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Home , Butriptyline, Nisoxetine

Br. J. clin. Pharmac. (1977), 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITORS 91

EVIDENCE FOR SAFETY OF NEW DRUGS Lemberger, Terman, Rowe & Billings (1976) interpreted as indicating that the drug itself is reported in this Journal on a new potential safe or that the doses used are safe. Such claims , . They demonstrated are not really in the interests of the drug, the clearly that it, like the established anti- pharmaceutical firm concerned, or the Journal. depressants, greatly increases the response of the blood pressure to noradrenaline. F.O. SIMPSON They stress its safety: 'We conclude that nisoxetine, in safe doses, specifically etc.'; 'Thus, WeUlcome Medical Research Institute, Department of nisoxetine appears to be a safe agent which is Medicine, University of Otago Medical School, Dunedin, well tolerated at doses which should be clinically New Zealand effective'; 'Nisoxetine appears to be safe and well Received September 28, 1976 tolerated at doses at which it produces this effect .'. They base these statements on their ex- perience with nine normal volunteers who each References for took the drug 8 days. LEMBERGER, L., TERMAN, S., ROWE, H. & The study was a perfectly reasonable one and BILLINGS, RUTH (1976). The effect of nisoxetine seems to have been competently done. However, (Lilly compound 94939), a potential antidepressant, there is no way that data from nine normal on biogenic uptake in men. Br. J. clin. volunteers taking a new drug for 8 days can be Pharmac., 3, 215-220.

SOME CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES WITH , AN ANTIDEPRESSIVE DRUG

Butriptyline hydrochloride is a compound Ten healthy volunteers (seven female, three chemically related to and male) aged 20-55 years were studied, having been and claimed to possess antidepressive activity drug free for at least one week. In six female (Grivois, 1971; Kapadia & Smith, 1976). Pharma- subjects, single dose studies were carried out in cological studies in animals have demonstrated which each received in random order based on two activity with antagonism of the square designs, under double-blind con- central and peripheral effects of tremorine (Herr, ditions, either butriptyline (50 mg) or identical Voith & Jaramillo, 1971) and of the arousal placebo using the double dummy technique. reaction induced by physostigmine (Jaramillo & Anticholinergic tests were carried out at 2.5 and Greenberg, 1975). Like imipramine and amitrip- 4 h, and a pressor response at 3 h, after tyline, it reverses -induced hypothermia administration of the treatments. At least 1 week and prolongs the -induced hyper- elapsed between consecutive treatments. The other thermic response (Herr et al., 1971), but unlike four subjects (three male, one female) took part in these compounds, it does not potentiate the action a repeated dose study in which butriptyline of noradrenaline on the nictitating membrane or (25 mg 8 hourly) or identical placebo was antagonize the action of on the vas administered for 5 days, the test procedures being deferens (Jaramillo & Greenberg, 1975) nor does it carried out 2 h after the morning dose on the fifth influence the accumulation or metabolism of day. Each subject received both treatments in a intraventricularly injected noradrenaline in areas balanced cross-over design with at least 1 week of rat brain (Pugsley & Lippmann, 1974). This elapsing between treatment periods. In both indicates that it has little, if any, inhibitory action studies, blood was taken just before and after the on the neuronal uptake of . An tyramine pressor response tests for estimation of investigation has, therefore, been carried out into plasma butriptyline and norbutriptyline. the influence in healthy volunteers, of single and The tyramine pressor response was measured as repeated doses of butriptyline on the tyramine described by Ghose, Turner & Coppen (1975). pressor response, a convenient model of catechol- Blood pressure was measured with a mercury amine reuptake, and on parasympathetic activity. sphygmomanometer following intravenous in-