Few drugs are available to treat congestive heart failure and other cardiac diseases in horses. Pimobendan is an inodilator drug approved as Vetmedin® for treatment of canine cardiac disease. Previous research shows that pimobendan increases heart rate and contractility following intravenous administration in horses. The pharmacokinetics of oral pimobendan have not been investigated in horses. The hypothesis of this study was that pimobendan would be absorbed following oral administration to healthy adult horses and reach concentrations known to be therapeutic in other species. Additional objectives were to compare the absorption of compounded pimobendan capsules (C) and suspension (S) to Vetmedin® (V) and determine the effects of sample site on plasma drug concentrations in a pilot study using two horses. These two horses received C, S, or V (0.5 mg/kg via oral syringe, once) following a minimum 10 hour fast, using a crossover design with a minimum 1-week washout period. Samples were collected simultaneously from lateral thoracic and jugular catheters before and after drug administration at predetermined time points. Differences between formulation and sample site were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. After evaluation of the data from the initial 2 horses, an additional 4 horses received pimobendan, in the form of Vetmedin tablets® (V), in a similar manner. Only jugular samples were collected at the same predetermined time points. Plasma concentrations were determined by ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) and pharmacokinetic parameters determined by noncompartmental analysis. No significant differences were noted between formulations or sample site (P < 0.05). Concentrations in compounded formulations were 88%(S) and 90%(C) of label. For V, mean (±SD) maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) was 4.96 ± 2.13 ng/mL at 2.17 ± 0.98 hours, and area under the curve (AUC0-∞) was 22.1 ± 8.8*ng/mL. Concentration of the active metabolite of pimobendan, o-desmethyl-pimobendan, was below the limit of detection (0.07ng/mL) for all samples. At 0.5mg/kg orally, pimobendan plasma concentrations were considerably lower than reported in dogs and other species. There was no evidence of oral transmucosal absorption. Pimobendan was poorly absorbed in horses, regardless of formulation, and appears unlikely to have clinical effects. / Master of Science / The objective of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetics (i.e. evaluation of the drug concentration in the bloodstream over time by means of mathematical modeling) of pimobendan in healthy horses. Pimobendan is a drug used to treat two types of heart disease, myxomatous mitral value disease and dilated cardiomyopathy, in dogs. These diseases often lead to a syndrome, congestive heart failure (CHF), that has high mortality. CHF in horses also has high mortality, and treatments for horses in CHF are based on information from other species. In this study, the FDA approved formulation of pimobendan, Vetmedin®, was administered to six healthy mature horses at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg, which is twice the amount typically administered to dogs in a single dose. Additionally, we gave two of the horses compounded (uniquely formulated) pimobendan capsules and suspension to evaluate their equivalence to Vetmedin® tablets. We serially collected blood samples to measure plasma concentrations of pimobendan after administration of each drug. Our results showed that all three formulations of pimobendan lead to similar blood concentrations in each of the two horses individually. No formulation of pimobendan resulted in plasma levels of pimobendan known to be effective in other species. Overall, the average plasma concentrations of pimobendan in these horses was very low, it was approximately 1/10th the amount reported in canine pharmacokinetic studies of pimobendan. In conclusion, we determined that at a 0.5 mg/kg dose orally, pimobendan is poorly absorbed in horses and seems unlikely to have medical effects.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2017-02-13T10:28:30Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Ana Paula Araújo Costa - 2016.pdf: 2728666 bytes, checksum: 2cd43bd911125e81ab1a9483baff4302 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2017-02-13T10:29:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Ana Paula Araújo Costa - 2016.pdf: 2728666 bytes, checksum: 2cd43bd911125e81ab1a9483baff4302 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-13T10:29:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Ana Paula Araújo Costa - 2016.pdf: 2728666 bytes, checksum: 2cd43bd911125e81ab1a9483baff4302 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-16 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease of the heart muscle that culminates in dilatation of the left