The oral doses must be double the intravenous (IV) mesna dose due to bioavailability issues. The oral preparation allows patients to leave the hospital sooner, instead of staying four to five days for all the IV mesna infusions. Mechanism of action
Mesna reduces the toxicity of urotoxic compounds that may form after chemotherapy administration. Mesna is a water-soluble compound with antioxidant properties, and is given concomitantly with the chemotherapeutic agents cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide. Mesna concentrates in the bladder where acrolein accumulates after administration of chemotherapy and through a Michael addition, forms a conjugate with acrolein and other urotoxic metabolites. This conjugation reaction inactivates the urotoxic compounds to harmless metabolites. The metabolites are then excreted in the urine. Names
It is marketed by Baxter as Uromitexan and Mesnex. The name of the substance is an acronym for 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate Na (Na being the chemical symbol for sodium). See also
Coenzyme M—a coenzyme with the same structure used by methanogenic bacteria

References
External links
BC Cancer Agency
NIH/MedlinePlus patient information
Mesna at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
For example, the patient would be asked the following:
"How many fingers am I holding up?" "What does that sign (on a custodians closet, a restroom door, an exit sign) say?" "What kind of vending machine (with a vivid picture of a well-known brand name on it) is that? "Patients with cortical blindness will not be able to identify the item being questioned about at all or will not be able to provide any details other than color or perhaps general shape. This indicates that the lack of vision is neurological rather than ocular. It specifically indicates that the occipital cortex is unable to correctly process and interpret the intact input coming from the retinas. Fundoscopy should be normal in cases of cortical blindness. Cortical blindness can be associated with visual hallucinations, denial of visual loss (Anton–Babinski syndrome), and the ability to perceive moving but not static objects. (Riddoch syndrome). Outcome
The prognosis of a patient with acquired cortical blindness depends largely on the original cause of the blindness. For instance, patients with bilateral occipital lesions have a much lower chance of recovering vision than patients who suffered a transient ischemic attack or women who experienced complications associated with eclampsia. In patients with acquired cortical blindness, a permanent complete loss of vision is rare. The development of cortical blindness into the milder cortical visual impairment is a more likely outcome. Furthermore, some patients regain vision completely, as is the case with transient cortical blindness associated with eclampsia and the side effects of certain anti-epilepsy drugs.