What is azathioprine used for?
Azathioprine is a type of medicine called an immunosuppressant. Immunosuppressants help “calm” (or control) your body’s immune system. This medicine helps treat inflammatory conditions such as: rheumatoid arthritis.
What is azathioprine made of?
IMURAN (azathioprine), an immunosuppressive antimetabolite, is available in tablet form for oral administration. Each scored tablet contains 50 mg azathioprine and the inactive ingredients lactose, magnesium stearate, potato starch, povidone, and stearic acid.
What class of drug is mercaptopurine?
Mercaptopurine is used in combination with other medicines as maintenance treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It belongs to the group of medicines known as antimetabolites.
Can azathioprine cause liver damage?
Azathioprine, like other thiopurines, can also cause chronic liver injury and long term therapy has been linked to the development of portal hypertension and nodular regenerative hyperplasia.
Is azathioprine safe to use?
About side effects, azathioprine is a relatively well tolerated drug and even indefinite use seems safe. The main theoretical risks of prolonged use would be the myelotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and the development of cancer.
How safe is azathioprine?
Can you drink alcohol on mercaptopurine?
Can I drink alcohol while I am taking mercaptopurine? Yes, it safe to drink alcohol while you are taking mercaptopurine, however large quantities of alcohol should be avoided.
Can mercaptopurine cause liver damage?
Mercaptopurine can also lead to a distinctive acute, clinically apparent liver injury that usually presents with fatigue and jaundice and a cholestatic or mixed pattern of serum enzyme elevations 1 to 6 months after starting therapy, but sometimes later, particularly following an increase in dose.
Is azathioprine safe long term?