{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]],"date-time":"2026-06-04T13:36:14Z","timestamp":1780580174195,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Vet Res"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2013,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>In human medicine, adverse outcomes associated with switching between bioequivalent brand name and generic antiepileptic drug products is a subject of concern among clinicians. In veterinary medicine, epilepsy in dogs is usually treated with phenobarbital, either with the standard brand name formulation Luminal\u00ae or the veterinary products Luminal\u00ae vet and the generic formulation Phenoleptil\u00ae. Luminal\u00ae and Luminal\u00ae vet are identical 100\u00a0mg tablet formulations, while Phenoleptil\u00ae is available in the form of 12.5 and 50\u00a0mg tablets. Following approval of Phenoleptil\u00ae for treatment of canine epilepsy, it was repeatedly reported by clinicians and dog owners that switching from Luminal\u00ae (human tablets) to Phenoleptil\u00ae in epileptic dogs, which were controlled by treatment with Luminal\u00ae, induced recurrence of seizures. In the present study, we compared bioavailability of phenobarbital after single dose administration of Luminal\u00ae vet vs. Phenoleptil\u00ae with a crossover design in 8 healthy Beagle dogs. Both drugs were administered at a dose of 100\u00a0mg\/dog, resulting in 8\u00a0mg\/kg phenobarbital on average.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Peak plasma concentrations (C<jats:sub>max<\/jats:sub>) following Luminal\u00ae vet vs. Phenoleptil\u00ae were about the same in most dogs (10.9\u2009\u00b1\u20090.92 vs. 10.5\u2009\u00b1\u20090.77\u00a0\u03bcg\/ml), and only one dog showed noticeable lower concentrations after Phenoleptil\u00ae vs. Luminal\u00ae vet. Elimination half-life was about 50\u00a0h (50.3\u2009\u00b1\u20093.1 vs. 52.9\u2009\u00b1\u20092.8\u00a0h) without differences between the formulations. The relative bioavailability of the two products (Phenoleptil\u00ae vs. Luminal\u00ae vet.) was 0.98\u2009\u00b1\u20090.031, indicating that both formulations resulted in about the same bioavailability.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Overall, the two formulations did not differ significantly with respect to pharmacokinetic parameters when mean group parameters were compared. Thus, the reasons for the anecdotal reports, if true, that switching from the brand to the generic formulation of phenobarbital may lead to recurrence of seizures are obviously not related to a generally lower bioavailability of the generic formulation, although single dogs may exhibit lower plasma levels after the generic formulation that could be clinically meaningful.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/1746-6148-9-202","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,10,11]],"date-time":"2013-10-11T09:39:05Z","timestamp":1381484345000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Is switching from brand name to generic formulations of phenobarbital associated with loss of antiepileptic efficacy?: a pharmacokinetic study with two oral formulations (Luminal\u00ae vet, Phenoleptil\u00ae) in dogs"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Marion","family":"Bankstahl","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jens P","family":"Bankstahl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wolfgang","family":"L\u00f6scher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,10,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"774_CR1","first-page":"82","volume":"35","author":"W L\u00f6scher","year":"1985","unstructured":"L\u00f6scher W, Schwartz-Porsche D, Frey H-H, Schmidt D: Evaluation of epileptic dogs as an animal model of human epilepsy. 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