Atovaquone (Mepron) is a medication used to treat or prevent Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. It also used to treat or prevent toxoplasmosis. Trimotheoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX, Bactrim) is generally considered first line therapy for PCP or toxoplasmosis. However, atovaquone may be used in patients who cannot tolerate or allergic to TMP-SMX. In addition, atovaquone has the advantage of not causing myelosuppression, which is an important issue in patients who have undergone bone marrow transplantation. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is a form of pneumonia which is caused by a microorganism called Pneumocystis carinii (It has been proposed that the organism be renamed Pneumocystis jiroveci). ... Co-trimoxazole (abbreviated SXT) is a bacteriostatic antibiotic combination of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, in the ratio of 1 to 5, used in the treatment of a variety of bacterial infections. ... Bone marrow suppression is a serious side effect of chemotherapy and certain drugs affecting the immune system such as azathioprine. ... Bone marrow transplantation is a medical procedure that involves stem cell transplantation. ...
Atovaquone was originally developed as an antimalarial compound, but was registered for the treatment of opportunistic infections caused by Pneumocystis carinii and Toxoplasma gondii associated with AIDS.
Atovaquone alone and atovaquone-proguanil are not teratogenic in rats.
Atovaquone is absorbed slowly from the gastrointestinal tract and is subject to wide individual variability.
Reporting in the May 27 New England Journal of Medicine, the study investigators conclude that oral atovaquone is a useful treatment alternative for patients with mild to moderately severe Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) who cannot tolerate the first-line PCP therapy, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX).
Atovaquone (formerly called 566C80) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic originally developed to treat malaria.
The researchers noted that patients with higher concentrations of atovaquone in their blood were more likely to benefit from the drug than those who absorbed the drug poorly, such as those persons who entered the study with diarrhea.
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