Ibuprofen, a commonly used anti-inflammatory drug, is a "life-saving miracle drug" for many women with menstrual pain, and it is also the choice of many parents to deal with pediatric fever. The initial road to market for this widely used NSAID was tortuous. Today we will talk about the story of ibuprofen.
In 1958, Stewart Adams and colleagues worked together to find a non-hormonal anti-inflammatory drug in addition to aspirin, and they synthesized more than 600 drugs, including ibuprofen, which was then named BTS8402. At that time, although Adams filed a patent for ibuprofen, he did not intend to bring it to the market, because another compound they synthesized performed better in animal tests, that is, isobutyreneacetic acid.
However, after listing, it was found that isobutylphenylacetic acid could cause liver toxicity and cause jaundice, so it was withdrawn from the market in 1968. Later, Adams' team went on to experiment with other drugs, and found that the ibuprofen that they ignored was only one methyl group from isobutylphenylacetic acid, but the liver toxicity was greatly reduced. Therefore, it was marketed in the United Kingdom in 1969 as an indication for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and was named ibuprofen. Due to the good safety of ibuprofen, it quickly became a popular drug prescribed by doctors, and was later used for the treatment of menstrual pain and pediatric fever.
Ibuprofen ≠ a universal painkiller, the following points should be understood
Ibuprofen is anti-inflammatory, but not sterile
Although ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory drug, it is not the kind of "anti-inflammatory drug" and "antibiotic" that we traditionally understand to eliminate pathogenic bacteria. It is only used to eliminate inflammatory symptoms such as "redness, swelling, heat and pain". If it is inflammation caused by a bacterial infection, it is still necessary to use antibacterial drugs such as amoxicillin and cephalosporin.
Ibuprofen is not addictive
Although ibuprofen can relieve pain and be used for joint pain, toothache, menstrual pain, cancer pain and other pains, it is not addictive and does not have to worry about becoming addictive after use. Although it is not addictive, it cannot be abused, and it should be taken according to symptoms, and it does not need to be taken without symptoms. The so-called addictive painkillers are drugs such as opioid antagonists such as morphine and piperotidine, which are also drugs specially controlled by the state.
It is recommended to take after meals
The most common side effect of ibuprofen is that it can cause gastrointestinal irritation, and it is best to take it after meals. For the elderly may cause side effects such as kidneys and cardiovascular system, drink more water when taking the drug and avoid long-term use.
Extended-release tablets should not be taken in higher amounts
The instructions for regular tablets are recommended to take 400 or 600 mg at a time. Ibuprofen is also a type of extended-release tablet, only 300 mg per tablet, take up to 1 tablet at a time, up to 2 times a day. Do not take 2 tablets at a time to make up for 600 mg.
epilogue
Since its listing, ibuprofen has brought great convenience and pain relief to patients, but at the same time, we must pay attention to the above points in order to use it more reasonably and safely.
author:
Liu Longzhen, deputy director of the Department of Pharmacy, Zhuzhou Second Hospital
bibliography:
1. Key." Super Aspirin"—— The history of research and development of ibuprofen (Fenbide) and its development in China[J].Continuing Medical Education, 2005, 03:82-84.
2. Zhang Xiaopeng,Xu Zhi. Research progress on the synthesis and application of ibuprofen[J].Foreign Medicine (Antibiotics Division), 2020, 05:404-410.