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Thalide medicine is made in the form of hard capsules, with the main ingredient being Thalidomide. Medicines used to treat cancer or leprosy.
1. What are the effects of Thalide?
What is Thalide drug? Thalide 100 medicine has the main ingredient of 100mg Thalidomide and other excipients. The main drug Thalidomide belongs to the group of drugs that modulate the immune system, helping to treat Hansen's disease (also known as leprosy) and multiple myeloma. Specifically:
Thalidomide has the role of an immunomodulatory drug, helping to enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs such as cyclophosphamide, bendamustine, melphalan, doxorubicin,... in the treatment of malignant cells in patients. multiple myeloma. As for the therapeutic mechanism, Thalidomide inhibits the production of factors involved in tumor growth. In addition, Thalidomide can also be used alone for maintenance treatment, prolonging the remission time in patients with multiple myeloma; Thalidomide is used to treat and prevent certain skin conditions related to Hansen's disease (leprosy), such as: Skin ulcers, areas of skin that change color (lighter or darker than usual), on areas of the skin. These patients have sensory disturbances (reduced or lost sensation to touch, exposure to hot, cold, pain). Indications for use of Thalide
Treatment of multiple myeloma that have not responded to standard therapy or used in combination with chemotherapy drugs for multiple myeloma; Treatment of moderate and severe erythema nodosum in leprosy patients. Contraindications to using Thalide
People with hypersensitivity or allergy to drug ingredients; Children under 12 years old; Pregnant and lactating women; Women of childbearing potential (unless other therapies are not suitable and effective contraception is used during treatment).
2. How to use and dose Thalide
2.1 How to take the drug: Oral. Patients usually take it once a day, at least 1 hour after dinner or as directed by a doctor. Thalide tablets should be swallowed whole with water.
Some notes when taking Thalide:
When not in use, keep the pill in the blister pack; Do not open the capsule; Hands should be washed with soap and water if the powder of the capsule gets into the hands; Thalide drugs pass into body fluids (such as urine), so people around them should avoid contact with the patient's fluids when taking the drug. Protective clothing (mask, gloves, protective gear) should be worn when in contact with the patient's bodily fluids. In case of accidental contact, the skin of contact should be washed with soap and water; Thalide should be used regularly to achieve the highest therapeutic effect. For ease of remembering, patients should take their medication at the same time each day. 2.2 Dosage for treatment of multiple myeloma
For patients with multiple myeloma who have never been treated: In combination with dexamethasone: Use Thalide at a dose of 200mg/day. For induction, thalide/dexamethasone should be administered for 4 cycles of 4 weeks. In elderly patients, the patient's absorption may be improved with an initial dose of 50 mg/day, increasing the dose to 200 mg/day for 4 weeks; In combination with melphalan and prednisone: Thalide is used at a dose of 200mg/day. It is recommended to take the drug for a maximum of 12 cycles in 6 weeks. For elderly patients (over 75 years), thalidomide should be taken with an initial dose of 100 mg/day; For patients with multiple myeloma unresponsive/poorly responsive to standard therapy: Initiate at 200 mg/day, increase by 100 mg weekly to a maximum dose of 400 mg/day depending on patient tolerability and drug toxicity; Depending on the absorption and toxicity observed in the patient, it can be maintained at a lower dose. Treatment of erythema nodosum leprosy (ENL)
For patients with erythema nodosum : It is recommended to start with a dose of 100-300mg/day, should take the drug with water, before going to bed or at least 1 hour after dinner . Patients weighing less than 50 kg should start with the lowest dose in the therapeutic dose range; For ENL patients with severe skin reactions or patients who have previously required high dose therapy to control reactions: Initiate higher doses, up to 400 mg/day, orally before at bedtime or in divided doses orally with water, taken at least 1 hour after eating; For patients with moderate to severe neuritis associated with a severe ENL reaction: Thalide should be used in combination with corticosteroids initially. Steroid use may be tapered to complete cessation as the neuroinflammation improves. Dosage should be maintained regularly until symptoms subside. Must be used for at least 2 weeks. Patients can reduce the dose by 50mg every 2-4 weeks; For patients who have been required to receive long-term maintenance therapy to prevent recurrence of erythema nodosum or who develop these signs during dose reduction, the dose should be maintained at the lowest dose to control. response control: The usual starting dose is 100-300mg/time/day (in severe cases the dose can be increased to 400mg/day). The dose reduction should be done gradually, the duration of each dose reduction is 3 - 6 months, the amount of reduction is 50 mg every 2 - 4 weeks until a positive response. Another regimen is to initiate treatment at a dose of 100 mg/time/day. If symptoms are severe and uncontrolled, increase the dose by 100 mg at intervals of 1 week to a maximum of 400 mg/time/day. Missed dose: If you miss a dose of Thalide, you should take it as soon as you remember it. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the next dose only.
