Anti-inflammatory drugs antipyretic action

Mefenamic acid is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It exhibits anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activities. The mechanism of action is not completely understood but may be related to prostaglandin synthetase inhibition. 

The separation of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has recently attracted considerable interest. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are agents that, in addition to having anti-inflammatory action, also have analgesic, antipyretic, and platelet-inhibitory properties. They are used primarily in the treatment of chronic arthritic conditions and certain soft tissue disorders associated with pain and inflammation. 

Like paracetamol, aspirin is an analgesic and antipyretic drug which is commonly available for sale over the counter at many shops and supermarkets, as well as pharmacies. However, it also has a third action, to reduce inflammation—it is an anti-inflammatory drug. It belongs to a group of drugs called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs. 

The antipyretic analgesics, with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), share a common mechanism of action, namely the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis from arachidonic acid and their release. More precisely their mode of action is thought to result from inhibition of both the constitutive and the... 

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) form a heterogeneous group of organic acids (Table 1) that have analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and platelet inhibitory actions. 

The differences in the actions of these drugs involve their tissue specificities. Aspirin and ibuprofen act on a broad range of tissues. Acetaminophen inhibits prostaglandin synthesis more specifically in the cells of the nervous system and is a much less effective inhibitor of this in other tissues. This selectivity gives acetaminophen its analgesic and antipyretic effects without acetaminophen s acting as an anti-inflammatory drug. 

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NS AIDs) are widely used for the treatment of minor pain and for the management of edema and tissue damage resulting from inflammatory joint disease (arthritis). A number of these drugs possess antipyretic property in addition to having analgesic and anti-inflammatory actions, and thus have utility in the treatment of fever. 

Clinical use Paracetamol (Ameer and Greenblatt, 1977 Clissold, 1986) has analgesic and antipyretic properties, but no relevant anti-inflammatory action. It is used for the treatment of various mild to moderate pain conditions and to reduce fever. Paracetamol is one of the most popular analgesics as a single drug or in multi-ingredient preparations, often in combination with NSAIDs or weak opioids. 

Most NSAIDs are nonselective inhibitors of cyclooxygenases, acting on both COX 1 and COX 2 isoforms to decrease formation of PGs and thromboxanes. This action is a primary (but not sole) contributor to the pharmacologic actions of NSAIDs. These actions include analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and antiplatelet effects. Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is the prototype of the group, which includes more than 20 individual drugs. 

Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, has been used for more than 100 years for its analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory activities. More recently an array of NSAIDs have been developed and introduced into the clinic. For the most part these drugs are well tolerated, but a variety of Type A ADRs, some of which can be life threatening, have been reported for these drugs. An important mechanism of action of the NSAIDs efS-cacy is the inhibition of the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2), which prevents the overproduction of prostaglandins and decreases the pain, fever, and inflammation associated with COX-2 activity. 

Aspirin is one of the most widely used drugs in modem society. It is most frequently used to treat mild to moderate pain or to reduce fever. Because of its anti-inflammatory action, aspirin is prescribed to individuals who suffer from joint inflammation conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. In addition to its antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic properties, aspirin is also prescribed to patients at high risk for heart attack... 

It is a pyrazole derivative which has antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory actions, because of its toxicity it is not used as a general antipyretic or analgesic. It is, an usual practice, reserved for use in the treatment rheumatic disorders, such as osteoarthrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, arthritis, acute superficial thrombophlebitis, painful shoulder and Reiter s disease, where less toxic drugs have failed. 

The drugs included in this ehapter essentially possess solely the antipyretic and analgesic pharmacological actions but specifically lack anti-inflammatory effects. 

It is a trifluoromethyl analogue of anthranilic acid, that exerts its three-in-one pharmacological actions viz., antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory. It finds its abundant usage in dysmenorrhoea and various types of rheumatic disorders. However, the exact and precise mechanism of antipyretic action of the N-aryl anthranilic acid structural variants has not yet been established. There exists no relationship to lipid plasma distribution, partition coefficient or pKa values of these types of drugs vis-a-vis their antipyretic activity. 

Drugs like phenazone, aminophenazone (aminopyrine), dipyrone, phenylbutazone, oxyphenbutazone, sulfinpyrazone, ete., belonging to this eategory, besides their antipyretic-analgesic action, have also been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory properties. These compoimds have been dealt separately in the chapter on antipyretic-analgesics . 

Traditionally, the drug counts as a non-steroidal inflammation inhibitor, although its anti-inflammatory effect is comparatively low, while its antipyretic and analgesic action predominate. There has been a series of studies so far to determine the molecular mode of action. [174]... 

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