Preface#
There are many antipyretic and analgesic drugs commonly used in clinical practice, often used for the treatment of conditions such as arthritis (anti-inflammatory), dysmenorrhea (pain relief), and fever reduction.
These drugs are very confusing for me.
- They are used to treat a variety of diseases.
- There are many different types of medications.
- Specific medications can often be interchangeable.
- Each medication has a brand name, chemical name, and common name that are used simultaneously.
Therefore, I am reviewing these drugs, and my notes include:
- Drug names (brand name, chemical name, common name)
- Pharmacological effects and side effects
- English vocabulary
I mainly referred to (and basically copied) the information from https://forum.beginner.center/t/topic/571
Feel free to add or correct any information.
I hope this can be helpful to everyone.
Concepts#
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Nonsteroidal refers to the concept of being non-steroidal hormones.
Steroid hormones are a class of tetracyclic hydrocarbon compounds with a cyclopentane-dihydrophenanthrene nucleus. Steroid hormones are a type of hormones.
These include sex hormones from the gonads and corticosteroids from the adrenal cortex. Based on the steroid receptors they bind to, mammalian steroid hormones can be divided into five groups: glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, androgens, estrogens, and progestogens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steroid_hormone
General Characteristics#
NSAIDs often have the following characteristics:
- Readily absorbed in the stomach
- Distributed throughout the body
- Removed in the urine
- Accumulate at the site of inflammation where pH is lower
General Effects#
By inhibiting cyclooxygenase (COX) and suppressing prostaglandins (PG), which are inflammatory factors that can cause pain and fever, NSAIDs often have the following effects:
- Antipyretic (reduce fever)
- Analgesic (pain relief)
- Anti-inflammatory
General Side Effects#
NSAIDs often have the following side effects, but humans have invented many new NSAIDs to try to reduce these side effects:
- Bleeding
- Irritation of the stomach
Classification and Historical Development#
Ancestor: Aspirin#
As early as the time of Hippocrates in ancient Greece, people used willow leaves and other plants to treat inflammation. Later, salicin was extracted from these plants. Salicin is a precursor of salicylic acid, which is often used to treat arthritis. However, salicylic acid is difficult to consume and has strong stomach side effects. In 1899, Felix Hoffman, a chemist at Bayer, added an acetyl group to salicylic acid, synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid, which is aspirin.
Aspirin, as the ancestor of drugs, has the aforementioned general effects and side effects. Its side effect of bleeding is also used as an anticoagulant.
For more information about aspirin, please refer to https://forum.beginner.center/t/topic/572
Successors of Aspirin#
In order to reduce the side effects of aspirin, researchers have developed many new drugs with different mechanisms. These drugs have their own advantages and disadvantages, and are suitable for different scenarios. Here, they are classified based on their mechanisms, and specific characteristics can be found in the provided links.
-
Reversible inhibition of COX: ibuprofen, naproxen (aspirin is irreversible)
https://forum.beginner.center/t/topic/574 -
Acetaminophen with unknown mechanism
https://forum.beginner.center/t/topic/573 -
Selective inhibition of COX-2: celecoxib (other NSAIDs inhibit both COX-1 and COX-2, which have different functions)
https://forum.beginner.center/t/topic/575