Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen is a common drug, in the group of analgesics, found in Tylenol. Apparently there is a website that continually keeps tabs on the research regarding this drug: http://acetaminophen.researchtoday.net/.

Several of the studies linked on the website focused on the effects of acetaminophen, for example one titled Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor in man, focuses on the effects of the drug on the cardiovascular system due to substantial COX-2 inhibition. The study states: "In this context, long-term increase of blood pressure has been proposed to underlie cardiovascular side effects occurring after prolonged use of these compounds. Regarding the effects of acetaminophen on blood pressure, a prospective cohort study found that regular consumption of acetaminophen was associated with a significantly higher risk for development of hypertension compared with no use(13)."


However, most people do not consume acetaminophen regularly; Yet I think that this provides interesting information as many people take Tylenol in large amounts and several doses.
Yet the big issue is the fact that this study refutes a previous claim. The study addresses COX-inhibition: "Collectively, our data show a substantial and selective inhibition of COX-2 in healthy volunteers. This finding stands in clear contrast to previous concepts claiming a minor and clinically irrelevant degree of peripheral COX inhibition by acetaminophen." The study not only discovered a new finding, but also corrected statements which the public could have taken strongly.

The study was thorough as well. "The present study demonstrates that acetaminophen displays an 4-fold selectivity for inhibition of COX-2 both in vitro and in vivo. Administration of a standard dose of the drug caused an almost complete inhibition of COX-2 in human volunteers, whereas only a moderate inhibition of COX-1 was observed."

This paper demonstrates a good piece of scientific writing and analyzes both in vitro and in vivo to completely justify their results.

http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/full/22/2/383