130k views
2 votes
Explain why the patient with the lowest levels of the tpmt enzyme has the greatest number of side effects when exposed to a drug containing a thiopurine.

User Nubm
by
8.9k points

1 Answer

3 votes
TPMT enzyme stands for Thiopurine methyltransferase or thiopurine S-methyltransferase. It is an enzyme that metabolizes thiopurine drugs.

Patients with the lowest level of the tpmt enzyme has the greatest number of side effects when exposed to a drug containing a thiopurine because it can't totally metabolize the thiopurine drug and there are more excess thiopurine in the body than normal.
User PiQuer
by
7.3k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.