"Orac" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:In article <[email hidden]>,
Mark Probert said:Quoted message said:Actually, they are not equally toxic. Acetaminophen is definitely more
toxic than aspirin. Even so, both are still safe drugs, as the doses
that are toxic are so far above therapeutic doses.
IIRC the toxic dose of APAP is not altother that high, and it is often
referred to the OTC med with the smallest therapuetic window.
True, but it's still relatively safe. The risk for liver toxicity comes
when people with pre-existing liver damage take it or when it is taken
in large doses while there is alcohol on board. The combination of
acetaminophen and alcohol considerably decreases the dose at which
acetaminophen becomes toxic to the liver.
Right. In fact, the therapeutic window for APAP is *huge* under
'normal' circumstances, but it varies widely, so that accidental ODs
can occur with doses that are a fraction of what the vast majority
can tolerate. I think the reason APAP is thought of as so deadly
has to do with rude awakening after it was introduced as a non-toxic
substitute for aspirin and the unpredictability of its lethality in
individual cases.
"...the average susceptibility of man to paracetamol hepatoxicity appears to
resemble more nearly that of the rat than the mouse or hamster. This would
put the ED50 dose at 1500mg/kg rather than the 200mg/kg suggested in some
clinical papers.* Comparison of the rates of oxidation in a number of subjects,
both in vivo and in vitro, revealed a fivefold range in activity [APAP->NABQI],
with most subjects at the lower end of the range. This would suggest that the few
subjects at the upper end of the range were almost as sensitive as the mouse to
the toxic effects of paracetamol." (Food Chem Toxicol. 1986, 24, p735.)
--
"I can't tell you how much easier it is to achieve consensus when you
don't have to worry about dissent." -- U.S.U.N Delegate, [censored] Cheney
