Medical Uses
PEG is the basis of a number of laxatives (e.g., macrogol-containing products, such as Movicol and polyethylene glycol 3350, or SoftLax, MiraLAX, or GlycoLax). Whole bowel irrigation with polyethylene glycol and added electrolytes is used for bowel preparation before surgery or colonoscopy. The preparation is sold under the brand names GoLYTELY, GaviLyte C, NuLytely, GlycoLax, Fortrans, TriLyte, Colyte, Halflytely, Softlax, Lax-a-Day, ClearLax and MoviPrep. In the United States, MiraLAX and Dulcolax Balance are sold without prescription for short-term relief of chronic constipation, although there is now growing consensus in the medical community that these medications can be taken indefinitely to treat chronic constipation. Miralax is currently FDA approved for adults for a period of 7 days, and is not approved for children. A 2007 comparison showed that patients suffering from constipation had a better response to these two medications than to tegaserod. These medications soften the fecal mass by osmotically drawing water into the GI tract. It is generally well tolerated, however, side effects are possible bloating, nausea, gas, and diarrhea (with excessive use).
When attached to various protein medications, polyethylene glycol allows a slowed clearance of the carried protein from the blood. This makes for a longer-acting medicinal effect and reduces toxicity, and allows longer dosing intervals. Examples include PEG-interferon alpha, which is used to treat hepatitis C, and PEGfilgrastim (Neulasta), which is used to treat neutropenia. It has been shown that polyethylene glycol can improve healing of spinal injuries in dogs. One of the earlier findings, that polyethylene glycol can aid in nerve repair, came from the University of Texas (Krause and Bittner). Polyethylene glycol is also commonly used to fuse B-cells with myeloma cells in monoclonal antibody production.
PEG is used as an excipient in many pharmaceutical products. Lower-molecular-weight variants are used as solvents in oral liquids and soft capsules, whereas solid variants are used as ointment bases, tablet binders, film coatings, and lubricants.
PEG is also used in lubricating eye drops.
Read more about this topic: Polyethylene Glycol
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