Mesoglycan

Common Name(s): Aortic glycosaminoglycan, GAG, Glycosaminoglycan, Mesoglycan, Mesoglycan sodium, Prisma

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Apr 21, 2022.

Clinical Overview

Use

Mesoglycan is approved in many European countries for the treatment of blood vessel homeostasis diseases. Mesoglycan has demonstrated efficacy in various conditions with vascular etiologies and/or manifestations, including diabetic retinopathy, ischemic stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), venous ulcers, telangiectasias, Raynaud phenomenon, cerebrospinal-venous insufficiency, peripheral arterial disease, and mechanical edema caused by traumatic disease. Additionally, long-term administration of mesoglycan has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in patients with metabolic syndrome.

Dosing

Oral: The usual dose of mesoglycan is 100 mg daily (given either once daily or in 2 divided doses of 50 mg), often as add-on therapy, for conditions with vascular etiologies and/or manifestations. Duration of therapy has ranged from 2 weeks to 3 years.

In one study, mesoglycan 60 mg/day orally was administered for 20 days in patients with peripheral obstructive arterial disease.

Intramuscular: Initial dosing with intramuscular (IM) mesoglycan (30 to 60 mg daily for up to 3 weeks; or a single dose of 60 mg) with or without continuation of an oral dosage of 100 mg/day for up to 18 months has been used in clinical trials in patients with chronic venous ulcers, ischemic stroke, or metabolic syndrome.

Contraindications

Contraindications have not been identified.

Pregnancy/Lactation

Avoid use. Information regarding safety and efficacy in pregnancy and lactation is lacking.

Interactions

None well documented.

Adverse Reactions

Mesoglycan is well tolerated.

Toxicology

No data.

Source

Mesoglycan is a sulfated polysaccharide extract usually obtained from porcine intestinal mucosa but sometimes from calf/beef aorta (ie, aortic glycosaminoglycan). It is composed of heparin sulfate (typically 52%), dermatan sulfate (35%), electrophoretically slow moving heparin (8%), and chondroitin sulfate (5%).Lee 2016, Tufano 2010, Varatharajan 2016 Vascular glycosaminoglycans are essential components of the endothelium and vessel wall.Tufano 2010

History

Aortic glycosaminoglycans and mucopolysaccharides (ie, mesoglycan) are authorized drugs in many European countries and, historically, have been used to treat a variety of diseases of blood vessel homeostasis.Lee 2016 Mesoglycan, a glycosaminoglycan compound, is available as a parenteral and oral formulation.Valvano 2015 Its mechanism of action as an antithrombotic and profibrinolytic is being studied.Andreozzi 2007, Lee 2016, Ryu 2011

Chemistry

Mesoglycan is a polysaccharide complex rich in sulfur radicals. It is reported to have several favorable actions on the fibrinolytic system and macrorheologic and microrheologic parameters, to restore the electronegativity of the vascular endothelium,Viliani 2009 to reduce capillary permeability, and to inhibit neutrophil adhesion and activation.Varatharajan 2016 Like the natural glycosaminoglycan heparin, heparan sulfate proteoglycan, one of the components of mesoglycan, has been reported to inhibit vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro, suggesting benefit in proliferative disorders such as atherosclerosis and cancer.Lee 2016 Heparin and dermatan sulfate are thrombin inh...