Clofazimine, sold under the brand name Lamprene, is a medication used together with rifampicin and dapsone to treat leprosy. It is specifically used for multibacillary (MB) leprosy and erythema nodosum leprosum. Evidence is insufficient to support its use in other conditions though a retrospective study found it 95% effective in the treatment of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) when administered with a macrolide and ethambutol, as well as the drugs amikacin and clarithromycin. However, in the United States, clofazimine is considered an orphan drug, is unavailable in pharmacies, and its use in the treatment of MAC is overseen by the Food and Drug Administration. It is taken orally.Common side effects include abdominal pain, diarrhea, itchiness, dry skin, and change in skin color. It can also cause swelling of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, increased blood sugar, and sensitivity to the sun. It is unclear if use during pregnancy is safe. Clofazimine is a phenazine dye and is believed to work by interfering with DNA.Clofazimine was discovered in the 1950s at Trinity College, Dublin, and approved for medical use in the United States in 1986. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. In the United States it is not available commercially but can be obtained from the US Department of Health and Human Services. Medical uses
The primary use of clofazimine is for the treatment of leprosy.
Post-encephalitic parkinsonism is a disease believed to be caused by a viral illness that triggers degeneration of the nerve cells in the substantia nigra. Overall, this degeneration leads to clinical parkinsonism. Historically, starting in 1917 an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica, also called von Economos encephalitis or "sleepy-disease" occurred, possibly related to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic; however, even with the use of modern molecular diagnostic tests on appropriate corpses, no firm link between encephalitis lethargica with influenza has been made. Although parkinsonism was occasionally seen during the acute
encephalitic phase of encephalitis lethargica, it was often encountered in the post-encephalitic phase. The onset of post-encephalitic
parkinsonism can be delayed by several years from the resolution of encephalitis lethargica. The brain regions affected contain neurofibrillary tangles, similar to those seen in Alzheimers disease. Nevertheless, the senile plaques common in Alzheimers disease are not found. References
Evidente V, Gwinn K (1998). "Post-encephalitic parkinsonism". J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 64 (1): 5. doi:10.1136/jnnp.64.1.5. PMC 2169890. PMID 9436719. == External links ==