Friday, December 20, 2013

Vytorin
Recently, controversy struck Vytorin, a heart prescription drug used for lowering bad cholesterol levels (LDL) in the body.  The manufacturers of this medicine -- Merck  Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. are swamped with various complaints about this drugs side effects and its association with cancer development.  A current study done by its manufacturers entitled Enhance, it was concluded that the significant cholesterol reduction attributed to Vytorin is coupled with negative effects in arteries resulting to plague accumulation. This side effect of Vytorin can be a stimulus of stroke and heart attack (Park, 2008).

Drug specifics and mode of action
Vytorin is a drug mixture of ezetimibe and simvastatiin, which are common cholesterol-reducing drugs. The former has the chemical name 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3(R)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)-3(S)-hydroxypropyl-4(S)-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-azetidinoned, associated with phytosterol absorption and a selective inhibitor of intestinal cholesterol. The latter on the other hand, which is given the chemical name utanoic acid, 2,2-dimethyl-,1,2,3,7,8,8a-hexahydro-3,7-dimethyl-8-2-(tetrahydro-4-hydroxy-6-oxo-2H-pyran-2-yl)-ethyl-1-naphthalenyl ester, 1S-1,3,7,8
(2S,4S),-8a, is an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase (RxList). 

    This drug is available in the market with the following tablet dosages Vytorin 1010, meaning it contains 10 mg of both ezetimibe and simvastatin Vytorin 1020 or 10 mg ezetimibe and 20 mg simvastatin  Vytorin 1040, which is 10 mg ezetimibe and 4o mg simvastatin  and, Vytorin 1080 or 10mg ezetimibe and 80 mg simvastatin (RxList).

Precautions and side effects
    Everyone is forewarned that vytorin is not effective for every person thus prescription from the doctor is needed.  It is also contraindicated for pregnant and nursing women and, people with liver diseases. The elucidated side effects of vytorin are headache, muscle pain and diarrhea. Other side effects implicated with the usage of this drug are presence of red rashes, joint pains, allergic reactions, changes in laboratory test results, liver problems, pancreatitis, sleeping problems, memory loss, gall stones, depression, dizziness, tingling sensation and nausea. It is recommended that blood tests be performed before and after the treatment program to determine the effects of the drug to the circulatory system (MerckSchering-Plough Pharmaceuticals).

Issues on Vytorin Therapy
    Lately, the manufacturers of Vytorin are faced with some problems regarding the side effects involve in the usage of this drug. The research about this drug conducted by the manufacturers themselves concluded that the effectiveness of Vytorin is coupled with various negative after effects.  The delayed release of the research is also argued upon because the drug was already available in the market prior to the release of research. Some investigating institutions believe that there is a foul play in the release of the research s results (Rubenstein, 2008).

Conclusion
    Despite the side effects that are said to be attributed to the administration of vytorin, it is still among the effective drugs for lowers bad cholesterol levels. Almost all of the available drugs have side effects thus it is not alarming for vytorin to also have some side effects. The key aspect in vytorin therapy to avoid side effect is proper medication and dosage control by the physician.

No comments:

Post a Comment