Epilepsy Drug Can Cause Metabolic Acidosis
24 Feb
Today the FDA posted on its website that treatment with the epilepsy drug Zonegran (generic is zonisamide) can cause metabolic acidosis. Zonegran’s label is supposed to be updated with this new warning and recommends that patients have certain blood tests before starting treatment and periodically during treatment to check for acidosis.
This new warning is especially important to the mitochondrial community since metabolic acidosis is something that must be avoided, and a medication that could increase the odds of that condition needs to be watched closely. If you or someone you know has mitochondrial dysfunction or disease and is taking zonegran for epilepsy, have them discuss this new finding with their doctor.
You can read the FDA’s article here.
Thanks for the post. It’s important that such announcements are not only publicized by large organizations like the FDA, but it is also important that they are proliferated across the many outlets that exist online and elsewhere. This post may help facilitate meaningful discussion leading to the avoidance of a possibly dangerous situation.