New research may explain unexpected effects of common painkillers

[+Manwon Lender]

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and aspirin are widely used to treat pain and inflammation. But even at similar doses, different NSAIDs can have unexpected and unexplained effects on many diseases, including heart disease and cancer.  Now, a new Yale-led study has uncovered a previously unknown process by which some NSAIDs affect the body. The finding may explain why similar NSAIDs produce a range of clinical outcomes and could inform how the drugs are used in the future.

The study was published May 23 in the journal Immunity: https://www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(22)00186-8?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1074761322001868%3Fshowall%3Dtrue 

Until now, the anti-inflammatory effects of NSAIDs were believed to arise solely through the inhibition of certain enzymes. But this mechanism does not account for many clinical outcomes that vary across the family of drugs. For example, some NSAIDs prevent heart disease while others cause it, some NSAIDs have been linked to decreased incidence of colorectal cancer, and various NSAIDs can have a wide range of effects on asthma. Now, using cell cultures and mice, Yale researchers have uncovered a distinct mechanism by which a subset of NSAIDs reduce inflammation. And that mechanism may help explain some of these curious effects.

omethacin, 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. "It's interesting and exciting that NSAIDs have a different mode of action than what was known previously," said Anna Eisenstein, an instructor at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "And because people use NSAIDs so frequently, it's important we know what they're doing in the body.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220523115514.htm