A method to analyse drug levels in the body could allow people with epilepsy to avoid weeks of blood tests, claim scientists from Switzerland.
Valproic acid is an anticonvulsant drug used in the treatment of epilepsy; however, in the body, the acid binds to proteins and the concentration also can be influenced by over-the-counter medicines. The variations in the concentration mean that the amount of pharmacologically relevant valproic acid needs to be carefully monitored for the first few weeks and the dosage adjusted to compensate. The concentration is normally measured using blood samples from patients, and it can take a long time for the results to come back.
Now, Renato Zenobi at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and co-workers have developed a method to measure valproic acid metabolite levels in breath using electrospray mass-spectrometry.
Using a breath test, scientists can measure levels of the anticonvulsant drug valproic acid in the body to determine the correct dosage for individual patients
See Chemistry World for the full news story
Link to journal article
Real-time, in vivo monitoring and pharmacokinetics of valproic acid via a novel biomarker in exhaled breath
Gerardo Gamez, Liang Zhu, Andreas Disko, Huanwen Chen, Vladimir Azov, Konstantin Chingin, Günter Krämer and Renato Zenobi
Chem. Commun., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/c1cc10343a
