Skip to main content
PMC home page
Postgraduate Medical Journal logoLink to Postgraduate Medical Journal
. 1976 Mar;52(605):139–142. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.52.605.139

The effect of desmethylimipramine on the absorption of alcohol and paracetamol

R C Hall, R Carter, Deirdre Brown, M J Kendall
PMCID: PMC2496385  PMID: 1264935

Abstract

Many drugs can delay gastric emptying and may thereby impair the absorption of other drugs. Desmethylimipramine (DMI) is an antidepressant with anticholinergic properties which might be expected to delay the rate of gastric emptying. In five out of six subjects, DMI significantly delayed both the absorption of alcohol (assessed by a breathalyser) and of paracetamol, and there was a correlation between the two. The breathalyser can therefore be used to predict the extent to which one may impair the absorption of another drug by its effect on gastrointestinal motility.

Full text

PDF
139

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Baume P., Powell K. C. Inhibition of human basal gastric secretion by desmethylimipramine. Med J Aust. 1966 Sep 24;2(13):596–598. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1966.tb97366.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Berry D. J., Grove J. Emergency toxicological screening for drugs commonly taken in overdose. J Chromatogr. 1973 Jun;80(2):205–220. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9673(01)85333-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Consolo S., Morselli P. L., Zaccala M., Garattini S. Delayed absorption of phenylbutazone caused by desmethylimipramine in humans. Eur J Pharmacol. 1970 May;10(2):239–242. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(70)90278-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Finch J. E., Kendall M. J., Mitchard M. An assessment of gastric emptying by breathalyser. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1974 Jun;1(3):233–236. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1974.tb00242.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. KLERMAN G. L., COLE J. O. CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY OF IMIPRAMINE AND RELATED ANTIDEPRESSANT COMPOUNDS. Pharmacol Rev. 1965 Jun;17:101–141. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Manninen V., Apajalahti A., Melin J., Karesoja M. Altered absorption of digoxin in patients given propantheline and metoclopramide. Lancet. 1973 Feb 24;1(7800):398–400. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(73)90252-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Nimmo J., Heading R. C., Tothill P., Prescott L. F. Pharmacological modification of gastric emptying: effects of propantheline and metoclopromide on paracetamol absorption. Br Med J. 1973 Mar 10;1(5853):587–589. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5853.587. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Pendleton R. G., Bartakovits P., Miller D. A., Mann W. A., Ridley P. T. Studies indicating a central antisecretory site of action for desmethylimipramine (DMI). J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1970 Sep;174(3):421–427. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Prescott L. F. Gastric emptying and drug absorption. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1974 Jun;1(3):189–190. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1974.tb00234.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Ridley P. T., Mann W. A. Central antisecretory action of desmethylimipramine in the rat. Am J Dig Dis. 1973 Jun;18(6):493–497. doi: 10.1007/BF01076600. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Postgraduate Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES