Balsalazide in treating colonic diseases.

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Tursi A

Balsalazide in treating colonic diseases.

Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol. 2009 Dec;5(12):1555-63. doi: 10.1517/17425250903228842.

PubMed ID

19708827 [ View in PubMed

]

Abstract

Balsalazide is the newer 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) prodrug which releases active 5-ASA only into the colon with minimal systemic absorption. The onset of action of this drug is variable, and it may take at least some days to reach clinical effectiveness. Clinical studies found balsalazide faster than mesalazine in the induction of remission, but balsalazide has no benefit compared with mesalazine in preventing relapse in the population selected. However, the high number of pills to take may affect the adherence to the treatment. This 5-ASA prodrug may be effectively used also in patients unable to tolerate other mesalamine compounds for non-hypersensitivity reasons. The costs of balsalazide capsules seem to be lower for the health system, both considering total direct healthcare costs and better outcomes, compared with patients treated with oral mesalazine. Finally, there is also some recent evidence that balsalazide may be effectively used, in combination with probiotics, in treating acute uncomplicated diverticulitis is the colon.

DrugBank Data that Cites this Article

Drug Targets

Drug	Target	Kind	Organism	Pharmacological Action	Actions
Balsalazide	Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma	Protein	Humans	Yes	Agonist	Details