Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Jun;18(3):118-27.
doi: 10.1017/S1092852912001010. Epub 2013 Feb 4.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of psychotropic drugs: effect of sex

Donatella Marazziti  1 , Stefano Baroni, Michela Picchetti, Armando Piccinni, Marina Carlini, Elena Vatteroni, Valentina Falaschi, Amedeo Lombardi, Liliana Dell'Osso
Affiliations
Review

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of psychotropic drugs: effect of sex

Donatella Marazziti et al. CNS Spectr. 2013 Jun.

Abstract

Data on the specific effects of sex on pharmacokinetics, as well as tolerability, safety, and efficacy of psychotropic medications are still meager, mainly because only recently sex-related issues have attracted a certain degree of interest within the pharmacological domain. Therefore, with the present study, we aimed to provide a comprehensive review of the literature on this topic, through careful MEDLINE and PubMed searches of the years 1990-2012. Generally, data on pharmacokinetics are more consistent and numerous than those on pharmacodynamics. Sex-related differences have been reported for several parameters that influence pharmacokinetics, such as gastric acidity, intestinal motility, body weight and composition, blood volume, liver enzymes (mainly the cytochrome P450), or renal excretion, which may alter plasma drug levels. Sex-related peculiarities may also account for a different sensitivity of men and women to side effects and toxicity of psychotropic drugs. Further, some differences in drug response, mainly to antipsychotics and antidepressants, have been described. Further studies are, however, necessary to explore more thoroughly the impact of sex on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of psychotropic drugs, in order to reach the most appropriate and tailored prescription for each patient.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources