Norfloxacin

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Norfloxacin

Norfloxacin, sold in English speaking countries under the following brand names, Apo-Norflox, Chibroxin, Floxin, Insensye, Norflohexal, Noroxin; Nufloxib, Roxin, Utin and Utinor, is an oral broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent used in the treatment of urinary tract infection

Urinary tract infection

A urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. Although urine contains a variety of fluids, salts, and waste products, it usually does not have bacteria in it....
s. It is also sometimes used to treat stomach infections.

roquinolones are generally well tolerated with most side effects being mild and serious adverse effects being rarely.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Norfloxacin'

Start a new discussion about 'Norfloxacin'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Urinary tract infection

Adverse effects

Fluoroquinolones are generally well tolerated with most side effects being mild and serious adverse effects being rarely. Some of the serious adverse effects which occur more commonly with fluoroquinolones than with other antibiotic drug classes include CNS and tendon toxicity. The currently marketed quinolones have safety profiles similar to that of other antimicrobial classes.

The serious events may occur with therapeutic or with acute overdose. At therapeutic doses they include: central nervous system toxicity, cardiovascular toxicity, tendon / articular toxicity, and rarely hepatic toxicity. Events that may occur in acute overdose are rare and include: renal failure and seizure. Children and the elderly are at greater risk. Adverse reactions may manifest during, as well as after fluoroquinolone therapy. Acute pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Depending on its severity, it can have severe complications and high mortality despite treatment....
has been reported as a rare but serious adverse reaction of norfloxacin.

Some groups refer to these adverse events as "fluoroquinolone toxicity". These groups of people claim to have suffered serious long term harm to their health from using fluoroquinolones. This has led to a class action lawsuit by people harmed by the use of fluoroquinolones as well as action by the consumer advocate group Public Citizen

Public Citizen

Public Citizen is a Washington, D.C.-based public interest group engaged in consumer advocacy, government accountability, clean democracy and ethical government, access to the courts, global trade, and regulatory and science policy....
. Partly as a result of the efforts of Public Citizen

Public Citizen

Black box warning

In the United States, a black box warning is a type of warning that appears on the package insert for prescription drugs that may cause serious Adverse effect s....
s on all fluoroquinolones advising consumers of the possible toxic effects of fluoroquinolones on tendons.

Mechanism of action

The mechanism of action of norfloxacin involves inhibition of the A subunit of bacterial DNA gyrase

DNA gyrase

DNA gyrase, often referred to simply as gyrase, is an enzyme that unwinds DNA, so that it can duplicate. Many antibiotics work by attacking bacterial DNA gyrase....
, an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
which is essential for DNA replication

DNA replication

DNA replication, the basis for heredity, is a fundamental process occurring in all living organisms to copy their DNA. This process is "semiconservative replication" in that each strand of the original double-stranded DNA molecule serves as template for the reproduction of the complementary strand....
.