Carbamazepine: placental transport, tissue concentrations in foetus and newborn, and level in milk.

The pharmacokinetics of carbamazepine were studied during pregnancy and early childhood by investigating the extent of its placental penetration and its distribution in the foetal and neonatal tissues at autopsy. In foetuses the liver and kidney contained high levels of carbamazepine, whereas brain and lungs had low values. Carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide was also detected in the foetal circulation. At autopsy material, carbamazepine was localized mostly in the cerebral cortex, heart, liver and kidney. The concentration of carbamazepine in the milk was found to be 60 per cent of the respective plasma value.