sulfoxone

Sulfoxone is a water-soluble sulfone and synthetic sulfonamide antibiotic primarily used as an antileprosy drug. It has also been used with limited success in the treatment of dermatitis herpetiformis and was at times considered for pulmonary tuberculosis. Sulfoxone acts as a competitive inhibitor of the bacterial enzyme dihydropteroate synthetase, blocking the binding of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and thereby inhibiting folic acid synthesis essential for bacterial growth. This mechanism renders it bacteriostatic against most gram-positive and many gram-negative organisms. The drug is rapidly absorbed orally, widely distributed in tissues, metabolized hepatically, and has an elimination half-life of 3–8 hours. Its use under the brand name Diasone has been discontinued.

Brand names

diasone

Other names

aldesulfonealdesulphonesulfoxone sodiumadesulfone sodium