active metabolites, monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) and glycinexylidide (GX), to confirm recent in vitro results indicating that CYP1A2 is the main isoform responsible for lidocaine biotransformation and (2) to assess whether liver function has any influence on the fluvoxamine-lidocaine interaction.. The study was carried out in 10 healthy volunteers and 20 patients with cirrhosis, 10 with mild (Child grade A) and 10 with severe (Child grade C) liver dysfunction, according to a randomized, double-blind, 2-phase, crossover design. In one phase all participants received placebo for 6 days; in the other phase they received 50 mg fluvoxamine for 2 days and 100 mg fluvoxamine for the next 4 days. On day 6, a 1-mg/kg lidocaine dose was administered intravenously 2 hours after the last dose of fluvoxamine or placebo. Plasma concentrations of lidocaine, MEGX, GX, and fluvoxamine were measured up to 12 hours after lidocaine injection.. The effects of fluvoxamine coadministration were dependent on liver function. Lidocaine clearance was decreased on average by 60% (from 12.1 mL/min.kg to 4.85 mL/min.kg, P <.001) in healthy subjects and by 44% (from 9.83 mL/min.kg to 5.06 mL/min.kg, P <.001) in patients with mild liver dysfunction, with proportional increases in terminal half-lives, whereas virtually no effect was produced in patients with severe liver dysfunction (4.21 mL/min.kg versus 3.65 mL/min.kg, P >.05). Analogous effects were observed on MEGX and GX formation kinetics, which were drastically impaired in healthy subjects and patients with mild liver cirrhosis but virtually unaffected in patients with severe cirrhosis.. CYP1A2 is the enzyme principally responsible for the metabolic disposition of lidocaine in subjects with normal liver function. The extent of fluvoxamine-lidocaine interaction decreases as liver function worsens, most likely because of the concomitant decrease in the hepatic level of CYP1A2. These observations indicate that results obtained in healthy subjects cannot be extended a priori to patients with liver dysfunction, but the clinical consequences of inhibition of drug metabolism must also be assessed in such patients.

Topics: Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Area Under Curve; Cross-Over Studies; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2 Inhibitors; Double-Blind Method; Fluvoxamine; Humans; Infusions, Intravenous; Lidocaine; Liver; Liver Cirrhosis; Liver Function Tests; Male; Middle Aged; Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; Severity of Illness Index

Topics: Antidepressive Agents; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Fluvoxamine; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis; Oximes; Spectrometry, Fluorescence