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Just wanting to know if it is safe to feed while taking Tysabri? Have any studies been done ?
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Hi, thanks for your post.
Unfortunately the science is not very clear cut with Tysabri and breastfeeding. The only study out there is a case study that we conducted ourselves. It showed that infants get about 5% of the mother's dose if they are feeding normally. That's a high number for such a powerful drug, but monoclonal antibodies like Tysabri are poorly absorbed by the gut; that's why it's only available as an injection. In other words, there is likely to be quite a bit in the milk but very little will make it into the baby's blood.
We would expect to see signs of allergic reactions (fever, rash, itching) or frequent infections in babies exposed to Tysabri, but so far these have not been reported in breastfeeding infants. We give Tysabri an L3 rating (out of 5) ("Probably Compatible") with regards to its lactation safety.
Please call us at the InfantRisk Center if this has not completely answered your question. (806)352-2519
-James Abbey, MD
and
-Thomas W. Hale, Ph.D.
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