The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Possible Dangers Of Taking Over-The-Counter Medications For Hepatitis C Patients

HERSHEY, PA-- Patients with chronic hepatitis C often take the over-the-counter non-steroidal drug Ibuprofen, otherwise known as Motrin or Advil, to combat joint pain that often accompanies the disease. Even a low dose could lead to unsuspecting liver damage.

"Patients frequently suffer from joint pain. Often, even physicians will prescribe ibuprofen when they should prescribe Tylenol," explains Thomas Riley, III, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Penn State's College of Medicine. "The correct recommendation to help the patient is a low dose of Tylenol, about 2 grams per day. That means the patient can take one extra strength Tylenol -- 500 mg -- every six hours or take two every 12 hours."

Riley and his colleagues describe three cases in an article, "Ibuprofen Induced Hepatoxicity in Those With Chronic Hepatitis C: A Case Series," published in the September issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

In each of these three cases the patients have hepatitis C and took over-the-counter ibuprofen. After doing so they all had a flare-up of their hepatitis.

"Many physicians don't want to prescribe Tylenol because it has a reputation of causing liver damage. As long as it is prescribed in the low doses we have discussed it is definitely the best treatment," explains Riley, who is also the medical director for the liver transplant program at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of the Penn State Geisinger Health System. He also says where patients with chronic hepatitis C usually have mild elevations in their liver enzymes in the blood, after taking the over-the-counter Ibuprofen these patients experience a ten-fold rise in their enzymes, suggesting significant liver injury.

He adds that if too much medication is taken the patient risks speeding up the process of going from chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis of the liver.

Riley says that about four million Americans are infected with he
'"/>

Contact: Leilyn Perri
lperri@psghs.edu
(717) 531-8604
Penn State
16-Sep-1998


Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Possible new cure for psoriasis
2. Possible link discovered between gene responsible for blood vessel development and ACD in newborns
3. Possible mechanism for link between diabetes and Alzheimers disease discovered
4. Scientists switch components in cell circuits: Possible new technology, therapy
5. Possible new cell type found in developing inner ear
6. Possible gene for form of mental retardation, brain development identified
7. Possible cause and treatment for shock uncovered by UC San Diego bioengineers
8. Reproductive Signals Affect Lifespan In Roundworm C. Elegans, Offering Possible Insight Into Human Aging Process
9. UV Rays, Fire And Flame Retardants To Be Reviewed For Possible Listing As Carcinogens, NTP Announces
10. Coffee Without Addiction, Possible New Treatment For Osteoporosis, Wrinkle-Free Cotton, And More
11. Mechanism For Fungal Adherence Found, Possible Key To Disease
Post Your Comments:
(Date:11/20/2008)...ical Institute at St. Joseph,s Hospital and Medica... motions and the perception of illusory motion tha...nik, PhD, director of the Laboratory of Behavioral...ctor of the Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience; Xoa...cted a study based on the Enigma painting, a visua...
(Date:11/20/2008)...beans and turned them into many useful products. B...ows, blooms or produces like it does, researchers ...y of Georgia professor Wayne Parrott aims to find ...from the National Science Foundation and a jumping...onvinced that soybeans would be so much more usefu...
(Date:11/19/2008)... posed by Southern California wildfires like those...officials. , Detailed particulate analysis of th... indicates that the composition posed more serious...lized, according to a new paper analyzing particul...nia. , The paper, entitled "Physicochemical and...
(Date:11/19/2008)... northward because of climate change may be better...n native plants. , So concludes a team of scient... The team,s findings, reported in today,s online e...uld become invasive if they spread to places that ... is the first to suggest that the mechanisms that ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Soybean grant gives researchers tools to unravel better bean 2Where there's wildfire smoke, there's toxicity 2Climate change opens new avenue for spread of invasive plants 2High Tech Imaging No Better for Diagnosing Head Neck Cancers 19244 1High Tech Imaging No Better for Diagnosing Head Neck Cancers 19244 2Adding ultrasound screening to mammography brings benefits risks 19242 1Adding ultrasound screening to mammography brings benefits risks 19242 2Sam Westover to Serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer for Sonic Innovations 19240 1Sam Westover to Serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer for Sonic Innovations 19240 2Sam Westover to Serve as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer for Sonic Innovations 19240 3IRIDEX Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results 19238 1IRIDEX Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results 19238 2IRIDEX Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results 19238 3IRIDEX Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results 19238 4IRIDEX Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results 19238 5IRIDEX Reports First Quarter 2008 Financial Results 19238 6
Other News:
...have gained valuable new insight into the biology ...study published in the March issue of Cancer Cell ...ar profiles and signaling pathways associated with...s work provides clues about what drives tumor form...
...s the immune system by infecting and killing helpe...te blood cells responsible for mobilizing the medi... response of another type of T cell--the cytotoxic...e proportion of these deaths because CTLs recogniz...
... your children to grow up to actively care about t...n the "wild" before they're 11 years old, suggests...sticated nature activities -- caring for plants an...adult environment attitudes, their effects aren't ...
...ricka, Director of General Chemistry at the Hospit...ed the winner of the 2006 Edwin F. Ullman Award. T... for contributions that advance the technology of ...of new technologies and analytical methods. In Jul...
Molecular signatures predict disease progression and prognosis of high grade brain tumors 2Inefficient immune killer cells abet HIV infection 2Inefficient immune killer cells abet HIV infection 3'Wild' nature play before age 11 fosters adult environmentalism 2Penn clinical chemist wins prestigious Ullman Award 2
... time scientists have demonstrated a model that ma...ir study, published in the January 15, 2005 issue ...r-newsroom), says alcohol fuels the production of ...opment in tumors, and that chronic ethanol increas...
... an important role in determining a person's obesi...cember issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal o... The study found that African-American patients h...capacity compared to Caucasian patients, with the ...
...D.C., December 14, 2004) - Psychologists saw a sig...mprove managed care administrative services and po...d procedures to better ensure easier and faster pr...mpt payment for services. The changes were part of...
...Dec. 14, 2004) - Among Californians, black men fac... and their rates are almost three times as high as...istics from the California Cancer Registry and res...ogram at USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center......
health news:Study provides clues to alcohol's cancer connection 2health news:Race may affect weight and fitness level 2health news:CIGNA settlement favorable to psychologists 2health news:USC researchers highlight disparities in cancer rates among racial and ethnic groups in California 2health news:USC researchers highlight disparities in cancer rates among racial and ethnic groups in California 3
...s revealed early signs of emphysema in smokers wit...o a study published in the June issue of Radiology...of Health, details a new magnetic resonance imagin...sitive to lung changes than even the current modal...
...onducted by researchers at Children's Hospital Oak...ation with scientists at the National Institute of... the current iron supplement recommendation for pr...uld lead to birth complications for infants such a...
...chool of Medicine in St. Louis have found that eat...lowers concentrations of a thyroid hormone called ...nergy balance and cellular metabolism. ......The r...) decreases the circulating concentration of a pow...
...hological or physical stress, as well as those wit...heir oral health, according to a new study printed...s from the study suggest that being a caregiver to...roduction of cortisol) or stress were associated w...
health news:New MRI technique shows emphysema in asymptomatic smokers 2health news:Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute new study on pregnant women & iron 2health news:Calorie restriction appears better than exercise at slowing primary aging 2health news:Calorie restriction appears better than exercise at slowing primary aging 3health news:Calorie restriction appears better than exercise at slowing primary aging 4