Friday 22/November/2024 – 03:06 PM
The US Food and Drug Administration has warned that medicine Widely used by patients, asthma may affect brain health and be linked to serious mental health problems in some patients, according to Reuters.
Researchers found that the drug, which is sold under the trade name Singulair and the generic name Montelukast, binds to multiple brain receptors important for psychological functioning. Singulair was a successful product for Merck after its launch in 1998, as it provided relief in the form of a pill as an alternative to an inhaler. Promotional advertisements for this drug, and the company said that the side effects were so benign that they resembled a sugar pill, while the label stated that any spread in the brain was minimal, and generic versions of the drug are still available. It is prescribed to millions of adults and children every year.
In 2019, thousands of reports of neuropsychiatric cases, including dozens of suicides, accumulated among patients who were prescribed the drug, but a causal link between the drug and side effects was not found at the time, but the Food and Drug Administration is using it to determine whether more treatment is needed. From the study of the risks of the drug.
After years of analysis, new scientific reports and research led the Food and Drug Administration in 2020 to add a black box warning to the Montelukast prescribing label to indicate serious mental health risks such as suicidal thoughts or actions. The agency also convened a group of internal experts in the same study. It’s almost time to consider why the medication can cause neurological and psychological side effects.
Laboratory tests have shown that montelukast binds to multiple receptors found in the brain, said Jessica Oliphant, MD, deputy director of the FDA’s National Center for Toxicology Research.
The US Food and Drug Administration also confirmed the results of previous scientific research that showed that Montelukast penetrates the brains of mice, and that the substances that make up the drug accumulate in the nervous system. These data indicate that Montelukast is found in its highest concentration in areas of the brain known to be involved in psychological effects.
Researchers found that the famous asthma medication used by millions of people has psychological and neurological effects, harms brain health, and affects mood, and that medications similar to it are also known for their neurological and psychological effects, such as the antipsychotic drug risperidone, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
