Pharmacokinetic and metabolic aspects of the moclobemide-food interaction.

The effect of a protein-rich meal on the pharmacokinetics of moclobemide was studied after intravenous (75 mg) and oral (100 mg) administrations of this selective MAO-A inhibitor to eight healthy male volunteers. The meal chosen did not affect plasma concentration-time curves of the drug after oral administration apparently, because the influence of blood flow changes to the liver on hepatic first-pass metabolism (AUC increases) and on systemic clearance (AUC decreases) balance each other out.

Epidural anaesthesia and thrombocytopenia.

A case is presented of a mother with unanticipated profound thrombocytopenia who received a continuous epidural anaesthetic for labour. No neurological sequelae or excessive bleeding occurred. It is clear, after a review of the literature, that more information is needed to define the lower limits of platelet count at which it is safe to proceed with epidural anaesthesia.