Their analysis was a subject of an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1999. Availability
Ondansetron is a generic drug and is available in many countries under many brand names. Routes of administration
It can be given by mouth, as a tablet or orally disintegrating tablet, or by injection into a muscle or into a vein. Research
Psychiatric disorders
A 2006 double-blind, randomized controlled trial indicated ondansetron may have value in the treatment of schizophrenia, as an adjunct to haloperidol. The study found the combination to significantly improve negative schizophrenia symptoms, and people taking both drugs experienced fewer of the adverse effects commonly associated with haloperidol. An earlier, smaller, open-label trial had found ondansetron to be useful in treating antipsychotic-induced tardive dyskinesia in people with schizophrenia, and the study patients also showed significant improvement in the diseases symptoms.Early studies have also examined ondansetron as a possible treatment for psychosis resulting from advanced Parkinsons disease. Its apparent benefits despite a lack of any significant antagonistic properties at dopamine receptors or the 5-HT2A receptor raises interesting questions about the etiology of psychosis. Substance use
There is tentative evidence that it may be useful in decreasing the desired effects of alcohol. There is also some tentative evidence in those who are addicted to stimulants. Postanesthetic shivering
Two small, placebo-controlled trials have been conducted to assess the efficacy of ondansetron for postanesthetic shivering, a common occurrence after surgery. Ondansetron was found to be as effective as pethidine (meperidine, Demerol) when given as a single intravenous dose before anesthesia. References
External links
"Ondansetron".
People are cautioned to seek immediate medical care if symptoms such as irregular heartbeat/palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, or fainting occur while taking ondansetron. Overdose
No specific treatment is available for ondansetron overdose; people are managed with supportive measures. An antidote to ondansetron is not known. Pharmacology
Pharmacodynamics
Ondansetron is a highly selective serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, with low affinity for dopamine receptors. The 5-HT3 receptors are present both peripherally on vagal nerve terminals and centrally in the chemoreceptor trigger zone of the area postrema in the medulla. Serotonin is released by the enterochromaffin cells of the small intestine in response to chemotherapeutic agents and may stimulate vagal afferents (via 5-HT3 receptors) to initiate the vomiting reflex. It is thought that ondansetrons antiemetic action is mediated mostly via antagonism of vagal afferents with a minor contribution from antagonism of central receptors. Pharmacokinetics
Ondansetron may have a degree of peripheral selectivity due to binding to P-glycoprotein and efflux out of the brain at the blood–brain barrier. History
Ondansetron (marketed under the brand name Zofran) was developed in the mid-1980s by GlaxoSmithKline in London. It was granted US patent protection in September 1987, received a use patent June 1988, and was approved by the US FDA in January 1991. It was granted another divisional patent in November 1996. Finally, owing to GlaxoSmithKlines research on pediatric use, ondansetrons patent protection was extended until December 2006.