Drug Interaction Study of Tegretol (Carbamazepine) and St. John's Wort in Normal Volunteers

NCT00006395 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: PHASE4 · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 12

Last updated 2008-03-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

St. John's Wort is a popular dietary supplement that many patients-including those with epilepsy or seizures-take in addition to their regular medicines to elevate mood or relieve stress. Preliminary research indicates that this supplement can speed the metabolism of the anti-seizure drug Tegretol, causing reduced blood levels of the drug. Patients who take Tegretol to control their seizures may have more frequent seizures if the blood level of the drug drops too low. A recent study shows that this effect is not seen when Tegretol is taken for at least 3 weeks. The present study will examine whether there is a medically important drug interaction between St. John's wort and Tegretol when Tegretol is taken for 1 day.

Normal healthy volunteers between 21 and 65 years old who are not taking medicines that can affect the metabolism of drugs in the liver and have not used St. John's wort for at least 30 days may be eligible for this 25-day study.

Participants will take a 400-mg dose of Tegretol after fasting overnight. Blood samples will be drawn the next day during a 12-hour clinic stay at the following intervals: just before the Tegretol dose and at 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 24, 34, 48 and 72 hours after the dose. A catheter will be placed in the vein to prevent the need for multiple needle sticks until after the 10-hour sample. After completing the blood sampling, participants will take 300 mg of St. John's wort 3 times a day with meals for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, another fasting dose of Tegretol will be given and the 72-hour blood study will be repeated.

This study may provide information important for the care of patients with epilepsy who take both Tegretol and St. John's Wort.

Conditions

  • Healthy

Interventions

DRUG

St. John's Wort

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

    lead NIH

Study Design

Purpose
TREATMENT

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2000-10-31
Completion
2001-04-30

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00006395 on ClinicalTrials.gov