A Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling Technique to Monitor Cannabidiol Levels in Epilepsy Patients

Interest in cannabis-based therapies has recently increased, due to the availability of cannabidiol (CBD) for the treatment of epilepsy without psychoactive effects. Therapeutic drug monitoring can prevent drug interactions and minimize drug toxicity. We evaluated a volumetric absorptive microsampli...

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Published inFrontiers in pharmacology Vol. 11; p. 582286
Main Authors Dubois, Sara, Marchese, Francesca, Pigliasco, Federica, Barco, Sebastiano, Tripodi, Gino, Lomonaco, Tommaso, Lattanzi, Simona, Russo, Emilio, Cangemi, Giuliana, Striano, Pasquale
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 16.11.2020
Subjects
cannabidiol
epilepsy
Pharmacology
refractory seizures
therapeutic drug monitoring
therapy
volumetric absorptive microsampling
cannabidiol
epilepsy
refractory seizures
volumetric absorptive microsampling
therapy
therapeutic drug monitoring
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Summary:Interest in cannabis-based therapies has recently increased, due to the availability of cannabidiol (CBD) for the treatment of epilepsy without psychoactive effects. Therapeutic drug monitoring can prevent drug interactions and minimize drug toxicity. We evaluated a volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) method combined with LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry) for the quantification of CBD blood levels in patients with refractory epilepsy. Prospective observation of patients with Dravet syndrome receiving open-label, add-on GW-purified CBD (Epidyolex ) at different doses. CBD plasma samples were obtained from venipuncture and LC-MS/MS was used to measure CBD in venous and capillary blood samples collected by VAMS. We enrolled five patients with a mean age of 13 (range: 4-27) years. CBD levels measured by VAMS on capillary blood did not differ from CBD levels measured in plasma by venipuncture ( > 0.93). This proof-of-concept study suggests that VAMS allows monitoring of CBD plasma levels and can offer valuable support for personalized therapy in refractory epilepsy.
Bibliography:Edited by: Gustavo Gonzalez-Cuevas, Idaho State University, United States
These authors have contributed equally to this work
Elizabeth Martina Bebin, University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States
Reviewed by: Guillermo Moreno-Sanz, Khiron Life Science Corp, Spain
This article was submitted to Neuropharmacology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology
ISSN:1663-9812
1663-9812
DOI:10.3389/fphar.2020.582286