title: COX-2: Where are we in 2003? - Specific cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors and aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease.
abstract: The use of analgesic anti-inflammatory agents in patients with asthma is clinically challenging because of the prevalence (10-20%) of aspirin hypersensitivity. Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), or aspirin-induced asthma, is characterized by asthma and rhinitis triggered by the ingestion of aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. AERD is associated with upper and lower respiratory-tract mucosal inflammation, progressive sinusitis, nasal polyposis, and asthma regardless of whether patients avoid triggering drugs. The mechanism underlying the propensity of aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to cause this reaction is thought to involve inhibition of the synthesis of protective prostaglandins (PGs), resulting in an increase in the synthesis of cysteinyl leukotrienes by eosinophils and mast cells. Clinical data suggest that protective PGs are derived from cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 because studies have now confirmed that drugs specifically inhibiting COX-2 are not cross-reactive with aspirin in patients with AERD.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. crofford@umich.edu
authors.forename: Leslie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Crofford
mesh_terms: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000633:toxicity; D001241:Aspirin / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000633:toxicity; D001249:Asthma / Q000139:chemically induced*; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000502:physiology; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D007527:Isoenzymes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases; D001241:Aspirin