Paracetamol: Update on its Analgesic Mechanism of Action

Paracetamol is the most widely used over-the-counter medication in the world. The mechanism of action of its analgesic effect was often considered as based on the mobilization of the cyclooxygenases and more recently on serotonergic pathways. A new metabolic pathway involving the generation of an active metabolite, AM404 (N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z-eicosatetraenamide), in the brain by the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) enzyme, was recently identified. This chapter describes experimental data that have shown the involvement of this metabolic pathway in the analgesic action of paracetamol and its relationship with the cyclooxygenase and serotonergic systems. It also explains how new targets and systems, such as the cannabinoid and vanilloid sys- tems and the calcium channel receptor Cav3.2, play a role in the action of paracetamol. Finally, it suggests how research on the mechanism of the clinically relevant effects of this long-established analgesic could lead to new therapeutic pain strategies.

• Publication year

  2017

• Venue

  Unknown venue

• Publication date

  2017-05-24

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Chemistry

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.5772/66649
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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