Beclomethasone, also known as beclomethasone dipropionate, and sold under the brand name Qvar among others, is a steroid medication. It is available as an inhaler, cream, pills, and nasal spray. The inhaled form is used in the long-term management of asthma. The cream may be used for dermatitis and psoriasis. The pills have been used to treat ulcerative colitis. The nasal spray is used to treat allergic rhinitis and nasal polyps.Common side effects with the inhaled form include respiratory infections, headaches, and throat inflammation. Serious side effects include an increased risk of infection, cataracts, Cushings syndrome, and severe allergic reactions. Long-term use of the pill form may cause adrenal insufficiency. The pills may also cause mood or personality changes. The inhaled form is generally regarded as safe in pregnancy. Beclometasone is mainly a glucocorticoid.Beclomethasone dipropionate was first patented in 1962 and used medically in 1972. It was approved for medical use in the United States in 1976. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. In 2017, it was the 153rd most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than four million prescriptions. Side effects
Common side effects with the inhaled form include respiratory infections, headaches, and throat inflammation. Serious side effects include an increased risk of infection, cataracts, Cushings syndrome, and severe allergic reactions. Long-term use of the pill form may cause adrenal insufficiency. The pills may also cause mood or personality changes. The inhaled form is generally regarded as safe in pregnancy.Occasionally, it may cause a cough upon inhalation.
People poisoned with very high doses of the toxin or displaying risk factors such as old age and kidney failure can die. Death has occurred in four of 107 confirmed cases. In a few cases, permanent sequelae included short-term memory loss and peripheral polyneuropathy. No antidote for domoic acid is known, so if symptoms fit the description, immediate medical attention is advised. Cooking or freezing affected fish or shellfish tissue does not lessen the toxicity. Domoic acid is a heat-resistant and very stable toxin which can damage kidneys at concentrations that are 1/100th of those that cause neurological effects. Discovery
ASP was first discovered in humans late in 1987, when a serious outbreak of food poisoning occurred in eastern Canada. Three elderly patients died and other victims suffered long-term neurological problems. Because the victims suffered from memory loss, the term "amnesic" shellfish poisoning is used.Epidemiologists from Health Canada quickly linked the illnesses to restaurant meals of cultured mussels harvested from one area in Prince Edward Island, a place never before affected by toxic algae. Mouse bioassays on aqueous extracts of the suspect mussels caused death with some unusual neurotoxic symptoms very different from those of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins and other known toxins. On December 12, 1987, a team of scientists was assembled at the National Research Council of Canada laboratory in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Integrating bioassay-directed fractionation with chemical analysis, the team identified the toxin on the afternoon of December 16, only four days after the start of the concerted investigation.