Scientists Reveal Unforeseen Effects of Common Painkillers
NEW YORK ( Dispatches) -- According to a new research , different NSAIDs can have unexpected and unexplained effects on many diseases, including heart disease and cancer, even at similar doses.
Researchers from the Yale University have revealed a previously unknown process by which some NSAIDs affect the body. This is to say why similar NSAIDs produce a range of clinical outcomes and could inform how the drugs are used in the future.
The scientists have found a distinct mechanism by which a subset of NSAIDs reduce inflammation. And that mechanism may help explain some of these curious effects.
Results showed that only some NSAIDs -- including indomethacin, which is used to treat arthritis and gout, and ibuprofen -- also activate a protein called nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, or NRF2, which, among its many actions, triggers anti-inflammatory processes in the body.
This discovery still needs to be confirmed in humans, the researchers note. But if it is, the findings could have impacts on how inflammation is treated and how NSAIDs are used.