5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) has structural similarities to both phenacetin and aspirin, which are known to cause 'analgesic nephropathy'. Because of the increasing use of 5-ASA, this paper draws attention to two cases of severe interstitial nephritis resulting from 5-ASA and emphasises the importance of monitoring renal functions of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases who are receiving ...

Sulphasalazine was developed in the 1930s, initially for use in patients with rheumatic polyarthritis. However, its modest eVects in arthritis were soon overshadowed by the striking benefits seen when the drug was given to patients with active colitis. Controlled clinical trials confirmed the early favourable impressions and established a role for sulphasalazine in the treatment of active disea...

An arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) responsible for the N acetylation of exogenous 3-amino-4-hydroxybenzoic acid in Streptomyces griseus was identified and characterized. This enzyme was distinct from other eukaryotic and bacterial NATs in that it acetylated various 2-aminophenol derivatives more effectively than it acetylated 5-aminosalicylic acid, and thus it may be involved in the metabol...

The development of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) therapy as a life long treatment for ulcerative colitis is reviewed from its origins in the 1940s to the present day. The drug was designed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, but was found helpful in the management of nine patients with ulcerative colitis. This discovery preceded the emergence of the clinical trial as a tool for assessing a new drug'...

COLAZAL (balsalazide disodium) Capsules (kôl a zal) DESCRIPTION: Each COLAZAL capsule contains 750 mg of balsalazide disodium, a prodrug that is enzymatically cleaved in the colon to produce mesalamine (5-aminosalicylic acid or 5-ASA), an antiinflammatory drug. Each daily dose of COLAZAL (6.75 grams) is equivalent to 2.4 grams of mesalamine. Balsalazide disodium has the chemical name (E)-5-[[-4...

Oral 5-aminosalicylic acid agents (mesalazine and sulfasalazine) and azathioprine are the mainstays of treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. Reports of pulmonary toxicity induced by oral 5-aminosalicylic acid agents or azathioprine in patients with inflammatory bowel disease are very rare; to date, only 38 cases have been reported worldwide. We, herein, report a case involving a 26-year-old...

5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) compounds occasionally exacerbate diarrhoea in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. This is thought to be due to a secretory mechanism in most cases. A patient with presumed intolerance to sulphasalazine and 5-ASA preparations who developed endoscopic and histological evidence of disease relapse after a rectal challenge with mesalazine is reported.