mercaptamine hydrochloride at a glance
Medicine class
Cystine-depleting ophthalmic treatment
Licensed use
Corneal cystine crystal deposits caused by cystinosis
Route
For use in the eyes only
Contact lenses
Remove soft lenses before use and wait 15 minutes before reinserting them
What is mercaptamine hydrochloride used for?
The selected product is licensed for ocular complications of cystinosis.
Treatment of cystine crystal deposits in the cornea of adults and children aged 6 months and over with cystinosis.
How does mercaptamine hydrochloride work?
Cysteamine reacts with cystine inside the cornea, converting it into cysteine and a cysteine–cysteamine compound that can be cleared more readily. This reduces crystal accumulation at the eye surface.
mercaptamine hydrochloride preparations and strengths
Eye drops
Route: Ophthalmic
Strengths: 3.8 mg/mL
How to take mercaptamine hydrochloride
Use only in the eyes and follow the specialist’s instructions. Wash your hands, avoid touching the dropper tip, place the drop into the lower-eyelid pocket, press gently at the inner corner of the eye, spread the solution by gently massaging the upper eyelid, and wipe away excess liquid with a moist tissue.
Bring an unopened vial to room temperature before first use to make administration easier.
Write the opening date on the carton and keep the attached dropper capped.
Keep different eye medicines separated by at least 10 minutes; use eye ointments last.
Remove soft contact lenses before use and wait 15 minutes before reinserting them.
Do not drive or operate machinery until temporary blurred vision has cleared.
mercaptamine hydrochloride side effects
Common or expected effects
- Eye pain, burning, itching, redness or irritation
- Watery, dry or uncomfortable eyes
- Temporary blurred or impaired vision
- Sticky eyes or eyelashes and deposits around the eye
- Foreign-body sensation
- Eyelid irritation or swelling
- Stye
Get urgent medical advice
- Sudden severe eye pain or sudden loss of vision
- A very painful red eye or rapidly worsening vision
- Breathing difficulty or sudden swelling of the lips, mouth, throat or tongue
mercaptamine hydrochloride in pregnancy
Systemic exposure from the eye drops is expected to be very low, but pregnancy data are limited. Pregnancy or plans to conceive should be discussed with the cystinosis specialist, particularly when oral cysteamine is also being used.
mercaptamine hydrochloride while breastfeeding
Transfer into human milk is unknown. Although exposure from eye drops is expected to be low, specialist advice is important, especially because breastfeeding is not recommended with oral cysteamine.
mercaptamine hydrochloride interactions
Formal interaction studies have not been performed. Clinically important interactions with oral medicines are not anticipated from the eye drops because systemic exposure is low.
Other topical eye medicines
Separate applications by at least 10 minutes to reduce one product washing out another.
Eye ointments
Apply ointments after other eye preparations.
Oral cysteamine
Review concurrent treatment with the specialist during pregnancy or breastfeeding because systemic precautions relate mainly to oral exposure.
Common questions about mercaptamine hydrochloride
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
Is mercaptamine hydrochloride the same as cysteamine?
Mercaptamine is another name for cysteamine; the hydrochloride is the salt used in this eye-drop formulation.
What eye problem does mercaptamine hydrochloride treat?
It treats cystine crystal deposits in the cornea caused by cystinosis.
Does mercaptamine hydrochloride eye treatment treat the whole body?
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.