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Didanosine review by Medicalook.com
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Didanosine is classified by the medical community as a reverse transcriptase inhibitor. Although it sounds complicated all it means is that it is a drug that works against the HIV virus. It inhibits the enzyme that the HIV virus needs to reproduce, and it stops the virus from spreading to the healthy cells. It is very effective at keeping the virus at bey, although it does nothing to heal the cells already infected. It should ideally be used with other antiretroviral drugs as part of HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy), which is a therapy regularly used to treat people with HIV and AIDS. It was actually one of the first drugs that were used against HIV and AIDS back in the early nineties.
Didanosine has been tested with various other drugs to find out which of the other drugs affects the success of Didanosine. Researchers have found out that allopurinol, indinavir, delavirdine, ketoconazole, itraconazole, ciprofloxacin, zalcitabine, ganciclovir, and stavudine all interact badly with Didanosine. Patients required to take Didanosine along with these other drugs shouldn’t take them at the same time. More specifically, these drugs should be taken at least one and a half hours apart. For more information patients should ask their doctors for specific instructions on what to do and which drug to take.
Some side effects that are common with this drug are: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, fever, rash, and peripheral neuropathy (a burning in the nerves of a persons hands and feet). These are the symptoms that are common and practically negligible when patients take the drug. Some of the nore serious symptoms include: pancreatitis, retinal disorders, optic neuritis, and the breakdown of liver functions.
In 2000, Didanosine which is marketed widely as Videx, made an incredible improvement in their pills. The old pills were taken several times a day because they were being badly affected by the stomach acids of the patients. The newer pills made in 2000 and renamed Videx EC was put in some new capsule that was more resistant to stomach acids. This way the pills only have to be taken once a day; it is more convenient for them and it is less expensive.
Sadly, the body does develop resistance to Didanosie, though at a slower rate than other HIV drugs. But as time passes and the virus gets used to the drug, the effectiveness goes steadily lower.
Food reduces the drug’s effectiveness so it should be taken on an empty stomach. Doctors say that it should be taken one to two hours after a meal. Be careful not to take this drug with any other drug that may react badly with it. Always check with your doctor before taking another drug with Didanosine. Otherwise you might be at risk for liver or kidney diseases. Another precaution you should take is to avoid drinking alcohol while taking Didanosine. Alcohol can affect the toxicity of Didanosine, so patients should avoid drinking alcohol while they are on the drug treatment. When taking Videx EC it is important to swallow the capsule whole and not break it apart. The capsule protects the drug against the stomach acid and needs to be intact as it passes through your digestive system. Above all, please remember to follow your doctor’s instructions specifically. Take no more and no less than what was prescribed.
Didanosine has the following structural formula:
• Molecular formula of didanosine is C10H12N4O3
• Chemical IUPAC Name is 9-[5-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]-3H-purin-6-one
• Molecular weight is 236.227 g/mol
• Didanosine available : 200mg capsule, 250mg capsule, 400mg capsule
Brand name(s): Videx
Review published on: 19 April 2008
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