Oral pemoline kinetics in hyperactive children.

The time course of pemoline in plasma was investigated in seven prepubescent boys with attention-deficit disorders who were hyperactive. Maximum plasma concentrations of 4.3 +/- 1.0 mg/L were reached 2.8 +/- 1.8 hours after a single, 2 mg/kg oral dose of pemoline, followed by a monoexponential decline in plasma concentration over time. Mean t1/2 and total body clearance of pemoline were 8.6 hours and 0.65 ml/min/kg. The 600% interindividual variation in elimination t1/2 and the 300% variation in total body clearance of pemoline may explain the unpredictable nature of its dynamics and associated neurotoxicity in some cases.