The article will present instructions for use with Ursosan. The drug is a pharmacological group of drugs-hepatoprotectors with cholelitolytic and choleretic therapeutic effect. The drug is used to treat various pathologies of the liver and biliary system.
Description
According to the instructions for the Ursosan tablets, the medicine also has choleretic, lipid-lowering, immunomodulating and hypocholesterolemic effects. Possessing polar properties, the main substance is embedded in the membranes of cholangiocytes, hepatocytes and gastrointestinal epithelial cells, stabilizes their structural qualities and protects these cells from the damaging effects of salts of toxic bile acids, reducing their cytotoxic effect. It forms mixed non-toxic micelles with lipophilic bile acids, reduces the ability of gastric reflux to break the cell membranes with biliary reflux gastritis, liver diseases and reflux esophagitis.
As indicated by the instructions for use with Ursosan, it activates alpha protease and normalizes exocytosis during cholestasis, reduces the concentration of bile acids (lithocholic, chenodeoxycholic, deoxycholic, etc.), the concentration of which in patients with chronic liver pathologies is increased. By reducing their concentration and normalizing choleresis, the active substance of the drug enriched in bicarbonates helps to resolve cholestasis.
It reduces the absorption of lipophilic acids in the intestine, increases their "fractional" turnover, induces choleresis, corrects the passage of bile and the excretion of bile acids from the intestine. It reduces the saturation of bile cholesterol as a result of inhibition of its absorption in the intestine and a decrease in secretion.
Dosage form and composition
In accordance with the instructions, "Ursosan" is released in the form of capsules for oral administration (oral use). White capsules are small, oblong in shape with a shiny and smooth surface. The main active component of the drug is ursodeoxycholic acid. In one capsule, its content is 250 mg. Instructions for use with Ursosan are in each pack. In addition, the composition of this medication includes additional substances, which include:
- colloidal silicon dioxide;
- corn starch;
- magnesium stearate;
- titanium dioxide;
- gelatin.
The capsules of the Ursosan medical device are packaged in blisters of 10 pieces each. Cardboard packaging contains 10, 5 or 1 blister.
You can also find tablets on sale, they have a dosage of 500 mg of the active substance, and not 250. The instructions for Ursosan are very detailed.
Pharmacological action, pharmacokinetics
The main substance of the medication is ursodeoxycholic acid, which has the following effect:
- a decrease in the likelihood of precipitation in bile (a decrease in lithogenicity) due to the breakdown of crystals of mineral salts, as well as cholesterol;
- normalization of the process of bile formation in the liver, as well as its removal from the ducts of the hepatobiliary system into the duodenal cavity;
- a decrease in the concentration of cholesterol in the bile by reducing the intensity of its production;
- increase the functionality of the pancreas and glands of the stomach;
- immunomodulating effect, which consists in preventing autoimmune lesions of liver cells (hepatocytes).
Due to this effect, the drug has a pronounced hepatoprotective effect on the digestive system. After oral administration of the drug, the active substance is pretty quickly and almost completely absorbed into the general bloodstream. In the liver, it is converted into inactive decay substances, which are excreted mainly with bile.
Indications for the appointment of the drug
According to the instructions for use, Ursosan is prescribed for the treatment of various pathologies of the biliary tract and liver. These diseases include:
- hepatitis (inflammation of the liver of various etiologies) in acute form;
- exacerbation of chronic hepatitis;
- non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which is characterized by fatty transformation of the liver;
- toxic (including drug) liver damage;
- alcoholic liver disease;
- primary cirrhosis;
- cystic fibrosis of the liver, which is a congenital pathology, is characterized by a change in the functional state of some glands;
- reflux gastritis, which is an inflammation of the wall of the stomach that can be caused by the reflux of food and bile from the duodenum;
- sclerosing primary cholangitis with the gradual degeneration of the intrahepatic ducts into connective tissue;
- cholelithiasis in uncomplicated course with the formation of small cholesterol stones that undergo dissolution;
- biliary duct dyskinesia is a pathology in which the motor activity of the ducts of the hepatobiliary system is disrupted, which gradually leads to stagnation of bile;
- impaired absorption and digestion of food, which may be caused by a deterioration in the transport of bile to the duodenum.
In addition, this medication is used to prevent liver diseases provoked by the use of hormonal medications, as well as cytostatics. To the drug "Ursosan" the instruction contains detailed information about contraindications.
Contraindications
Before you start treatment with this drug, you must familiarize yourself with the instructions, which describe a number of medical contraindications. The following pathological conditions are distinguished in which the use of Ursosan capsules is contraindicated:
- acute gallbladder inflammation (cholangitis);
- inflammatory processes in the biliary tract;
- the presence of gallstones with a high content of calcium salts;
- insufficient functionality of the kidneys and liver;
- stage of decompensation of cirrhosis with the replacement of liver cells with connective tissue;
- obstruction (impaired patency) of the bile ducts of various etiologies;
- acute infectious pathologies in the gallbladder, parenchyma of the liver or bile duct;
- empyema of the gallbladder with the presence of pus in its cavity;
- a sharp decrease in the functionality of the gallbladder;
- cases of individual intolerance to ursodeoxycholic acid or additional components of this drug.
According to the instructions for use, Ursosan should be given with caution to children aged 2-4 years, which is usually associated with some difficulties when swallowing the capsule. Before starting therapeutic measures with this medicine, possible contraindications should be excluded.
