A pharmacokinetic evaluation of pravastatin in middle-aged and elderly volunteers

The pharmacokinetics of pravastatin, a serum-cholesterol-lowering drug, were studied in 20 middle-aged (46–59 years old,n=8) and elderly subjects (60–81 years old,n=12). Pravastatin serum levels were determined by HPLC and solid phase extraction. Cmax was 48.9±7.1 ng/ml (mean ± SEM,n=20), and the mean AUC0−4.5h was 104.4 ng·h/ml (n=5) for a 20 mg daily oral dose. A great interindividual variability was found for Cmax, which varied from 6.2 ng/ml to 117.8 ng/ml on the 20 mg dose. As could be expected, Cmax and AUC0−4.5h were dose-related, but Tmax and t1/2 were not. In six cases, the elimination of the drug in serum could be described by a single phase but in four cases with two phases. No significant difference was found in Cmax between the middle-aged and the elderly or between males and females.