What is botulinum toxin type A, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? OnabotulinumtoxinA is an injectable neuro-toxin, that is, a toxic chemical that blocks the ability of nerves to make muscles contract. In other words, it paralyzes muscles. To cause muscles to contract, nerves release a chemical, acetylcholine, where they meet muscle cells. …

What is lorcaserin (Belviq)? What is it used for? Lorcaserin is an orally administered medication that promotes weight loss. It is used with diet and exercise in overweight adults with a weight-related medical problem or obese adults to lose weight and keep it off. Lorcaserin is a serotonin 2C (5-HT2C) receptor agonist. Although the exact mechanism of action is not …

What is atropine, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Atropine occurs naturally and is extracted from belladonna alkaloids contained in plants. Atropine blocks the action of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that causes the contraction of two types of muscle, smooth and cardiac muscles. It also has other neurological effects. Ophthalmic atropine is used during eye examinations to dilate the …

What is Cyanokit (hydroxocobalamin)? Cyanokit is an injectable drug that reverses the effect of cyanide. It is an antidote used for treating cyanide poisoning. Cyanide is an extremely toxic poison. Cyanide poisoning can kill within minutes because it prevents cells in the body from using oxygen. What brand names are available for Cyanokit (hydroxocobalamin)? Cyanokit is the brand name available …

What is abacavir, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Abacavir is an oral medication that is used for the treatment of infections with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is in a class of drugs called reverse transcriptase inhibitors which also includes zalcitabine (Hivid), zidovudine (Retrovir), didanosine (Videx), lamivudine (Epivir), emtricitabine (Emtriva), and stavudine (Zerit). During infection with …

What is auranofin, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Auranofin is an oral, gold-containing chemical (salt) used for treating rheumatoid arthritis. Other gold salts available are injectable and include aurothioglucose (Solganal) and gold sodium thiomalate (Myochrysine). It is not well understood exactly how gold salts work. In patients with inflammatory arthritis, such as adult and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, …

What is aldesleukin, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Aldesleukin is a man-made protein that has the same action as native human interleukin-2 (IL-2) that is used for treating cancer of the kidney and skin. Interleukins are the messengers by which white blood cells communicate with each other to coordinate inflammation and immunity. Among its actions, IL-2 increases …

What is nilotinib? What is nilotinib used for? Nilotinib is an oral medication used for treating chronic myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nilotinib is classified as a kinase inhibitor. Kinase inhibitors include dasatinib (Sprycel), erlotinib (Tarceva), gefitinib (Iressa), imatinib (Gleevec), pazopanib (Votrient), sunitinib (Sutent), and vandetanib (Caprelsa). Kinase inhibitors prevent the growth of tumors by reducing the action of …

What is sargramostim, and how does it work (mechanism of action)? Sargramostim is a man-made form of the naturally-occurring protein, granulocyte, macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). GM-CSF is produced in the body by the immune system and stimulates the formation of white blood cells, including the granulocyte and the macrophage. Granulocytes and macrophages take part in the inflammatory reaction. They are …

What is lenalidomide (Revlimid)? What is lenalidomide used for? Lenalidomide (Revlimid) is an oral anti-cancer medication. Lenalidomide is similar to thalidomide (Thalomid), an older cancer medicine that, although effective, was associated with serious side effects. The exact mechanism through which lenalidomide stops the growth of cancer cells is not understood. Lenalidomide stimulates or regulates the body’s immune system to attack …