User:Mr. Ibrahem/Ziconotide

Ziconotide, sold under the brand name Prialt among others, is a medication used for severe chronic pain. It is given by injection into the space around the spinal cord. Use is not recommended as of 2007 by NHS Scotland. The dose used is generally slowly increased over 3 weeks.

Common side effects include dizziness, confusion, headache, nystagmus, and sleepiness. Serious side effects may include psychosis or meningitis. It works by blocking neurons that sense pain by binding to N-type calcium channels. It is not an opioid.

Ziconotide was approved for medical use in the United States in 2004 and Europe in 2005. It was originally made from the venom of the snail Conus magus. Though is now a manufactured form of a ω-conotoxin peptide. In 2012 45 days of medication cost about 730 USD to 4,400 USD in the United States.