Cuprimine

Cuprimine is used for:

Treating Wilson disease (excess copper in the body), severe rheumatoid arthritis that has not responded to other treatments, and cystinuria (excess amino acids in the urine, which causes kidney stones). It may also be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor.

Cuprimine is a chelating agent. It works by removing excess copper in patients with Wilson disease, reducing excess cystine in patients with cystinuria, and reducing disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Do NOT use Cuprimine if:

• you are allergic to any ingredient in Cuprimine or to penicillin
• you are pregnant or are breast-feeding
• you have a history of aplastic anemia or agranulocytosis (decreased number of white blood cells) due to penicillamine use
• you have a history of kidney problems (rheumatoid arthritis patients only), blood in the urine, or pemphigus (blistering skin disease)
• you are taking gold therapy (eg, gold salts), antimalarial or cytotoxic medicines (eg, quinine, carboplatin), oxyphenbutazone, or phenylbutazone

Contact your doctor or health care provider right away if any of these apply to you.

Before using Cuprimine :

Some medical conditions may interact with Cuprimine . Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have any medical conditions, especially if any of the following apply to you:

• if you are planning to become pregnant
• if you are taking any prescription or nonprescription medicine, herbal preparation, or dietary supplement
• if you have allergies to medicines, foods, or other substances
• if you are scheduled for surgery
• if you have Goodpasture syndrome, myasthenia gravis, aplastic anemia, or decreased blood platelets or white blood cells

Some MEDICINES MAY INTERACT with Cuprimine . Tell your health care provider if you are taking any other medicines, especially any of the following:

• Antimalarial medicines (eg, atovaquone), cytotoxic medicines (eg, carboplatin, quinine ), gold salts, oxyphenbutazone, or phenylbutazone because the risk of side effects, such as kidney problems and blood disorders, may be increased
• Digoxin because its effectiveness may be decreased

This may not be a complete list of all interactions that may occur. Ask your health care provider if Cuprimine may interact with other medicines that you take. Check with your health care provider before you start, stop, or change the dose of any medicine.