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Scientists have long
known that drinking grapefruit juice when taking some medications may
increase drug absorption, but a recent study at the University of
California in San Francisco also found that drinking grapefruit juice may
also inhibit the absorption of many widely-prescribed medications.
The study recently published in Pharmaceutical Research, an
American Association of Pharm-aceutical Scientists (AAPS) publication,
said grapefruit juice can slow down the body's absorption of drugs such as
Digoxin (for treating congestive heart failure), Fexofenadine (for
alleviating allergy symptoms) and Cyclosporine (for suppressing organ
rejection following transplant).
According to Dr. Leslie Benet, founder of AAPS, and professor
of Biopharmaceutical Sciences at UCSF, patients already taking grapefruit
juice with their medications can continue to do so. Patients who have not
previously taken their drugs with grapefruit juice should be very cautious
in doing so, since depending on the drug, grapefruit juice may either
increase or decrease levels of drug in the blood.
AAPS is a professional, scientific society of more than 9,000
members employed in academia, industry, government and other research
institutes worldwide. Founded in 1986, AAPS aims to advance science
through the open exchange of scientific knowledge, serve as an information
resource, and contribute to human health through pharmaceutical research
and development.
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