REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION AND ELIMINATION KINETICS OF IMIPRAMINE IN RAT BRAIN

The elimination of imipramine (IMP) from the brain regions was investigated in rats after a single intraperitoneal administration. The levels of IMP (ng/g wet tissue) in the brain regions reached concentrations approximately 30-fold higher than the plasma level 0.5 h after the administration. Brain regions could be divided into two classes as to IMP elimination : IMP in the cerebellum, mid-brain and medulla, striatum, posterior cortex and frontal cortex was eliminated in a monoexponential manner the similar to the plasma level while the disappearance in the hypothalamus, thalamus, hippocampus and nucleus accumbens followed a biexponential profile.