Saturday 22 June 2013

What You Need To Know About Clodronate Liposome Drug

By Teri Farley


By definition, clodronate liposome is a drug delivered using liposome (a synthetic lipid that encapsulates other substances for ease of administration into the body). Liposome is manly a medium which carries the highly hydrophilic Clodronate thus facilitating its transport into the target organ. Essentially, the aim of this type of drug administration is to achieve higher macrophage depletion after an intravenous injection of the drug.

Like a Trojan horse, liposome carriers clodronate to the target cell where it is ingested by the macrophages. This then releases the drug into the cell and the inhibition of the macrophages activities is achieved by bisphosphonates (the active components in it). Though the idea looks simple, researchers are upbeat that this will be the best cure for most stubborn immune diseases.

Though still in the trial stages, the drug has shown a lot of success and will help in the treatment of cancer, osteoporosis and autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Metastatic carcinoma of the breast and multiple myeloma are among other conditions that the drug will be able to handle. On the other hand, this drug has shown success with the suppression of macrophage activities in neurological disorders, gene therapy and transplantation.

While it is still in its testing stages, the drug will not be strange since some clodronate products are already in the market to help with the treatment of excessive blood calcium. This condition is mostly seen in cancer patients. It is however encouraging that there are few mild side effects and rarely serious complications are reported. Patients using bisphosphonate products have in the past presented with nausea, vomiting and mild stomach pains.

While the above-mentioned adverse effects are considered mild and often disappear without further medication, other symptoms should not be taken lightly. There are however some rare cases where bisphosphonates have resulted in serious complications that warrant the attention of a doctor. Individuals should therefore be careful while taking the drug since it may also have serious side effects such as such wheezing or difficult breathing.

Additional complications such as unknown malaise, swelling of body parts and mouth pain should also be treated with caution. Physicians in such cases may recommend treatment or drug discontinuation. It is important to note that these are not recorded drug reactions from the drug since it has not been fully put into human use. You should therefore not be discouraged in anyway.

As with all bisphosphonates and prescription medicine, you are not supposed to use them in some situations. For example, individuals with known allergies to Clodronate or bisphosphonates are advised to avoid the drug. In the same line, pregnant or breastfeeding mothers should not use the drug. In addition, kidney patients and those using bisphosphonate derivates should also avoid the drugs. Lastly, individuals having gastrointestinal inflammations are not allowed to use the the drug.

There are basic rules that apply to prescription medicine, which also apply to clodronate liposome. For instance, you cannot share it with any one whether they are as sick as you are. In addition, you do not use it without express instructions from a qualified physician.




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