Pharmacokinetics of oral amantadine in greyhound dogs

This study reports the pharmacokinetics of amantadine in greyhound dogs after oral administration. Five healthy greyhound dogs were used. A single oral dose of 100 mg amantadine hydrochloride (mean dose 2.8 mg/kg as amantadine hydrochloride) was administered to nonfasted subjects. Blood samples were collected at predetermined time points from 0 to 24 h after administration, and plasma concentrations of amantadine were measured by liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analyses were performed. Amantadine was well tolerated in all dogs with no adverse effects observed. The mean (range) amantadine CMAX was 275 ng/mL (225–351 ng/mL) at 2.6 h (1–4 h) with a terminal half-life of 4.96 h (4.11–6.59 h). The results of this study can be used to design dosages to assess multidose pharmacokinetics and dosages designed to achieve targeted concentrations in order to assess the clinical effects of amantadine in a variety of conditions including chronic pain. Further studies should also assess the pharmacokinetics of amantadine in other dog breeds or using population pharmacokinetics studies including multiple dog breeds to assess potential breed-specific differences in the pharmacokinetics of amantadine in dogs.