Drug Uses

Soma is a muscle relaxant used to relieve the pain and stiffness of muscle spasms and discomfort due to strain and sprain.

How Taken

Soma is taken orally. The usual adult dosage of soma is one 350 mg tablet, three times daily and at bedtime. Usage in patients under age 12 is not recommended. It is recommended that you take Soma with food, or with milk, to minimize the likelihood that you will suffer an upset stomach as a result of taking the medication.

Warnings/Precautions

Do not take Soma if you have acute intermittent porphyria. Before taking Soma, tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver disease. You may need a lower dose or special monitoring during your therapy. It is not known whether Soma will harm an unborn baby. Do not take Soma without first talking to your doctor if you are pregnant. It is also not known whether Soma passes into breast milk. Do not take Soma without first talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. Soma is not approved for use in children younger than 12 years of age.

Missed Dose

If you miss a Soma dose, take it as soon as remembered if it is within an hour or so. If you do not remember until later, skip the missed dose and resume your usual dosing schedule. Do not 'double-up' the Soma dose to catch up.

Possible Side Effects

Soma may cause dizziness, vertigo, ataxia, tremor, agitation, irritability, headache, depressive reactions, syncope, and insomnia. Allergic or idiosyncratic reactions occasionally develop. They are usually seen within the period of the first to fourth dose in patients having had no previous contact with the drug. Skin rash, erythema multiforme, pruritus, eosinophilia, and fixed drug eruption with cross reaction to meprobamate have been reported with Soma. Severe reactions have been manifested by asthmatic episodes, fever, weakness, dizziness, angioneurotic edema, smarting eyes, hypotension, and anaphylactoid shock.

Storage

Store at controlled room temperature 15°-30°C (59°-86°F). Dispense in a tight container.

Overdose

Seek emergency medical attention. Symptoms of a Soma overdose include low blood pressure (weakness, fainting, confusion), decreased breathing, and unconsciousness.

More Information

Use caution when driving, operating machinery, or performing other hazardous activities. Soma may cause dizziness or drowsiness. If you experience dizziness or drowsiness, avoid these activities. Use alcohol cautiously. Alcohol may increase drowsiness and dizziness while you are taking Soma.

Disclaimer

This drug information is for your information purposes only, it is not intended that this information covers all uses, directions, drug interactions, precautions, or adverse effects of your medication. This is only general information, and should not be relied on for any purpose. It should not be construed as containing specific instructions for any particular patient. We disclaim all responsibility for the accuracy and reliability of this information, and/or any consequences arising from the use of this information, including damage or adverse consequences to persons or property, however such damages or consequences arise. No warranty, either expressed or implied, is made in regards to this information.

Other info about Soma at Wikipedia.org and other resources:

Aging of cerebellar Purkinje cells
This article reviews such changes during the normal aging process, including a decrease in the quantity of cells, atrophy in the soma, retraction in the dendritic arborizations, degeneration in the subcellular organelles, a decline in synapse density, disorder in the neurotransmitter system, and alterations in electrophysiological properties. Although these deteriorative changes occur during aging, compensatory mechanisms exist to counteract the impairments in the aging PCs. The possible neural mechanisms underlying these changes and potential preventive treatments are discussed. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory ReviewDOI 10.1007/s00441-010-1016-2Authors Changzheng Zhang, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University Department of Biological Science and Technology/State Key La...

Signaling to transcription networks in the neuronal retrograde injury response.
Authors: Michaelevski I, Segal-Ruder Y, Rozenbaum M, Medzihradszky KF, Shalem O, Coppola G, Horn-Saban S, Ben-Yaakov K, Dagan SY, Rishal I, Geschwind DH, Pilpel Y, Burlingame AL, Fainzilber M Retrograde signaling from axon to soma activates intrinsic regeneration mechanisms in lesioned peripheral sensory neurons; however, the links between axonal injury signaling and the cell body response are not well understood. Here, we used phosphoproteomics and microarrays to implicate ~900 phosphoproteins in retrograde injury signaling in rat sciatic nerve axons in vivo and ~4500 transcripts in the in vivo response to injury in the dorsal root ganglia. Computational analyses of these data sets identified ~400 redundant axonal signaling networks connected to 39 transcription factors implicated in ...

Influence of oral dysfunction on full-term newborn on the beginning of lactation
CONCLUSIONS: oral dysfunction is one of the causes for non-establishment of lactation, and should be identified early, as it may be corrected, thereby avoiding weaning. The maternity staff should be trained in breastfeeding management, with a healthcare professional that offers special care for abnormalities in the oral motor sensory system. (Source: Revista CEFAC)

Micromechanics of diffuse axonal injury: influence of axonal orientation and anisotropy.
In this study, a relation between the mechanical state at the tissue level and the cellular level is established. A model has been developed that is based on pathological observations of local axonal injury. The model contains axons surrounding an obstacle (e.g., a blood vessel or a brain soma). The axons, which are described by an anisotropic fiber-reinforced material model, have several physically different orientations. The results of the simulations reveal axonal strains being higher than the applied maximum principal tissue strain. For anisotropic brain tissue with a relatively stiff inclusion, the relative logarithmic strain increase is above 60%. Furthermore, it is concluded that individual axons oriented away from the main axonal direction at a specific site can be subjected to eve...

[Research] Signaling to Transcription Networks in the Neuronal Retrograde Injury Response
Robustness in nerve injury responses results from control of axon-to-soma signaling networks by multiple regulatory components. (Source: Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment)