Altered prednisolone kinetics in patients with the nephrotic syndrome.

The impact of low plasma protein levels on the kinetics of prednisolone was investigated in patients with the nephrotic syndrome. Nephrotics exhibited higher unbound fractions of prednisolone, lower total plasma concentrations than normal volunteers, but normal unbound plasma concentrations and normal mean residence times. Thus altered prednisolone kinetics in patients with low plasma protein levels do not explain the higher frequency of prednisolone-related side-effects in these patients, compared to patients with normal plasma protein levels.