Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 6, Issue 17, 2000

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used and effective treatments for pain and inflammation. They have a substantial toxicity profile with side effects mainly affecting the gastrointestinal tract, heart and kidneys. Although they comprise a chemically diverse group of drugs, NSAIDs are unified by a common mode of action - the ability to inhibit the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase (COX). This also accounts for Read More

The common mechanism of action of aspirin and the chemically unrelated non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is the inhibition of prostaglandin (PG) production due to interference with the enzymatic activity of cyclooxygenase (COX). These agents have long been used as effective treatments for arthritis. The recognition that the inducible isoform COX-2 was associated with inflammation and arthritis led to Read More

The kidney is the second most frequent target of serious adverse effects of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The renal side effects of NSAIDs related to inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) comprise reduction in renal blood flow (RBF) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR), sodium/water retention, water intoxication and hyperkalemia.The discovery of two COX-isoenzymes, a constitutive COX-1, serving home Read More

Recognition of two isoforms of cyclooxygenase and reports that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be beneficial in devastating neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease have led to increased interest in cyclooxygenase function in the nervous system. In the present paper we review current data on the multiplicity of cyclooxygenase and prostaglandin mediated effects in the central nervous system (CNS). We di Read More