MedlinePlus a611020 ATC code N03AB04 (WHO) Molar mass 218.252 g/mol | Routes ofadministration Oral Metabolism CAS ID 50-12-4 | |
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AHFS/Drugs.com Micromedex Detailed Consumer Information Pregnancycategory US: C (Risk not ruled out) | ||
Medical vocabulary what does mephenytoin mean
Mephenytoin (marketed as Mesantoin by Novartis) is a hydantoin, used as an anticonvulsant. It was introduced approximately 10 years after phenytoin, in the late 1940s. The significant metabolite of mephenytoin is nirvanol (5-ethyl-5-phenylhydantoin), which was the first hydantoin (briefly used as a hypnotic). However, nirvanol is quite toxic and mephenytoin was only considered after other less toxic anticonvulsants had failed. It can cause potentially fatal blood dyscrasia in 1% of patients.
Mephenytoin is no longer available in the US or the UK. It is still studied largely because of its interesting hydroxylation polymorphism.
References
Mephenytoin Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA