Effects and Drawbacks of Vigabatrin – A New Drug for Epilepsy
Posted under Category : Health Fundas |
Vigabatrin : Antiepileptic Drug
Vigabatrin is the first designer drug for the treatment of epilepsy.
Chemical Nature of Vigabatrin:
Vigabatrin is the vinyl substituted analogue of GABA, that was designed as an inhibitor of the GABA-metabolising enzyme GABA transaminase.
Vigabatrin is extremely specific for the GABA transaminase enzyme and works by forming a strong irreversible covalent bond.
Effect of vigabatrin on animals in animal studies:
- Increases the GABA content of the brain
- Increases the stimulation evoked release of GABA
- Inhibition of the GABA transaminase enzyme leads to the increased releasable pool of the GABA and enhances the inhibitory transmission effectively
- Neurotoxicity is reported in animals
Effect of vigabatrin in humans:
- Increases the content of GABA in the cerebro spinal fluid
- The enzyme GABA transaminase is blocked irreversibly, so it shows long lasting effect even though it s having short plasma half-life
- The drug is administered once orally everyday
Drawbacks of Vigabatrin:
Depression may be seen in some patients. Psychotic disturbances are faced by a minority of the patients. There are relatively no other side effects than the above factors.
It is found effective in a substantial proportion of the patients who are resistant to the established drugs. It will gain the therapeutic importance in the near future.
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