In 1996 UNAIDS issued a recommendation that women in developing countries consider the risks and benefits of each feeding practice on an individual level; they recommended women make an informed choice about infant feeding. In the days before the AIDS epidemic was clearly understood, some researchers pointed to the need to increase breastfeeding rates and pointed to the risks of formula feeding, citing increased rates of marasmus and diarrhea. D Jelliffe and E Jelliffe also criticized the marketing of infant formulas by US companies to resource-poor countries, something they termed "comerciogenic malnutrition." A more recent article from 1992 describes how the health of an infant can be compromised by water, which in many resource-poor countries holds the risk of environmental pathogens that are not present in breastmilk. Transmission of drugs and toxins
Medications
The vast majority of over the counter and prescription medicines are compatible with breastfeeding, but there are some that might be passed onto the child through the milk. Tobacco smoke
If one does continue tobacco smoking after giving birth, however, it is still more beneficial to breastfeed than to completely avoid this practice altogether. There is evidence that breastfeeding offers protection against many infectious diseases, especially diarrhea. Even in babies exposed to the harmful effects of nicotine through breast milk, the likelihood of acute respiratory illness is significantly diminished when compared to infants whose mothers smoked but were formula fed. Regardless, the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the risks of nicotine exposure.
Tiopronin, sold under the brand name Thiola, is a medication used to control the rate of cystine precipitation and excretion in the disease cystinuria. Due to the rarity of the disorder, tiopronin falls under the classification of an orphan drug. It is somewhat similar to penicillamine in both chemistry and pharmacology.A generic version of tiopronin is available in the United States as of April 2021. Uses
Tiopronin is used primarily for cystinuria and is well known in the cystinuric community. Depending on the severity of a persons cystinuria, tiopronin may be taken for life, possibly starting in early childhood. The drug works by reacting with urinary cysteine to form a more soluble, disulfide linked, tiopronin-cysteine complex. Side effects
Tiopronin may present a variety of side effects, which are broadly similar to those of D-penicillamine and other compounds containing active sulfhydryl groups. Its pharmacokinetics have been studied. Society and culture
In the U.S., the drug was marketed by Mission Pharmacal at $1.50 per pill, but in 2014 the rights were bought by Retrophin, owned by Martin Shkreli, and the price increased to $30 per pill for a 100 mg capsule.In 2016 Imprimis Pharmaceuticals introduced a lower cost version marketed as a compounded drug. Research
It may also be used for Wilsons disease (an overload of copper in the body), and has also been investigated for the treatment of arthritis, though tiopronin is not an anti-inflammatory.Tiopronin is also sometimes used as a stabilizing agent for metal nanoparticles. The thiol group binds to the nanoparticles, preventing coagulation. References
External links
"Tiopronin". Drug Information Portal.