With the discovery of aspirin at the dawn of the previous century, people received a medicine, which later became a real wonder drug, used to treat inflammatory processes caused by a vast variety of health disorders. Besides, aspirin gave a start to the development of many other medications, used nowadays to solve many of the common health problems.
Mesalamine, produced also under such brand names as Pentasa, Rowasa, Canasa, and, perhaps, the most widely known one – Asacol, is called “a chemical cousin of aspirin”, and is widely used today to treat ulcerative colitis. (“The Pill Book”, New and Revised 12th Edition, p. 167)
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two most widely-spread forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disorder (IBD) – that means that the key problem here is the inflammation of the bowel or large intestine. To be more precise, in the majority of cases ulcerative colitis is about the inflammation of lower part of the bowel, known as colon. Since scientists still look for the exact cause of IBD among a variety of issues, including heredity, diet, stress, and infection, - the only available form of IBD treatment is controlling its symptoms. In other words, today the whole IBD treatment strategy is focused on reducing the inflammation in the bowel. And here Asacol, being one of the anti-inflammatory drugs, can definitely help.
Asacol is designed in a special way in the form of delayed-release tablets, which provides the onset of its action right in the place of inflammation – colon, instead of being dissolved in the stomach and absorbed into the blood. Each tablet of Asacol is covered with a special coating, which protects the active ingredient until the medication reaches its target. Once in the colon – the coating dissolves and mesalamine is released. Thus, the active ingredient of Asacol works precisely in the inflamed area of the human digestive tract.
For patients, suffering from ulcerative colitis, Asacol can reduce the symptoms of the disease. This includes reducing the number of bowel movements, abdominal cramps, and rectal bleeding. According to clinical studies, 50 % of the participants experienced improvements of their UC symptoms after just 3 weeks of Asacol therapy.
In general, in order to treat the flare-ups of ulcerative colitis a doctor usually prescribes two 400-mg tablets of Asacol three times a day for 6 weeks.
Along with treating the disorder in its “active” stage, Asacol can be used to prolong the duration of remissions (when a patient does not suffer from the UC symptoms). But in this case the daily dose of Asacol is usually decreased.
For the time being, Asacol is said to be a #1 prescription medication against ulcerative colitis in the USA – over 20 million people have already evaluated all the benefits of this medication. Still, we should not forget about the potential risks of Asacol. With the special care Asacol therapy should be considered by people, allergic to aspirin, or those with the disorders of kidneys.
With the most common side effects, such as headache, abdominal pain, cramps, nausea, and generalized pain, Asacol is said to be quite a safe medication, when used properly in general population.
Nick
User Contributed Comments
gloria
I take 6 Asacol(400mg.) in the morning abnd 6 at night and had no attacks for the last 3 years. Before that I took 3 Asacol morning,3 noon and 3 evening, and was constantly having ulcerative colitis attacks. This larger dosage is exactly what a person that can't get well should take.
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