Overdose: When using Thalide drug overdose, the patient should immediately notify the doctor or go to the hospital for examination and early treatment.
3. Thalide drug side effects
When using Thalide, patients may experience some side effects such as:
Swollen throat, difficulty breathing; Rash, dry skin; Low blood calcium levels: Muscle tension, muscle spasms, numbness or loss of sensation, atrophy around the mouth, excessive reflexes; Anxiety, confusion, agitation; Dizziness, drowsiness, headache, frequent fatigue, loss of strength; tremor, muscle weakness; Loss of appetite, nausea, constipation; Weight loss or weight gain. When experiencing side effects of Thalide, patients should notify their doctor to receive advice on the most appropriate treatment and response.
4. Be careful when using Thalide
Some notes for patients to remember before and while taking Thalide:
Be careful when using Thalide in HIV-infected patients because the patient may be more sensitive to the effects of the drug. Although thadomide can be used to treat myasthenia gravis and other HIV-related conditions, it affects the viral load in the body; Thalide can cause drowsiness and dizziness, especially when taken with alcohol or stimulants. Therefore, the patient should not drive, use machinery, or do anything that requires alertness until it can be done safely; Do not drink alcoholic beverages while taking Thalide; Thalide is not indicated for ENL monotherapy in patients with moderate to severe neuritis. Thalide is used as maintenance therapy for the prevention and suppression of cutaneous manifestations of recurrent ELN; When taking Thalide, patients may experience hypersensitivity reactions with manifestations of fever, skin rash, tachycardia, hypotension,... Patients should not continue taking Thalide if the hypersensitivity reactions are significant. above continued to appear after re-administration of the drug; There may be bradycardia in some patients taking Thalidomide, but the cause has not been found; Patients taking Thalide may experience some serious skin reactions, including epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome. The drug should be discontinued if the patient develops erythematous nodules and the drug should be resumed only when necessary clinical tests have been performed. If the rash is peeling, purpura or blistering occurs, Stevens-Johnson syndrome and epidermal necrolysis are suspected, the drug should be discontinued; During the clinical use of Thalide, there were cases of convulsions (including tonic-clonic seizures); Thalide drugs can be absorbed through the skin and inhalation, causing harm to the fetus. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not take Thalide or breathe dust from broken tablets. The drug can cause serious birth defects and even death to the unborn baby. If a woman is pregnant or suspected of being pregnant and experiences irregular bleeding or missed periods or if she stops using birth control, she should stop taking Thalide and tell her doctor right away. If a man has unprotected sex with a woman who could get pregnant, tell his doctor right away; It has not been studied whether Thalide passes into breast milk, but given the risk to the infant, a mother should consult her doctor before taking this medicine (if breast-feeding).
5. Thalide drug interactions
Some drug interactions of Thalide include:
Thalide drugs (containing thalidomide) have the ability to increase the analgesic effect of barbiturates, alcohol, chlorpromazine and reserpine; Caution should be exercised in the concomitant use of peripheral neuroleptics with Thalide. When assigned to use Thalide, patients should strictly follow the doctor's instructions, do not increase the dose or increase the number of times of taking the drug than prescribed. This does not help improve the condition and can increase unpredictable side effects.
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