Free Republic

Gestational exposure to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with an increased risk for childhood chronic kidney disease (CHD), although the association is not seen in sibling comparisons, according to a study. You-Lin Tain, M.D., Ph.D. and colleagues examined the association between gestational exposure to NSAIDs and the risk for CKD in childhood in a cohort study involving 1,025,255 children born alive in Taiwan from Jan. 1, 2007, to Dec. 31, 2017, with follow-up until Dec. 31, 2021. The study included 163,516 singleton-born children whose mothers used at least one dispensing of an NSAID during pregnancy. The researchers observed a...

Experts are warning that over-the-counter pain relievers such as Aspirin, Tylenol or ibuprofen could dull the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines. As the US continues to roll out vaccines from both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna to the general public, recipients have reported minor side-effects like temporary pain that have driven some to take preventative over-the-counter painkillers before inoculation. But several experts who spoke with ABC News Wednesday warn that this practice may hinder the body’s ability to form the antibodies that protect against COVID-19.

World Health Organization recommends using paracetamol to treat coronavirus symptoms, instead of anti-inflammatories. Here's why. The World Health Organization has recommended that people suffering from the symptoms of the virus avoid taking ibuprofen drugs such as Advil. Instead, the organization suggests taking paracetamol, such as Acamol (Tylenol). They studied why the disease pathway in Italy is more serious, finding that most patients took ibuprofen at home. Researchers joined the virus and ibuprofen in the laboratory and came to the conclusion that administering ibuprofen accelerates multiplication of the virus and is related to a more serious course of the disease. They...

Ibuprofen and other painkillers may trigger a heart condition which affects almost a million Britons, a major study has shown. Patients who regularly take the pills are up to 20 per cent more likely to develop heart failure. Long-term use of the medication causes chemical reactions in the body which place extra strain on the heart, research suggests. This can lead to heart failure in patients who have a history of previous heart attacks or high blood pressure. An estimated 900,000 adults in Britain have heart failure which occurs when the muscle becomes too weak to pump blood around the...

Despite all the advances of modern medicine, the main drugs used to fight pain today are essentially the same as those used in ancient times. Hippocrates wrote about the pain-soothing effects of willow bark and leaves as early as 400 B.C. Opium was cultivated long before that. Aspirin and morphine, based on the active ingredients in these traditional remedies, were isolated in the 1800's and helped form the foundation of the modern pharmaceutical industry. But scientists are now trying to find new ways of fighting pain. The effort has been given new impetus by the recent withdrawal of Vioxx and...

Heart attack survivors using certain painkillers are more likely to die or suffer another event People who have survived a heart attack seem to increase their risk of having another one, or of dying, by taking common painkillers called NSAIDs, a popular class of drugs that includes ibuprofen. The unsettling link between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and heart attack risk is not new. The American Heart Association released guidelines in 2007 discouraging the use of any NSAIDs among people with a history of cardiovascular disease. Researchers in Denmark now bolster that link with the largest study to date of NSAID use...

New research has uncovered how some cox-2 painkillers increase the risk for both heart attacks and stroke. The once popular cox-2 drugs, Vioxx and Bextra, were pulled off the market in 2004 and 2005, respectively, after research showed that both raised the chances of cardiovascular trouble. Meanwhile, Celebrex, a painkiller in the same drug class that remains on the market, carries a "black box" warning alerting patients to potential heart risks. Now, a team of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia say that, although cox-2 inhibitors are very good at inhibiting the workings of the cox-2 enzyme --...

Even short-term use of some painkillers could be dangerous for people who've had a heart attack, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers analyzed the duration of prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) treatment and cardiovascular risk in a nationwide Danish cohort of patients with prior heart attack. They found the use of NSAIDs was associated with a 45 percent increased risk of death or recurrent heart attack within as little as one week of treatment, and a 55 percent increased risk if treatment extended to three months. The study was limited by its observational...

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 1 – Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) prevent colon cancer by triggering diseased stem cells to self-destruct, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their findings, reported in the early online version of this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could lead to new strategies to protect people at high risk for the disease. Doctors have long known that NSAIDs, such as aspirin, can lower the risk of colon cancer, but it's not been clear how they do it, said senior investigator Lin Zhang, Ph.D.,...

When I strained a back muscle playing tennis not long ago, my doubles partner, who happened to be a doctor, pulled a tube of cream from her gym bag and told me to rub it on. It wasn’t Bengay or one of those instant ice gels. It was a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, like Advil or Motrin, in a cream applied to the skin. She raved about the stuff, which she buys over the counter when she goes to Europe, and lamented that it is so hard to find in the United States. In fact, Europeans have long been able to...

With flu vaccination season in full swing, research from the University of Rochester Medical Center cautions that use of many common pain killers – Advil, Tylenol, aspirin – at the time of injection may blunt the effect of the shot and have a negative effect on the immune system. Richard P. Phipps, Ph.D., professor of Environmental Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and of Pediatrics, has been studying this issue for years and recently presented his latest findings to an international conference on inflammatory diseases. (http://bioactivelipidsconf.wayne.edu/) “What we’ve been saying all along, and continue to stress, is that it’s probably not a...

Five years after the high-profile withdrawal of Merck & Co's arthritis drug Vioxx from the market, French pharmaceutical company NicOx is trying to wow the regulators with its first-in-class anti-inflammatory drug naproxcinod. The Sophia Antipolis-based firm has submitted a new drug application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its cyclooxygenase (Cox)-inhibiting nitric oxide-donating osteoarthritis drug, which it hopes will be the first anti-inflammatory to be given the regulatory thumbs up since the Vioxx withdrawal. Traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) such as aspirin work by blocking both the Cox-1 and Cox-2 enzymes, and for a time it was believed that while...

Studies raise new concern about other medications ASSOCIATED PRESS Worried that your painkiller could trigger a heart attack or dangerous stomach bleeding? New reports on painkiller risks, based on reviews of dozens of studies including hundreds of thousands of patients, indicate most patients should try naproxen, an older anti-inflammatory drug. Experts say it doesn't raise heart attack or stroke risk -- a major worry for older people -- and naproxen is inexpensive because generic versions have been around for years. Available over the counter, it's taken by millions of Americans. The drawback is that like most painkillers, it can irritate...

Can a dietary supplement pick up the pieces? Glucosamine, often recommended for joint pain, is one of the most popular supplements on the market. And considering the health concerns recently associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, I thought it would be worth looking into whether glucosamine lives up to the hype.Background: Glucosamine and chondroitin are often combined together and used to treat osteoarthritis (OA), which occurs when the cartilage covering the end of the bone near the joint breaks down. OA affects the knees, backs, hips, hands and feet of more than 21 million people over age 45. And, according to...