Relationships between CSF drug concentrations, receptor binding characteristics, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of selected 1,4-substituted benzodiazepines.

Pharmacokinetic profiles of the 1,4-substituted benzodiazepines are defined by their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion characteristics. An ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and the onset of pharmacological activity have been associated with the physiochemical properties of the benzodiazepines. In addition, drug concentrations in the CSF correlate with the unbound drug concentrations in blood or plasma. Duration of pharmacological activity of the benzodiazepines in humans is associated with the affinity of these compounds for the benzodiazepine receptors in human brain. Therefore, benzodiazepines with high affinity for the benzodiazepine receptor sites in human brain tend to exhibit prolonged half-lives of elimination from the CSF which correlate with the prolonged duration of clinical and pharmacological effects and lower therapeutic doses of these drugs in vivo.