Paracetamol (acetaminophen): a blessing or a hidden curse?
This Journal has recently published a splendid review of all you need to know about paracetamol (Graham et al. 2013), an analgesic widely used in the long-term management of arthritis. It clearly presents the science and hard facts. This commentary, by contrast, discusses some aspects of the metapharmacology of paracetamol; particularly by asking questions of how we might extract more benefit and suffer less adverse reactions when using this analgesic in the context of non-transient inflammation. As both a drug and a toxin, paracetamol exemplifies how beneficial and/or deleterious responses may be conditioned by circumstances (disease stress, nutritional status, fasting, etc.).
School of Biomolecular Sciences and School of Medicine, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia, whitehousemd@spin.net.au.
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D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy*
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D000082:Acetaminophen