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Suramin
 
 
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Suramin is a drug
Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine or medicament, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease....
 developed by Oskar Dressel and Richard Kothe of Bayer
Bayer

Bayer Aktiengesellschaft is a Germany chemical industry and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen, Germany in 1863. Today it is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in 1916, and is still sold by Bayer under the brand name Germanin.

According to the National Cancer Institute there are no active clinical trials (as of April 1, 2008). Completed and closed clinical trials are listed here:

In addition to Germanin, the National Cancer Institute also lists the following "Foreign brand names:" 309 F, Bayer 205, Fourneau 309, Moranyl, Naganin, Naganine.

Protozoa It is used for treatment of human sleeping sickness
Sleeping sickness

Sleeping sickness or human African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease of people and animals, caused by protozoa of species Trypanosoma brucei and transmitted by the tsetse fly....
 caused by trypanosome
Trypanosome

Trypanosomes are a group of kinetoplastid protozoa distinguished by having only a single flagellum. All members are exclusively parasite, found primarily in insects....
s.

as been used in the treatment of onchocerciasis
Onchocerciasis

Onchocerciasis , also known as river blindness, is the world's second leading infection cause of blindness. It is caused by Onchocerca volvulus, a nematode that can live for up to fifteen years in the human body....
.

as been investigated as treatment for prostate cancer
Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. It occurs when cell s of the prostate Mutation and begin to multiply out of control....
.

molecular formula of suramin is C51H34N6O23S6.






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Encyclopedia


Suramin is a drug
Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine or medicament, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease....
 developed by Oskar Dressel and Richard Kothe of Bayer
Bayer

Bayer Aktiengesellschaft is a Germany chemical industry and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen, Germany in 1863. Today it is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in 1916, and is still sold by Bayer under the brand name Germanin.

According to the National Cancer Institute there are no active clinical trials (as of April 1, 2008). Completed and closed clinical trials are listed here:

In addition to Germanin, the National Cancer Institute also lists the following "Foreign brand names:" 309 F, Bayer 205, Fourneau 309, Moranyl, Naganin, Naganine.

Uses


Protozoa

It is used for treatment of human sleeping sickness
Sleeping sickness

Sleeping sickness or human African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease of people and animals, caused by protozoa of species Trypanosoma brucei and transmitted by the tsetse fly....
 caused by trypanosome
Trypanosome

Trypanosomes are a group of kinetoplastid protozoa distinguished by having only a single flagellum. All members are exclusively parasite, found primarily in insects....
s.

Helminthiasis

It has been used in the treatment of onchocerciasis
Onchocerciasis

Onchocerciasis , also known as river blindness, is the world's second leading infection cause of blindness. It is caused by Onchocerca volvulus, a nematode that can live for up to fifteen years in the human body....
.

Other

It has been investigated as treatment for prostate cancer
Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. It occurs when cell s of the prostate Mutation and begin to multiply out of control....
.

Chemistry

The molecular formula of suramin is C51H34N6O23S6. It is a symmetric
Symmetry

Symmetry generally conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically-pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection....
 molecule
Molecule

In chemistry, a molecule is defined as a sufficiently stable, electric charge neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds....
 in the center of which lies urea
Urea

Urea is an organic compound with the chemical formula 2carbonoxygen.Urea is also known by the International Nonproprietary Name carbamide, as established by the World Health Organization....
, NH-CO-NH. Suramin contains 8 benzene rings, 4 of which are fused in pairs (naphthalene
Naphthalene

Naphthalene, also known as naphthalin, naphthaline, tar camphor, white tar, albocarbon, or antimite and not to be confused with naphtha, is a crystalline, Aromaticity, white, solid hydrocarbon with formula Carbon10hydrogen8 and the structure of two fused benzene rings....
), 4 amide
Amide

In chemistry, an amide is one of three kinds of compounds:* the organic chemistry functional group characterized by a carbonyl group linked to a nitrogen atom , or a compound that contains this functional group ; or...
 groups in addition to the one of urea and six sulfonate
Sulfonate

A sulfonate is a Salt_ or ester of a sulfonic acid. It contains the functional group R-SO2O-....
 groups. When given as drug it usually contains six sodium
Sodium

Sodium is an element which has the symbol Na , atomic number 11, atomic mass 23 amu , and a common oxidation number +1. Sodium is a soft, silvery white, highly reactive element and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" ....
 ions that form a salt with the six sulfonate groups.

Dosing

Suramin is admistered by a single weekly intravenous injection for six weeks. The dose per injection is 1 g.

Adverse reactions

The most frequent adverse reactions are nausea
Nausea

Nausea is the sensation of unease and discomfort in the stomach with an urge to vomit....
 and vomiting
Vomiting

Vomiting is the forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Undesired vomiting may result from many causes, ranging from gastritis or poisoning to brain tumors, or elevated intracranial pressure....
. About 90% of patients will get an urticarial rash (like a nettle or poison ivy-type rash) that disappears in a few days without needing to stop treatment. There is a greater than 50% chance of adrenal cortical
Adrenal cortex

Situated along the perimeter of the adrenal gland, the adrenal cortex mediates the stress response through the production of mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids, including aldosterone and cortisol respectively....
 damage, but only a smaller proportion will require lifelong corticosteroid
Corticosteroid

Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. Corticosteroids are involved in a wide range of physiology systems such as stress , immune system and regulation of inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism, protein catabolism, blood electrolyte levels, and behavior....
 replacement. It is common for patients to get a tingling or crawling sensation of the skin with suramin. Suramin will cause clouding of the urine which is harmless: patients should be warned of this to avoid them becoming alarmed.

Kidney damage and exfoliative dermatitis
Dermatitis

Dermatitis is a blanket term meaning any "inflammation of the skin" . There are several different types of dermatitis. The different kinds usually have in common an allergic reaction to specific allergens....
 occur less commonly.

Research

Suramin is also used in research as a broad-spectrum antagonist of P2 receptors and agonist of Ryanodine receptor
Ryanodine receptor

Ryanodine receptors form a class of intracellular calcium channels in various forms of excitable animal tissue like muscles and neurons. It is the major cellular mediator of calcium-induced calcium release in animal cell s....
s.

Its effect on telomerase
Telomerase

Telomerase is an enzyme that adds specific DNA sequence repeats to the 3' end of DNA strands in the telomere regions, which are found at the ends of eukaryote chromosomes....
 has been investigated.

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