Apo-Cyclosporine Oral and ReoPro

• Generic Name: cyclosporine
• Dosage Forms: n.a.
• Other Brand Names: Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune, Sandimmune

Cyclosporine is used together with other medicines to prevent the body from rejecting a transplanted organ (eg, kidney, liver, or heart). It belongs to a group of medicines known as immunosuppressive agents.

When a patient receives an organ transplant, the body's white blood cells will try to get rid of (reject) the transplanted organ. Cyclosporine works by suppressing the immune system to prevent the white blood cells from trying to get rid of the transplanted organ.

Cyclosporine is also used to treat severe rheumatoid arthritis in patients who have failed treatment with methotrexate. This medicine is also used to treat adults with severe plaque psoriasis after other treatments (eg, PUVA, retinoids, methotrexate) failed.

Cyclosporine is a very strong medicine. It can cause side effects that can be very serious, such as kidney problems. It may also decrease the body's ability to fight infections. You and your doctor should talk about the benefits of this medicine as well as the risks of using it.

This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.

• Generic Name: abciximab
• Dosage Forms: injection, solution
• Other Brand Names: ReoPro

ReoPro is used to lessen the chance of heart attack in people who need percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a procedure to open blocked arteries of the heart.

A heart attack may occur when a blood vessel in the heart is blocked by a blood clot. Blood clots can sometimes form during PCI. ReoPro reduces the chance that a harmful clot will form by preventing certain cells in the blood from clumping together. ReoPro is used with aspirin and heparin, which are other medicines used to keep your blood from clotting.

ReoPro is available only with your doctor's prescription, in the following dosage forms:

Parenteral Injection (U.S. and Canada)

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of using the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For ReoPro, the following should be considered:

Allergies - Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to ReoPro or murine (mouse) proteins. If you have had ReoPro before, you may have developed an allergy to it. Tell your doctor if you have ever had ReoPro. Also tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to any other substances, such as [foods, preservatives, or dyes].

Pregnancy - Studies on effects in pregnancy have not been done in either humans or animals. Before taking this medicine, make sure your doctor knows if you are pregnant or if you may become pregnant.

Breast-feeding - It is not known whether this medicine passes into breast milk. Although most medicines pass into breast milk in small amounts, many of them may be used safely while breast-feeding. Mothers who are using ReoPro and who wish to breast-feed should discuss this with their doctor. P>Children - Studies on this medicine have been done only in adult patients, and there is no specific information comparing use of ReoPro in children with use in other age groups.

Older adults - Bleeding problems may be especially likely to occur in elderly patients, who are usually more sensitive than younger adults to the effects of ReoPro. It is important that you discuss the use of ReoPro with your doctor.

Other medicines - Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking ReoPro, it is especially important that your doctor and pharmacist know if you are taking any of the following:

Aspirin or Anticoagulants (blood thinners such as warfarin [Coumadin]) or Cefamandole (e.g., Mandol) or Cefoperazone (e.g., Cefobid) or Cefotetan (e.g., Cefotan) or Clot-dissolving drugs (alteplase [e.g., Activase], streptokinase [e.g., Streptase], urokinase [e.g., Abbokinase]), or Dextran, or Dipyridamole (e.g., Persantine, Aggrenox) or Heparin, or Inflammation or pain medicine, except narcotics, or Medicines that prevent platelets from sticking together (clopidogrel [e.g., Plavix], ticlopidine [e.g., Ticlid]). Using any of these medicines together with ReoPro may increase the risk of bleeding.

Other medical problems - The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of ReoPro. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

Aneurysm (swelling in a blood vessel) especially in the head or Blood disease or a history of unusual bleeding or Brain problems which may include bleeding, disease, injury or tumor or If you weigh less than 150 pounds or If you are over 65 years of age or Injury to any part of the body or Liver disease or Stroke - The risk of bleeding may be increased

Also, tell your doctor if you have received ReoPro or heparin before and had a reaction to either of them called thrombocytopenia (a low platelet count in the blood), or if new blood clots formed while you were receiving the medicine.

In addition, tell your doctor if you have recently had any bleeding from the stomach, previously had a stroke, recently fallen or suffered a blow to the body or head, or had major medical or dental surgery. These events may increase the risk of serious bleeding when you are taking ReoPro.