Clearance of the antihistamine doxylamine. Reduced in elderly men but not in elderly women.

A single oral dose of doxylamine succinate 25 mg was administered to 21 young (20 to 43 years) and 22 elderly (60 to 87 years) volunteers. Multiple plasma doxylamine concentrations were determined during a 30-hour period after each dose. Elderly and young women did not differ significantly in peak plasma doxylamine concentration (Cmax) [116 vs 103 micrograms/L], time to Cmax (tmax) [2.4 vs 2.4 h], elimination half-life (12.2 vs 10.1 h), volume of distribution (179 vs 176 L) or clearance (191 vs 218 ml/min). Cmax (107 vs 108 micrograms/L) and tmax (2.1 vs 1.6 h) also did not differ between elderly and young men. However, elderly men had reduced doxylamine clearance (174 vs 240 ml/min, p less than 0.02; 2.5 vs 3.2 ml/min/kg, p less than 0.07) and prolonged half-life (15.5 vs 10.2 h, p less than 0.05). The reduced doxylamine clearance and prolonged half-life in elderly men, but not in elderly women, is similar to results for many other drugs which are transformed by oxidation.