Research has been going on for a long time into the side effects of commonly used pain relievers such as ibuprofen and aspirin. The drugs also seem to have an influence on the development of heart disease and cancer, among other things. Yale researchers may have discovered the mechanism involved.
Until now it was thought that the effect of the painkillers was only caused by certain enzymes, but that does not explain why the drugs have so many other effects. For example, there are painkillers that prevent the risk of heart disease, while others cause them. There is a link with a smaller risk of colon cancer, but also of asthma.
The researchers, whose study appeared this week in the journal Immunity, discovered how these so-called NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) have an anti-inflammatory effect by using cell cultures and mice. And that mechanism also helps explain the other effects.
Protein
The research shows that the drugs activate a protein called NRF2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2). This protein stimulates anti-inflammatory processes in the body. “It’s interesting that NSAIDs have a different mode of action than previously thought,” Yale study leader Anna Eisenstein told Science Daily. The research team cannot yet say with certainty that NRF2 is responsible for the side effects of the painkillers, but the chance is high, it sounds like. However, the effects have yet to be confirmed by human studies.
For example, it is being investigated whether the NRF2 activating agents have an effect on the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, asthma and various types of cancer. “The findings could lead to completely new uses for NSAIDs,” Eisenstein says. NRF2 influences a large number of genes that are involved in all kinds of body processes, such as metabolism, the immune response and inflammation. The protein may also play a role in aging and cellular stress reduction. “The fact that NRF2 does so much suggests that NSAIDs may also have other effects — positive or negative — that we don’t know yet,” Eisenstein concludes.