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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> Imitrex Vision Side Effects
        
(Message started by: ozzman on Jan 24^th, 2003, 10:02am)

Title: Imitrex Vision Side Effects
Post by ozzman on Jan 24^th, 2003, 10:02am

For those long time Imitrex users, I was reading the literature that comes with the medicine and I found this disturbing part as follows:

"Binding to Melanin-Containing Tissues: In rats treated with a single subcutaneous dose
(0.5 mg/kg) or oral dose (2 mg/kg) of radiolabeled sumatriptan, the elimination half-life of
radioactivity from the eye was 15 and 23 days, respectively, suggesting that sumatriptan and/or
its metabolites bind to the melanin of the eye. Comparable studies were not performed by the
intranasal route. Because there could be an accumulation in melanin-rich tissues over time, this
raises the possibility that sumatriptan could cause toxicity in these tissues after extended use.
However, no effects on the retina related to treatment with sumatriptan were noted in any of the
oral or subcutaneous toxicity studies. Although no systematic monitoring of ophthalmologic function was undertaken in clinical trials, and no specific recommendations for ophthalmologic
monitoring are offered, prescribers should be aware of the possibility of long-term
ophthalmologic effects.
Corneal Opacities: Sumatriptan causes corneal opacities and defects in the corneal epithelium
in dogs; this raises the possibility that these changes may occur in humans. While patients were
not systematically evaluated for these changes in clinical trials, and no specific recommendations
for monitoring are being offered, prescribers should be aware of the possibility of these changes"

Should we worry? I guess I'll have to ask my ophtalmologist next time.

Ozzy