Safinamide 100 mg film-coated tablets

Safinamide 50 mg film-coated tablets

Safinamide 100 mg film-coated tablets

safinamide

This medicine contains the active substance safinamide. It acts to increase the level of a substance called dopamine in the brain, which is involved in the control of movement and is present in reduced amounts in the brain of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Safinamide is used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease in adults.

In mid- to late-stage patients experiencing sudden switches between being “ON” and able to move and being “OFF” and having difficulties moving about, Safinamide is added to a stable dose of the medicine called levodopa alone or in combination with other medicines for Parkinson’s disease.

Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor if you are not sure.

The recommended starting dose of Safinamide is one 50 mg tablet that may be increased to one 100 mg tablet, taken once daily preferably in the morning by mouth with water. Safinamide may be taken with or without food.

If you suffer from moderately reduced liver function, you should not take more than 50 mg a day; your doctor will advise if this applies to you.

If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Seek medical advice in case of hypertensive crisis (very high blood pressure, collapse), neuroleptic malignant syndrome (confusion, sweating, muscle rigidity, hyperthermia, increase level of enzyme creatine kinase in your blood), serotonin syndrome (confusion, hypertension, muscle stiffness, hallucinations), and hypotension.

The following side effects have been reported in patients at a mid- to late-stage of Parkinson’s disease (patients taking safinamide as add-on to levodopa alone or in combination with other medicines for Parkinson’s disease):

Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people): insomnia, difficulty in performing voluntary movements, feeling sleepy, dizziness, headache, worsening of Parkinson’s disease, clouding of the lens of the eye, fall in blood pressure when rising to a standing position, nausea, falling.

Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people): urine infection, skin cancer, low iron in your blood, low white cell count, red blood cell abnormality, decreased appetite, high fat in blood, increased appetite, high blood sugar, seeing things that are not there, feeling sad, abnormal dreams, fear and worry, confusional state, mood swings, increased interest in sex, abnormal thinking and perception, restlessness, sleep disorder, numbness, unsteadiness, loss of sensation, sustained abnormal muscle contraction, head discomfort, difficulty in speaking, fainting, memory impairment, blurring of vision, blind spot, double vision, aversion to light, disorders of the light sensitive layer at the back of your eye, redness of the eyes, increased pressure in the eye, sensation of room spinning, feeling of heart beating, fast heartbeat, irregular heartbeat, slowed heartbeat, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, veins that have become large and twisted, cough, difficult breathing, runny nose, constipation, heartburn, vomiting, dry mouth, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, burning stomach, wind, feeling full, drooling, mouth ulcer, sweating, itching, sensitive to light, redness of the skin, back pain, joint pain, cramps, stiffness, pain in legs or arms, muscle weakness, sensation of heaviness, increased urination at night, pain upon urination, difficulty in having sex in males, fatigue, feeling weak, unsteady walking, swelling of your feet, pain, feeling hot, weight loss, weight gain, abnormal blood tests, high fat in your blood, increased sugar in your blood, abnormal ECG, liver function test abnormal, abnormal urine tests, blood pressure decreased, blood pressure increased, abnormal eye test, fracture of your foot.

Rare (may affect up to 1 in 1000 people): pneumonia, skin infection, sore throat, nasal allergy, tooth infection, viral infection, non-cancerous skin conditions/growth, white blood cell abnormalities, severe loss of weight and weakness, increased potassium in blood, uncontrollable urges, clouding of consciousness, disorientation, wrong perception of images, reduced interest in sex, thoughts that you cannot get rid of, feeling that someone is out to get you, premature ejaculation, uncontrollable urge to sleep, fear of social situations, thoughts of suicide, clumsiness, easily distracted, loss of taste, weak/slow reflexes, radiating pain in the legs, continuous desire to move your legs, feeling sleepy, eye abnormalities, progressive diminution of vision due to diabetes, increased tears, night blindness, cross eyed, heart attack, tightening/narrowing of blood vessel, severe high blood pressure, tightening of the chest, difficulty in speaking, difficulty in/painful swallowing, peptic ulcer, retching, stomach bleeding, jaundice, loss of hair, blister, skin allergy, skin conditions, bruising, scaly skin, night sweats, pain of skin, discolouration of the skin, psoriasis, flaky skin, inflammation of spinal joints due to an autoimmune disorder, pain in your sides, swelling of joints, musculoskeletal pain, muscular pain, neck pain, joint pain, cyst in the joint, uncontrollable urge to urinate, increased urination, passing of pus cells in urine, urinary hesitation, prostate problem, breast pain, drug effect decreased, drug intolerance, feeling cold, feeling unwell, fever, dryness of skin, eye and mouth, abnormal blood tests, heart murmur, abnormal heart tests, bruising/swelling after injury, blood vessel blockage due to fat, head injury, mouth injury, skeletal injury, gambling.

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.

Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton and blister after “EXP”. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.

This medicine does not require any special storage conditions.

Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help to protect the environment.