Scientists claim to have shed new light on how the common painkiller paracetamol causes liver damage when used excessively. They believe their findings could inform further research into therapies to counteract the harm caused by excessive doses of the drug - the leading cause of acute liver failure in the western world. Poisoning caused by too much paracetamol can be difficult to treat and may even prove fatal. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh studied the impact of the painkiller on liver cells in human and mouse tissue. Their tests showed that in certain settings, paracetamol can damage the liver by harming the vital structural connections between adjacent cells in the organ. When these cell wall connections - known as tight junctions - are disrupted, the liver tissue structure is damaged, the cells are unable to function properly and they may die. Scientists said this type of cell damage was known to occur in liver conditions including hepatitis, cirrhosis, and cancer, but has not been linked to paracetamol toxicity until now. Researchers say they will now seek to examine how varying paracetamol doses and timescales affects toxicity in the liver, and identify...
from timesofmalta.com http://ift.tt/2kMw6On
via
IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment