Mepacrine

[RedFaced]

Unless you live in the UK, you will not be able to get Mepacrine - It is not approved or available in North America (US and Canada).

[Lookout]

Originally Posted by RedFaced

Unless you live in the UK, you will not be able to get Mepacrine - It is not approved or available in North America (US and Canada).

really??

Maybe there is something that is basically the same but under a different name and manufacturer? The chances of me convincing my derm to let me try it is slim at best I am sure but I would have liked to try just the same!

[lamarr]

Plaquenil and other anti milarials do the same job. My derm just chooses mepacrine because it has zero risk of eye damage. The risk of eye damage with other anti milarials is very very small and will be avoided with regular eye exams. Just to give you an idea, on a dose that would be used for rosacea and from a sample of 2000 people. None of these people had any signs of eye damage.

The only time dases of eye damage have occur is with chronic (2years+) overdose.

[lamarr]

Originally Posted by phlika29

Who is prescribing the mepacrine?

Tony Chu. I know you see him aswell. I would really mention it to him... I actually asked for the mepacrine and he didnt hesitate in my case but i was EXTREMELY bad. Everywhere (including ears) other than my forehead was crimson red when he saw me.

[phlika29]

Ohh this is good news. I am going to have set myself a reminder for my appointment in January. Nothing I do appears to override the flushing for longer than a few months. Thanks for the info

[Peter]

Hello

We have touched on the use of Mepacrine for rosacea on:

http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosa...174#post198174

Mepacrine is not usually a first line option for rosacea but I understand it can sometimes be helpful for people who are more treatment resistant, especially with the severe vascular cases where it can appear to switch the condition off. The eye problems which sometimes can be a side effect are very rare but the most common side effect is that it can turn your skin a little yellow like a mild sun tan but this appears to go away once the drug is stopped.

I know Plaquenil is another anti-malarial but I'm not sure of it's effectiveness with rosacea and Tony Chu usually prescribes Mepacrine if he feels an anti-malarial is the way to go.

Thanks

Peter

[phlika29]

I like the idea of looking tanned

[Lookout]

Thanks for the info Peter....I would LOVE to look tanned also!!! Why isn't this being used more often I wonder? and how long do you stay on it for? Since rosacea is life long does this drug "cure it" or just "shut it off" somehow??

also is there published papers supporting it's use in treating rosacea? This would allow me to make my case for at least giving it a go.

[Peter]

Hello Darlene

Mmmm going yellow might also make you look a bit Oriental

I had a quick look this morning and if you google on "Mepacrine for rosacea" you will get over 300 entries. I haven't got time at the moment but if you do a bit of research and join some of the medical organisations around it looks like there have been papers published in the past on the use of this drug for rosacea. Here are a couple.

http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:13301319

Acta Derm Venereol. 1955 ;35 (6):446-52 13301319 (P,S,G,E,B)
Mepacrine in rosacea.
[My paper] P M INMAN, B GORDON

Mesh-terms: Rosacea :: therapy; Quinacrine :: therapeutic use;


3. Brodthagen H. Mepacrine and chloroquine in the treatment of rosacea. Br J Dermatol. 1955;67:421-425.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi...1957.tb13241.x

MEPACRINE IN ROSACEA. P. INMAN and B. GORDON. (1955) Acta derm.-venereol., Slockli.,. 35, 448. Good results were obtained in 300 patients, but the authors ...
www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2133.1957.tb13241.x

As I have said previously Mepacrine isn't a first line treatment option for rosacea but tends to be a drug that can be tried when the more common treatment options are not working. Personally I don't think rosacea is for life and some experts believe it is a self-limiting condition that can eventually go into remission. The key to success is to find a treatment that can bring the condition under control, halt it's progression so that over the years remission is a distinct possibility. We know that currently there is no cure but it's possible that Mepacrine along with other drugs can have the ability to switch rosacea off or make it less aggressive. I'm not the expert on this but do your research and then discuss it with your Doctor or Dermatologist.

Good luck

Peter

[lamarr]

Just a few quick points that i have learnt about the anti milarials....

The yellowing of the skin from mepacrine occurs in aprox 25% of its users. It can range from a mild suntan to almost jaundice looking, but from what i have read it can actually "improve the patients appearance" and if it is bothersome fake tans can be used to discuise the yellowing....

The other anti milarials work in the same way to mepacrine so it is obviously just a personal choice of tonys but im guessing it is due to zero risk of eye damage from the mepacrine.

He said to me at the time, mepacrine either works wonderfully or not atall. Some people just fail to respond.