Acetaminophen is efficacious for influenza in a model system

January 01, 0001

Acetaminophen is efficacious for influenza in a model system

Influenza is a significant illness globally. These UK researchers sought to assess the efficacy of acetaminophen use for influenza using a mouse model of influenza infection and its affect on the immune response.

The researchers found: "Administration (intraperitoneal) of paracetamol significantly decreased the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the airway spaces, reduced pulmonary immunopathology associated with acute infection and improved the overall lung function of mice, without adversely affecting the induction of virus-specific adaptive responses. Mice treated with paracetamol exhibited an ability to resist a second infection with heterologous virus comparable with that of untreated mice."

The researchers concluded: "Our results demonstrate that paracetamol dramatically reduces the morbidity associated with influenza but does not compromise the development of adaptive immune responses. Overall, these data support the utility of paracetamol for reducing the clinical symptoms associated with influenza virus infection."

In a model system, acetaminophen appears to reduce lung pathology in influenza without affecting the immune response, but clinical verification is warranted.

For the full abstract, click here.

Thorax 66(5):368-374, May 2011 © 2011 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & British Thoracic Society.
Paracetamol reduces influenza-induced immunopathology in a mouse model of infection without compromising virus clearance or the generation of protective immunity. Sarah N Lauder, Philip R Taylor, Stephen R Clark, et al. Correspondence to Sarah N Lauder: [email protected]

Category: B. Blood/Immune Mechanisms, R. Respiratory. Keywords: acetaminophen, influenza, mouse model, immunopathology, immune response, prospective study, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Paul Schaefer, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 17 May 2011

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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