Zerit Side Effects
Serious Adverse Side Effects
Zerit | Stavudine has some very serious adverse side effects associated with it, such as:
- Endocrine metabolic side effects such as possibly fatal lactic acidosis, when lactic acid builds in the bloodstream at a higher rate than it is removed
- Gastrointestinal side effects such as a patient’s pancreatic enzyme levels above range, and pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas
- Hematological side effects such as anemia (lack of blood cells), neutropenia (lack of white blood cells) and thrombocytopenia (lack of platelets)
- Hepatic side effects such as hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), abnormal liver function tests, and steatosis of the liver (fatty liver)
- Neurological side effects such as muscle weakness and peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage)
Common Adverse Side Effects
Zerit | Stavudine has more common and less severe adverse side effects such as:
- Dermatological side effects such as rash
- Gastrointestinal side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting
- Hematological side effects such as macrocytosis, or enlargement of red blood cells
- Neurological side effects such as headache
Warnings & Recalls for Zerit
Black Box Warning
Sometimes severe cases of lactic acidosis has led to death for many patients who have taken
Zerit | Stavudine. Fatal lactic acidosis has been reported in pregnant women who have received
Zerit | Stavudine combined with other antiretroviral drugs such as didanosine. The combination of
Zerit | Stavudine with didanosine should be used with the utmost caution and should only be used when the benefits outweigh the risks. Fatal as well as well as non-fatal pancreatitis has occurred during therapy with
Zerit | Stavudine that had included other antiretroviral medications such as didanosine.
Contraindications
The only contraindication of
Zerit | Stavudine is when patients display a hypersensitivity to Stavudine or any other component of the drug.
Who Should Not Take This Drug
- Patients who concurrently take hydroxyurea with or without didanosine
- Patients who use AZT
- Patients who use an interferon with or without ribavirin
- Patients with a preexisting liver disease
- Patients with a kidney disorder
- Patients who drink alcohol
Zerit Treatment and Use
Zerit | Stavudine is a drug that is prescribed for the treatment of HIV. Its drug classification is that of a nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NARTI). Zerit | Stavudine is used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV patients with or without the AIDS virus. Zerit | Stavudine doesn’t cure AIDS or HIV in the body but helps to slow the spread of it. Zerit | Stavudine also doesn’t prevent the spread of HIV or AIDS to other people.
History Of The Drug
Zerit | Stavudine was synthesized in the 1960s by a scientist named Jerome Horwitz. It had then been reconsidered as an anti-HIV and AIDS agent by the Rega Institute for Medical Research which is located in Belgium. Zerit | Stavudine had been approved by the FDA on June of 1994 for adults with HIV and AIDS and then in September of 1996, Zerit | Stavudine had been approved for pediatric use. Since then there has been an extended-release version of this drug synthesized in 2001. Zerit | Stavudine is notable for being the fourth released antiretroviral drug on the market.
On November 30, 2009, the WHO (World Health Organisation) stated that, “[The WHO] recommends that countries phase out the use of [Zerit | Stavudine], or d4T, because of its long-term, irreversible side-effects. [Zerit | Stavudine] is still widely used in first-line therapy in developing countries due to its low cost and widespread availability. Zidovudine (AZT) or Tenofovir (TDF) are recommended as less toxic and equally effective alternatives”.
See the “warnings and recalls” tab to get more information about the “black box” warning associated with this drug.
How This Drug Works
Zerit | Stavudine, which is a NARTI, inhibits HIV virus replication by competing with attributes of DNA that spread HIV, and by the inhibition of viral DNA synthesis by terminating chain elongation. In addition to that, Zerit | Stavudine inhibits cellular DNA polymerases beta and gamma, and reduces synthesis of mitochondrial DNA. A concentration of this drug ranging from 0.009 to 4 micromoles is the usual dosage required for the inhibition of HIV replication 50% in vitro.
Dosage Information
Zerit | Stavudine dosing is dependent upon the age of the patient as well as the severity with which AIDS or HIV has diminished their potential to fight the disease.
- Zerit | Stavudine for adults weighing less than 132 lbs., 30mg orally as a tablet or solution every 12 hours
- Zerit | Stavudine for adults weighing more than 132 lbs., 40mg orally as a tablet or solution every 12 hours
- Zerit | Stavudine for infants ranging from the day of birth to 13 days of age, 0.5mg orally as a solution every 12 hours
- Zerit | Stavudine for children at least 14 days old and less than 66 lbs., 1mg orally as a solution every 12 hours
- Zerit | Stavudine for children 66 lbs. to 132 lbs., 30mg orally as a tablet or solution every 12 hours
- Zerit | Stavudine for children 132lbs or greater, 40mg orally as a tablet or solution every 12 hours
