Abstract

Absorption, distribution and excretion of atrolactamide were studied in laboratory animals and total urinary excretion in man.

1. Atrolactamide was rapidly and effectively absorbed from all parts of the gastrointestinal tract with the exception of the stomach.

2. It crossed the "blood-brain barrier" with a time lag of about one-half hour. Equilibrium between the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid was reached after a period of 5 to 7 hours.

3. Atrolactamide was distributed to all body tissues, the concentrations being proportional to their water content. The use of the drug as a possible test agent for total body water determination is suggested.

4. Sixty-five to 70 per cent of a single oral dose of 3 grams in man was excreted unchanged in the urine in 6 days. The fate of the remainder is unknown.

5. Atrolactamide was cleared from the plasma only at a rate of about one-tenth that of inulin, indicating considerable reabsorption by the kidney tubules. Doses ranging from 250 mgm./kgm. to 1.0 gm./kgm. of body weight had no significant effect on the renal hemodynamics.