Zonegran | Zonasamide Side Effects
Serious Adverse Side Effects
Zonegran | Zonasamide has been shown to come with some very serious adverse side effects, such as:
- Dermatological side effects such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, two very serious and deadly allergic skin reactions
- Hematological side effects such as agranulocytosis, or a dangerously low amount of white blood cells
- Neurological side effects such as seizures
- Psychiatric side effects such as schizophrenia
- Other side effects such as death
Common Adverse Side Effects
Zonegran | Zonasamide is known to have less severe and more common adverse side effects, such as:
- Dermatological side effects such as itching
- Gastrointestinal side effects such as loss of appetite
- Neurological side effects such as lack of coordination, dizziness, drowsiness and inability to concentrate
- Ophthalmic side effects such as lazy eye
- Psychiatric side effects such as agitation and depression
- Other side effects such as disturbance in speech
Warnings & Recalls for Zonegran | Zonasamide
Contraindications
The only contraindication with
Zonegran | Zonasamide is hypersensitivity to zonasamide or sulfonamides.
Who Should Not Take This Drug
The following patients who’ve got the following preexisting conditions should not consider taking this drug. They are:
- Abrupt withdrawal from this drug due to potential for seizures
- Cognitive and neuropsychiatric adverse events such as psychosis, depression, psychomotor slowing, difficulty concentrating and language or speech problems
- Preexisting hepatic impairment
- Patients with acidosis
- Preexisting kidney impairment
- Patients who are suicidal
Zonegran | Zonasamide Treatment and Use
Zonegran | Zonasamide is a drug approved for adjunctive therapy in adults who experience partial-onset seizures, mixed seizures types of Lennox-Gastuat syndrome, infantile spasms, and myoclonic or generalized tonic clonic seizures. Zonegran | Zonasamide is classified as a sulfonamide anticonvulsant and was first discovered in 1972. Since then it has been marketed and manufactured by Élan. It comes in pill form.
Zonegran | Zonasamide has not been without its controversies. In February 28, 2011, Élan had been told to pay a criminal fine of $97 million and also to forfeit $3.6 million in assets for violating the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act for the illegal promotion of the drug, notably for off-label uses that its not prescribed to treat.
How This Drug Works
The true and exact mechanism of action for Zonegran | Zonasamide is still unknown fully. In some in vitro studies, there has been suggested a blockade of sodium channels with consecutive stabilization of neuronal membranes and also the suppression of the synchronization of neurons. But in other studies, its been shown that Zonegran | Zonasamide has exhibited suppression of synaptically-driven electrical activity without interfering with synaptic or other responses.
Dosage Information
Due to Zonegran | Zonasamide being exclusively prescribed to adults who experience epilepsy, the safety and the efficacy of this drug as it relates to dispensing it to children has as of yet not been established.
For adults prescribed this drug, 100mg per day orally which may be increased by 100mg per day every 2 weeks to a maximum dosage of 600mg per day in 1 to 2 divided doses.
