Mesna

This article is about the sulfonate. For the thiolate MeSNa, see Sodium methanethiolate.
Mesna
Clinical data
Pronunciation/ˈmɛznə/
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
Pregnancy
category
  • AU: B1
Routes of
administration		By mouth, intravenous
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
  • AU: S4 (Prescription only)
  • UK: POM (Prescription only)
  • US: ℞-only
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability45–79% (by mouth)
MetabolismOxidised in circulation
Elimination half-life0.36–8.3 hours
Excretionkidney
Identifiers
  • sodium 2-sulfanylethanesulfonate
CAS Number
PubChem CID
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEMBL
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
ECHA InfoCard100.039.336 Edit this at Wikidata
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC2H5NaO3S2
Molar mass164.17 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • [Na+].[O-]S(=O)(=O)CCS
  • InChI=1S/C2H6O3S2.Na/c3-7(4,5)2-1-6;/h6H,1-2H2,(H,3,4,5);/q;+1/p-1 checkY
  • Key:XOGTZOOQQBDUSI-UHFFFAOYSA-M checkY
 ☒NcheckY (what is this?)  (verify)

Mesna, sold under the brand name Mesnex among others, is a medication used in those taking cyclophosphamide or ifosfamide to decrease the risk of bleeding from the bladder.[1] It is used either by mouth or injection into a vein.[1]

Common side effects include headache, vomiting, sleepiness, loss of appetite, cough, rash, and joint pain.[1] Serious side effects include allergic reactions.[1] Use during pregnancy appears to be safe for the baby but this use has not been well studied.[2] Mesna is an organosulfur compound.[3] It works by altering the breakdown products of cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide found in the urine making them less toxic.[1]

Mesna was approved for medical use in the United States in 1988.[1] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[4]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Mesna". The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Mesna (Mesnex) Use During Pregnancy". www.drugs.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  3. ^ Patwardhan B, Chaguturu R (2016). Innovative Approaches in Drug Discovery: Ethnopharmacology, Systems Biology and Holistic Targeting. Academic Press. p. 53. ISBN 9780128018224. Archived from the original on 2016-12-21.
  4. ^ World Health Organization (2019). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/325771. WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.