Cycloserine and Linezolid for Tuberculosis Meningitis: Pharmacokinetic Evidence of Potential Usefulness.

BACKGROUND The ability of anti-tuberculosis drugs to cross the blood brain barrier and reach the central nervous system (CNS) is critical to their effectiveness in treating tuberculosis meningitis (TBM). We sought to fill a critical knowledge gap by providing data on the ability of new and repurposed anti-tuberculosis drugs to penetrate into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). METHODS We conducted a clinical pharmacology study among patients treated for TBM in Tbilisi,Georgia from January 2019 until January 2020. Serial serum and CSF samples were collected while patients were hospitalized. CSF was collected from routine lumbar punctures with the timing of the lumbar puncture alternating between 2 and 6 hours to capture early and late CSF penetration. RESULTS A total of seventeen patients treated for TBM (8 with confirmed diease) were included; all received linezolid, with a subset receiving cycloserine (5), clofazimine (5), delamanid (4) and bedaquiline (2). All CSF measurements of bedaquiline (12), clofazimine (24), and delaminid (19) were below the limit of detection. The median CSF concentrations of cycloserine at 2 and 6 hours were 15.90 and 15.10 µg/ml with adjusted CSF/serum ratios of 0.52 and 0.66. CSF concentrations of linezolid were 0.90 and 3.14 µg/ml at 2 and 6 hours, with adjusted CSF/serum ratios of 0.25 and 0.59, respectively. CSF serum linezolid concentrations were not impacted by rifampin coadministration. CONCLUSIONS Based on moderate to high CSF penetration, linezolid and cycloserine may be effective drugs for TBM treatment while the utility of bedaquiline, delaminid and clofazimine is uncertain given their low CSF penetration.