Levofloxacin

Products Description:

Introduction:

Levofloxacin, sold under the trade names Levaquin among others, is an antibiotic. It is used to treat a number of bacterial infections including acute bacterial sinusitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, chronic prostatitis, and some types of gastroenteritis. Along with other antibiotics it may be used to treat tuberculosis, meningitis, or pelvic inflammatory disease. It is available by mouth, intravenously,and in eye drop form.
Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and trouble sleeping. Serious side effects may include tendon rupture, tendon inflammation, seizures, psychosis, and potentially permanent peripheral nerve damage. Tendon damage may appear months after treatment is completed. People may also sunburn more easily. In people with myasthenia gravis, muscle weakness and breathing problems may worsen.The risk of use during pregnancy is low and it is probably okay during breastfeeding. Levofloxacin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic of the fluoroquinolone drug class.It usually results in death of the bacteria. It is the left sided isomer of the medication ofloxacin.
Levofloxacin was approved for medical use in the United States in 1996.It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. It is available as a generic medication. The wholesale cost in the developing world is about 0.44 to 0.95 USD per week of treatment.[6] In the United States a week of treatment costs about 50 to 100 USD.

Application:

Levofloxacin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Like all quinolones, it functions by inhibiting the two type II topoisomerase enzymes, namely DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV. Topoisomerase IV is necessary to separate DNA that has been replicated (doubled) prior to bacterial cell division. With the DNA not being separated, the process is stopped, and the bacterium cannot divide. DNA gyrase, on the other hand, is responsible for supercoiling the DNA, so that it will fit in the newly formed cells. Both mechanisms amount to killing the bacterium. In this way, levofloxacin acts as a bactericide.

As of 2011 the mechanism of action for the drug's musculoskeletal complications were not clear.