ventricle, or both, and myocardial contractile dysfunction. The clinical phase of the disease is characterized by congestive heart failure signs (CHF), with or without arrhythmias. The treatment involves the use of drugs aimed at reducing the signs of CHF and arrhythmias, with diuretics, positive inotropic, vasodilator and antiarrhythmic. A new drug candidate (LASSBio 294), capable of promoting combined positive inotropic and vasodilating effects, has recently been developed, and have been tested in pre-clinical study in healthy Beagle dogs with promising results. Therefore, this study proposed to verify the action of the drug prototype LASSBio 294, at a dose of 2mg/Kg on cardiovascular parameters of rabbits with DCM experimentally induced by doxorubicin, using as positive control the pimobendan at a dose of 0.3mg/kg. The DCM was induced by intravenous administration of 1 mg/kg of doxorubicin, at a concentration of 2mg/ml, twice a week, for three weeks, and then weekly until it reached fractional shortening less or equal to 25%. As methods of evaluating the LASSBio 294 action on the cardiovascular system of rabbits and monitor the induction of DMC, the following tests were performed: electrocardiography, echodopplercardiography, measurement of blood pressure, chest radiograph, dosage of cardiac lesions, and kidney and liver function biomarkers and hematologic evaluation. At the end of the induction protocol the animals were randomly divided into two groups A (LASSBio 294) and B (pimobendan) and underwent treatment for 30 days, twice a day. At the end of the study it was concluded that the DCM model induced by doxorubicin is a good model to study the disease and its consequences, leading to systolic and diastolic dysfunction with dilatation of the left ventricle. However the time for induction of DCM is inaccurate and the occurrence of multisystemic toxicity, such as nephrotoxicity and myelosuppression, contributes to high mortality rate in this model (35%). It can be concluded that LASSBio 294 is effective in increasing systolic function, improving diastolic function, without altering rabbits blood pressure, has no pro-arrhythmogenic or toxic effect, and reduced the serum creatinine concentration of the animals, but it does not prevent the evolution of the congestive condition. / A cardiomiopatia dilatada (CMD) é uma enfermidade do músculo cardíaco que culmina em dilatação do ventrículo esquerdo, e/ou direito, e disfunção contrátil do miocárdio, sendo a fase clínica da doença caracterizada por sinais de insuficiência cardíaca congestiva (ICC), com ou sem a presença de arritmias. O tratamento envolve a utilização de fármacos que visem diminuir os sinais de ICC e as arritmias, sendo os diuréticos, inotrópicos positivos, vasodilatadores e antiarrítmicos os mais utilizados. Recentemente foi desenvolvido um novo candidato a fármaco (LASSBio 294) capaz de promover os efeitos vasodilatador e inotrópico positivo combinados, tendo sido testado em estudo pré-clínico em cães saudáveis da raça Beagle, com resultados promissores. Propôs-se neste estudo verificar a ação do protótipo a fármaco LASSBio 294, na dose de 2mg/kg, sobre os parâmetros cardiovasculares de coelhos com CMD experimentalmente induzida por doxorrubicina, utilizando como controle positivo o tratamento com a pimobendana, na dose de 0,3mg/Kg. A CMD foi induzida por meio da administração endovenosa de 1mg/Kg de doxorrubicina, na concentração de 2mg/mL, duas vezes na semana, por três semanas e depois semanalmente até que alcançada fração de encurtamento igual ou inferior a 25%. Como métodos de avaliação da ação do LASSBio 294 sobre o sistema cardiovascular de coelhos e monitoramento da indução da CMD, foram realizados os seguintes exames: eletrocardiografia, ecodopplercardiografia, mensuração da pressão arterial, radiografia torácica, dosagem de biomarcadores de lesão cardíaca, de função renal e hepática e avaliação hematológica. Ao final do protocolo de indução os animais foram distribuídos aleatoriamente em dois grupos, A (LASSBio 294) e B (pimobendana), e foram submetidos a tratamento durante trinta dias, duas vezes ao dia. Ao final do estudo foi possível concluir que o modelo de CMD induzida por doxorrubicina é um bom modelo para estudo da doença e suas consequências, induzindo disfunção sistólica e diastólica do miocárdico, com dilatação do ventrículo esquerdo. Porém, o tempo para indução da CMD é inexato e a ocorrência de toxicidade multissistêmica, como a mielossupressão e nefrotoxicidade, contribui para a elevada taxa de mortalidade dos animais (35%). Ainda, conclui-se que o LASSBio 294 é eficiente em incrementar a função sistólica, melhorar a função diastólica, sem alterar a pressão arterial dos coelhos, não apresentando efeito pró arritmogênico ou tóxico, e reduzindo a concentração sérica de creatinina dos animais, porém não impede a evolução do quadro congestivo.