THIS IS NOT AN INNOCUOUS DRUG.

IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE TREATMENT OF ASYMPTOMATIC HYPERURICEMIA. Allopurinol reduces serum and urinary uric acid concentrations.

Its use should be individualized for each patient and requires an understanding of its mode of action and pharmacokinetics (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, CONTRAINDICATIONS, WARNINGS and PRECAUTIONS). Allopurinol is indicated in: the management of patients with signs and symptoms of primary or secondary gout (acute attacks, tophi, joint destruction, uric acid lithiasis, and/or nephropathy). the management of patients with leukemia, lymphoma and malignancies who are receiving cancer therapy which causes elevations of serum and urinary uric acid levels.

Allopurinol treatment should be discontinued when the potential for overproduction of uric acid is no longer present. the management of patients with recurrent calcium oxalate calculi whose daily uric acid excretion exceeds 800 mg/day in male patients and 750 mg/day in female patients.

Therapy in such patients should be carefully assessed initially and reassessed periodically to determine in each case that treatment is beneficial and that the benefits outweigh the risks.

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Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia --

Physical findings -- Objective evidence of disease perceptible to the examining physician.

Symptoms -- An indication that a person has a condition or disease. Some examples of symptoms are headache, fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and pain.

Kidney Diseases -- Pathological processes of the KIDNEY or its component tissues.

leukemia -- A progressive, malignant disease of the blood-forming organs, characterized by distorted proliferation and development of leukocytes and their precursors in the blood and bone marrow. Leukemias were originally termed acute or chronic based on life expectancy but now are classified according to cellular maturity. Acute leukemias consist of predominately immature cells; chronic leukemias are composed of more mature cells. (From The Merck Manual, 2006)

Lymphoma -- A general term for various neoplastic diseases of the lymphoid tissue.

Malignant Neoplasms -- A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and can spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body.

Patients who have developed a severe reaction to allopurinol should not be restarted on the drug.

ALLOPURINOL SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED AT THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF SKIN RASH OR OTHER SIGNS WHICH MAY INDICATE AN ALLERGIC REACTION.

In some instances a skin rash may be followed by more severe hypersensitivity reactions such as exfoliative, urticarial and purpuric lesions as well as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (erythema multiforme exudativum) and/or generalized vasculitis, irreversible hepatotoxicity and on rare occasions, death. In patients receiving mercaptopurine or azathioprine, the concomitant administration of 300 to 600 mg of allopurinol per day will require a reduction in dose to approximately one-third to one-fourth of the usual dose of mercaptopurine or azathioprine.

Subsequent adjustment of doses of mercaptopurine or azathioprine should be made on the basis of therapeutic response and the appearance of toxic effects (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY). A few cases of reversible clinical hepatotoxicity have been noted in patients taking allopurinol, and in some patients asymptomatic rises in serum alkaline phosphatase or serum transaminase have been observed.

If anorexia, weight loss or pruritus develop in patients on allopurinol, evaluation of liver function should be part of their diagnostic workup.

In patients with pre-existing liver disease, periodic liver function tests are recommended during the early stages of therapy. Due to the occasional occurrence of drowsiness, patients should be alerted to the need for due precaution when engaging in activities where alertness is mandatory. The occurrence of hypersensitivity reactions to allopurinol may be increased in patients with decreased renal function receiving thiazides and allopurinol concurrently.

For this reason, in this clinical setting, such combinations should be administered with caution and patients should be observed closely.

The following US Branded drugs contain Allopurinol

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LOPURIN -- ABBOTT LABORATORIES PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS DIV

LOPURIN -- DR REDDYS LABORATORIES LOUISIANA LLC

ZYLOPRIM -- PROMETHEUS LABORATORIES INC