Nicorandil, marketed in the UK as Ikorel, is a powerful potassium-channel activator to treat angina pectoris (severe chest pains), and a recent study suggests it is a very effective one. As a result, it's increasingly being used as a first-line treatment.
Unfortunately, the sharper the sword, the greater the risk you run of getting cut. The study that concluded that the drug was most effective for people with stable angina also admitted that 66 per cent of those in the trial had to stop treatment because the adverse reactions were so severe. Most complained of very bad headaches (Lancet, 2002; 359: 1269-75). By any reckoning, this is an astonishingly high failure rate.
Now, doctors at Aberdeen's Royal Infirmary also suspect the drug can cause anal ulcers. They noticed that five patients suddenly developed the ulcers while taking the drug. The ulcers disappeared almost immediately after stopping treatment (Lancet, 2002; 360: 546-7).
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