Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027497 (nausea)
 23,468 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Alefacept belongs to the new generation of drugs applied in the treatment of psoriasis. It is an immunomodulatory recombinant, fully human lymphocyte function associated antigen-3/immunoglobulin G1 fusion protein (LFA-3-Ig) CD2 antagonist that targets memory-effector T cells by binding CD2 on the T cell surface. It blocks the interactions of leukocyte functional antigen (LFA)-3 with CD2 interaction. This drug is used to treat moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis and there was conducted a pilot study of psoriatic arthritis. It was observed that Alefacept had reduced peripheral-blood memory effector T-lymphocyte (CD45RO+) counts, cells which are responsible for sustaining the disease. Pharyngitis, dizziness, increased cough, nausea, pruritus, myalgia, chills, injection site inflammation, and accidental injury were recorded. So far, in the conducted trials no generalised immunosuppression or increased risk of infection or malignancy were observed. The possibility of increased risk of infections and malignancies must be considered because of reduced lymphocyte counts.
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PMID:Possibilities of using alefacept in the treatment of psoriasis. 1532 11

Alefacept is a selective immunomodulating, antipsoriatic drug that blocks the LFA-3/CD2 interaction necessary for the activation and proliferation of memory effector T cells by binding to CD2 expressed on the T cell surface. Because the CD4+ count is reduced by alefacept, it is recommended that this count be monitored on a regular basis to ensure that it does not drop below 250 cells/mul. Few side effects have been related to the use of alefacept that differ from placebo even when CD4+ counts drop below 250 cells/microl. The side effects that have been reported are minor and include: headache, nasopharyngitis, rhinitis, influenza, upper respiratory tract infections, pruritus, arthralgias, fatigue, nausea, accidental injury and increases in liver enzymes. Serious infections and malignancies do not appear linked to the use of alefacept. The percentage of patients who developed antibodies against alefacept is very low. Alefacept is a very safe biological therapy for moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis with few side effects reported. The utility of checking CD4 counts while administering alefacept for 12 weeks appears minimal.
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PMID:Alefacept: a safety profile. 1625 57