Terms of use and dosage
What else can you learn from the instructions to "Ursosan"? The capsules of this drug are taken orally as a whole, regardless of the meal. The mode of application and dosage depend on the indications:
- With diffuse pathologies of the liver, as well as for the dissolution of cholesterol stones, the drug is prescribed at a rate of 12-15 mg per kilogram of the patientโs weight over an extended period of time. With diffuse liver pathologies, the daily dose is divided into three doses, it is recommended to take capsules with meals. For the treatment of cholelithiasis, the daily dose is taken once, preferably at night.
- For reflux gastritis, take 1 capsule once a day, usually at night. The duration of treatment is approximately six months, and if necessary, it should be increased to two years.
- Alcoholic, toxic or drug damage to the liver - 10-15 mg per kilogram of body weight in three divided doses, the duration of this therapy should be from 6 months to a year.
- With biliary primary cirrhosis of the liver - 10-15 mg per kilogram of weight in three divided doses, the duration of treatment is more than six months.
- With sclerosing cholangitis - 12-15 mg per kilogram of body weight in three divided doses. The duration of such therapy is from 6 months to several years.
- With a non-alcoholic form of steatohepatitis - 13-15 mg per kilogram of weight, the course of treatment is from six months.
- With cystic fibrosis - 20-30 mg per kilogram of body weight in three divided doses, the duration of treatment is from 6 months.
- To prevent the re-formation of insoluble calculi in the gallbladder, 1 capsule should be taken 2 times a day for three months.
The dose, the regimen of the drug and the duration of the therapeutic course are determined in each case individually by the doctor. In the instructions for use with Ursosan, you can find confirmation of this.
Side effects
Against the background of the treatment of diseases of the digestive tract with Ursosan capsules, certain negative pathological phenomena may occur. These include nausea, which is often accompanied by vomiting, impaired stool (diarrhea or constipation), increased levels of hepatic transaminases, which indicates damage to the liver cells; calcification of cholesterol calculi is somewhat less common. According to the instructions for use and reviews about Ursosan, back pain, exacerbation of skin diseases (psoriasis), as well as alopecia (partial or complete hair loss) may occur. With the development of signs of negative manifestations, the drug should be discontinued and consult a doctor.
Instructions for use with Ursosan does not end there.
Special recommendations
Before starting medication, the specialist determines the presence of the above indications and draws attention to the features of the correct dosage of the drug.
If the medicine is prescribed to dissolve the stones, then before you start taking it, it is important to make sure that such stones are of cholesterol origin. Their diameter should not exceed twenty-five millimeters, the patency of the bile ducts and the functionality of the gallbladder should be preserved.
With prolonged use of this medication, it is important to regularly monitor the picture of peripheral blood, biochemical tests to determine the level of hepatic transaminases. Monitoring the effectiveness of the course of treatment should be carried out at least once every six months (in this case, as a rule, an ultrasound scan is done), according to the instructions. Reviews about Ursosan and analogues of the drug will be considered below.
Ursodeoxycholic acid does not produce teratogenic and mutagenic effects, which was determined using animal tests. After dissolving the stones, the drug should be taken for another three months.
The use of the drug during pregnancy is possible only on condition that the intended benefit for the woman is higher than the potential risk for the unborn child. The same goes for lactation.
Neomycin and estrogens are able to increase the excretion of bile cholesterol, resulting in reduced effectiveness. According to reviews, the instructions for Ursosan are simple and understandable to everyone.
Taking this medication simultaneously with antacids that contain an ion-exchange resin or aluminum compounds leads to a decrease in the absorption of ursodeoxycholic acid.
There are currently no clinical data on the effect of the active substance on the nervous system.
Drug Analogs
This medication has a large list of analogues, however, what kind of drug to choose when treating a particular disease should be decided by a specialist. The instruction for Ursosan analogues is almost identical to the annotation for the drug we are describing. The list of analogues of the drug includes:
- Ursolak
- "Ursodez";
- "Cholenzym";
- "Exhol Ukrliv";
- Ursomax
- "Ursokhol";
- "Hepavilag";
- Ursacline
- Livodex;
- Ursofalk;
- Ursodex;
- "Choludexan".
We will not consider in detail instructions for use with Ursosan analogues.
Drug Reviews
A lot of reviews from patients and medical specialists have been left about this drug.
Patients who were prescribed this medication to dissolve cholesterol stones in the gallbladder noted that the drug did not begin to act immediately, but only about a month after the start of administration. Gallstones in such patients were significantly reduced or completely dissolved with their small sizes. Overall well-being, according to patients, also improved gradually.
With other pathologies of the liver and bile, a beneficial effect was also observed from the use of this medication. However, many patients do not triple the fact that this medication should be taken for a long period. In addition, some negative reviews of this category of patients contain information that the drug gives a lot of unpleasant side reactions, including prolonged stool disorder in the form of constipation (in most cases) or diarrhea (somewhat less often).
Reviews of experts are mostly favorable. Doctors note that this medication today is particularly popular and highly effective in various pathological conditions of the digestive system. Most often, the drug is prescribed for liver damage, biliary diseases, as well as for some acute conditions that occur when malnutrition occurs.
We reviewed the instructions for use, analogues of Ursosan and patient reviews.