Ocaliva is the trade name of a medicine based on obeticolic acid, which acts on the liver by suppressing the production of bile acid, being a new treatment option against primary biliary cholangitis, a disease that had only one form of treatment, the use of ursodeoxycholic acid that was not effective in almost half of the patients.
This new drug is manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Intercept and although it has been approved by the FDA, it has not yet been approved by Anvisa and therefore is not marketed in Brazil, pending authorization.
Indications
Ocaliva is indicated for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid, being useful for adults who did not respond well to treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid only during 1 year of treatment.
How to use
The initial dose of Ocaliva is 1 5 mg tablet, once a day for 3 months. After this period, the test must be performed again to assess ALP and bilirubin and if the reduction of these values is not adequate and the person tolerates the medication well without showing intense itching throughout the body, the doctor can increase the dose to 2 tablets of 5 mg, once a day.
If the itching is severe what you can do is keep the dose of 5 mg daily or stop using the medicine for 2 weeks and then restart the dose, noting if there is a decrease in this side effect.
Side effects
Symptoms such as body itching, fatigue, pain and discomfort, redness of the skin, sore throat, joint pain, thyroid disorders, heart palpitations, constipation and eczema may appear.
Contraindications
Ocaliva is contraindicated for people with biliary obstruction and is not advised for people who take warfarin. Its use in pregnancy and breastfeeding should only be done under the guidance of the obstetrician and if the benefit of using the medication is greater than its risk. This remedy is not indicated for children.
