SUMATRIPTAN DELAYS PARACETAMOL ABSORPTION IN MIGRAINE PATIENTS

The effect of sumatriptan 100mg orally on paracetamol absorption was e valuated in 9 migraine patients. Sumatriptan pretreatment significantl y lowered the peak paracetamol concentration and also delayed the time to reach peak concentration. The paracetamol peak concentration decre ased significantly from 36.28 +/- 10.85 mgn to 18.26 +/- 6.7 mg/L, and the time to reach the peak was significantly delayed from 1.36 +/- 0. 38 hours to 2.72 +/- 1.0 hours after sumatriptan treatment. The rate o f absorption of paracetamol up to 3 hours was significantly reduced af ter sumatriptan administration. At 2 hours after sumatriptan administr ation, only 67% of total paracetamol was absorbed, while the absorptio n was 97% without sumatriptan. The total absorption of paracetamol at the end of the 8th hour was, however, not affected. These results sugg est that in migraine patients there is a delay in gastric emptying tim e with sumatriptan. Further studies are warranted during the acute att ack to elucidate the clinical significance of the present study findin gs.