Crohns Disease Information and Support Medications : Cyclosporin
 

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 Crohns Disease: Medications : Cyclosporin
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Cyclosporin

This is a GRAPEFRUIT JUICE SENSITIVE DRUG

Cyclosporine is a potent immunosuppressive drug routinely used in organ transplantation. Since the mid-1980s, this drug has also been used to treat patients with inflammatory bowel disease. At this time, cyclosporine is most useful in severely ill patients with ulcerative colitis who have not responded to corticosteroid therapy. In such patients, intravenously administered cyclosporine is highly effective for rapid disease control, and it may allow patients to avoid surgery. However, by one year, 70 to 80 percent of these patients may still require surgery. Thus, in many patients, the role of cyclosporine is to change a risky emergency operation into a less urgent procedure.

Cyclosporine is lipid-bound and thus is associated with an increased risk of seizures when it is administered to acutely ill, severely malnourished patients who have low serum cholesterol/lipid levels. Oral maintenance with cyclosporine has, at best, limited benefit, and the relapse rate is high. The drug has a significant side effect profile.

CARCINOGENICITY

Cyclosporin A is known to be a human carcinogen based on studies in humans indicating a causal relationship between exposure to cyclosporin A and human cancer (IARC 1990).

Read entire abstract....

Common Side Effects:

Check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

  • increase in hair growth
  • trembling and shaking of hands

    Less common:

    Check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome:

  • Acne or oily skin
  • headache
  • leg cramps
  • nausea

    Effects Monitored by Doctor:

    More common

  • high blood pressure
  • kidney problems

    Less common

  • liver problems
  • changes in blood chemistry

    Always Notify Doctor of any of the following:

    More common

  • bleeding, tender, or enlarged gums

    Less Common

  • convulsions (seizures)
  • fever or chills
  • frequent urge to urinate
  • vomiting

    Rare

  • confusion
  • general feeling of discomfort and illness
  • irregular heartbeat
  • numbness or tingling in hands, feet, or lips
  • shortness of breath or difficult breathing
  • stomach pain (severe) with nausea and vomiting
  • unexplained nervousness
  • unusual tiredness or weakness
  • weakness or heaviness of legs
  • weight loss

    Notify Doctor Immediately if you experience any of the following:

    Rare

  • blood in urine
  • flushing of face and neck (for injection only)
  • wheezing or shortness of breath (for injection only)

    Other Notes:

    Because of the way that cyclosporine acts on the body, there is a chance that it may cause effects years after the medicine is used. These delayed effects may include certain types of cancer, such as lymphomas or skin cancers. You and your doctor should discuss the good this medicine will do as well as the risks of using it.

    Other side effects not listed above may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your doctor. This information is meant only as a guideline - always consult a physician or pharmacist for complete information about prescription medications.

    On behalf of learning, and use as teaching tools for those of us who need to know about our disease, I have tried to supply you with as much information as I could find on all of the drugs, treatments and disorders associated with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. I have tried to blend all facts supported by research and also from personal experiences of other IBD sufferers into one readable webpage, and any and all information presented here is not entirely from one source. Most information contained within these pages is found in the public domain. At times you may find information used from another site, and as with all copyrighted materials you may find on these pages, I claim fair use under sections 107 through 118 of the Copyright Act (title 17, U.S. Code). Click here for more info

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