(conventional medicine used for Psoriasis and other diseases)
What is Methotrexate?
Methotrexate is a
conventional medicine used for diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases,
Psoriasis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, etc.
It is administered either oral or by injection.
Usually, it is supposed to be administered after failure with milder medicines.
What are the adverse effects of Methotrexate?
Methotrexate being a strong chemotherapeutic agent, produces a range of adverse
effects in different patents. It may not produce all the side effects in all the
users. Some of the adverse effects can be extremely severe and even
life-threatening.
The adverse effects could be listed here:
Mouth: Inflamed gums, inflamed stomach, ulcers in mouth, loss of
appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding from stomach and intestines,
inflamed pancreas
Blood, bone-marrow and lymphatic system: Anemia, aplastic anemia, low
white cells, low platelets cells
Heart and cardiovascular system: Inflammation of heart’s outer layer (Pericarditis),
low blood pressure, thromboembolic such as arterial thrombosis, cerebral
thrombosis, deep vein thrombosis, thrombophlebitis, and pulmonary embolus.
Infections: Use of Methotrexate may make one prone to certain infections
such as pneumonia, sepsis, nocardiosis; histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, Herpes
zoster, Herpes simplex, hepatitis, etc.
Hormonal: Menstrual dysfunction, vaginal discharge, enlargement of breast
in males (gynecomastia), infertility, abortion, fetal defects, etc.
Others: Inflamed joints and veins, loss of libido (lack of sex desire),
diabetes, osteoporosis, sudden death, lymphomas, soft tissue necrosis and
osteonecrosis. Anaphylactic reactions, etc.