Furosemide Sanofi-Aventis Issues

Furosemide: A Water Pill for Edema Treatment

Furosemide is a water pill or loop diuretic used to treat edema or prevent the absorption of excess salt into the body. The drug’s impact is thought to persist for six hours, hence the term “lasix.” As a result, Sanofi-Aventis (the medicine’s maker) named the drug Furosemide (generic name) Lasix after doing research and discovering that the drug lasts six hours in the body. Edema is a condition in which excess water is retained in people’s bodies as a result of heart failure, renal illness, such as nephritic syndrome, or liver disease. Furosemide has been discovered to treat excessive blood pressure in patients suffering from heart failure. The drug acts as an adjunct or prevents absorption of excess salt into the body to treat acute volume overload states related to heart failure.

The Use of Furosemide for Hypertension, Cirrhosis, and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

To treat hypertension; the drug is usually used alongside other antihypertensive agents prescribed by doctors. Patients with cirrhosis can also be cured of ascites if they use Furosemide as instructed by physicians. In infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, the drug is used to improve pulmonary function. Physicians also recommend Nebulized furosemide as a treatment for children and adults who have asthma even though the impact on these kinds of patients is small.

Changes in Duration and Branding

Even though Sanofi-Aventis (manufacturers of the drug) initially claimed that Furosemide lasts for six hours, recent research by the same firm and other drug manufacturers revealed that the drug takes six to eight hours and not exactly six hours as initially known. Another reason why latex has been used to refer to Furosemide is to create that unique brand name for the drug. It is yet to be seen how recent revelations and developments are going to impact the branding of the drug because Sanofi-Aventis have been forced to change the name to ’lasixtoeight’.