Medication and Primary Mitochondrial Disease

Historically, it was thought that mito patients should avoid many medications as they could impact mitochondrial function. However, we now know that many medications are well-tolerated when taken for routine care.

It is important to remember that side effects can occur with any medicine in any patient. It is, therefore, essential to follow the advice of your healthcare provider and read the information about the medicine.

In 2019, the “Safety of drug use in patients with a primary mitochondrial disease: An international Delphi-based consensus” paper was published. This updated consensus paper established new guidelines for safe medication use in patients with primary mitochondrial disease. Specific drugs, drug groups, and clinical or genetic conditions are described separately in the paper.

From this paper, the International Mito Patients Association (IMP) created a “List of Medicines to be Used with Caution” document, which includes two tables. Table 1 is a “List of drugs studied and considered safe to use,” and Table 2 is “Attention regarding drug prescription in patients with a mitochondrial disease”