Antileprotic Drugs
Question 1. Write A Short Note On Antileprotic Drugs.
Answer:
Drugs used in the treatment of leprosy are called antileprotic drugs.
- Antileprotic Drugs Classification
- Sulfone: Dapsone
- Phenazine derivatives: Clofazimine
- Antitubercular drug: Rifampin, ethionamide
- Other antibiotics: Ofloxacin, minocycline, clarithromycin.
Read And Learn More: Pharmacology Question And Answers
Question 2. Write A Short Note On Dapsone.
Answer:
Dapsone is an antileprotic drug:
- It is diamino diphenyl sulphone (DDS)
- It is the simplest, oldest, cheapest, most active, and most commonly used drug for leprosy
- Dapsone is chemically related to sulphonamides.
Dapsone Mechanism Of Action
Lepra bacilli use para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) for the synthesis of folic acid which leads to their growth and multiplication.
Dapsone is equivalently similar to the structure of PABA, so it competitively inhibits folate synthetase enzymes and prevents the formation of tetrahydrofolic acid. In this way, dapsone produces its leprostatic effect.
Dapsone Pharmacokinetics
Dapsone when given orally is completely absorbed from the gut and bound to plasma proteins. It gets widely distributes inside the body.
It gets concentrated mainly in infected skin, muscle, liver, etc. Dapsone gets partly secreted in bile and undergoes enterohepatic cycling.
It is metabolized by acetylation and metabolites are excreted in the urine.
Dapsone Adverse Effects
- Mild hemolytic anemia
- Gastric intolerance—nausea and anorexia
- Cutaneous reactions, i.e. allergic rashes, fixed drug eruption, hypomelanosis, and phototoxicity.
- Hepatitis and agranulocytosis
- Other side effects: Methemoglobinemia, headache, paresthesia, drug fever, and mental symptoms.
Dapsone Contraindications
It should not be used in patients with severe anemia.
Dapsone Other Uses
In combination with pyrimethamine for chloroquine-resistant malaria.
It can also be used in the treatment of lichen planus or oral lichen planus.
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