Pilocarpine for Sjögren's syndrome

Examples

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Brand Name	Generic Name
Salagen	pilocarpine

Pilocarpine is available only by prescription as tablets to be taken by mouth.

How It Works

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Pilocarpine increases the amount of saliva and tears produced by the salivary and tear glands. Pilocarpine tablets are used to relieve dryness in the mouth, throat, and eyes caused by Sjögren's syndrome.

Why It Is Used

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In Sjögren's syndrome, the moisture-producing glands of the body are attacked by the immune system and can become scarred and damaged, resulting in exceptional drying of the eyes and mouth. Besides being very uncomfortable and irritating, the dryness can lead to other symptoms, including yeast infections in the mouth (thrush), and cardboard-dry nasal and breathing passages. Pilocarpine stimulates an increase in the production of saliva and tears to relieve these symptoms.

How Well It Works

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Pilocarpine has shown good results in relieving the dry mouth symptoms and, to a lesser extent, the dry eyes symptoms caused by Sjögren's syndrome.¹

Side Effects

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Mild side effects may occur as you begin pilocarpine treatment. Check with your doctor if you have any of these side effects or think you are having other side effects:

• Sweating
• Diarrhea
• Feeling warm or flushing and redness of the skin, especially on the face and neck
• Muscle aches or pains
• Increased need to urinate
• Runny nose
• Changes in vision

See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)

What To Think About

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The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of pilocarpine. Check with your doctor if you are taking other eye medicines or are having surgery. If you have had asthma, chronic diarrhea, heart disease, high blood pressure, Parkinson's disease, or obstruction of the urinary bladder, you should discuss this with your doctor before starting pilocarpine.

If you are breast-feeding, pregnant, or thinking about becoming pregnant, talk to your doctor before taking pilocarpine.

Be sure to talk to your doctor about other medicines that you take, both prescription and nonprescription, before starting pilocarpine treatment.

Complete the new medication information form (PDF) (What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this medication.

References

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Citations

1. Carsons S (2005). Sjögren's syndrome. In ED Harris Jr et al., eds., Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology, 7th ed., vol. 2, chap. 69, pp. 1105–1124. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders.

Credits

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Author	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH
Editor	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Associate Editor	Pat Truman, MATC
Primary Medical Reviewer	Martin Gabica, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Stanford M. Shoor, MD - Rheumatology
Last Updated	May 6, 2008