Acetaminophen/Paracetamol (Tylenol)

Acetaminophen, more commonly known by brand names such as Tylenol, is not a true NSAID, as it does not have anti-inflammatory properties. However, it is commonly discussed alongside NSAIDs as it has similar antipyretic and analgesic properties. Although its mechanism of action is not well-understood, there is still plenty to discuss in terms of its properties and applications, so let's get a closer look at this famous drug.

Script by Chris Hofmann

Check out "Is This Wi-Fi Organic?", my book on disarming pseudoscience!

[reallifepsych]

Professor Dave is the best thing about Mondays!

[berniethekiwidragon]

In cases of overdose, hospitals may prescribe IV acetylcisteine to protect against liver damage. This supplements depleted glutathione stores to help mop up the excess paracetamol.

[BertLaverman]

Yep, it took a lot of reading before I finally understood why America’s “wonder drug” Tylenol was nowhere to be seen in Europe
...

[Daisy-cztv]

I really love Science. I'm so curious to learn every type of science. Thank you so much professor. You're an amazing teacher. Love the way you teach us. Your new subscriber here❤️🙏🏼

[Aussiesnrg]

Awesome stuff. I really don't understand the chemistry behind it, but it's still extremely fascinating

[danielwalsh.]

AWESOME! YOU ARE AN INSPIRATION! Hi from Liverpool, UK.

[its__OVER]

Sir, please continue your IIT JEE series, I know it wasn't getting much views but was very helpful in boosting my morale, I solved all question in 30 min and am looking for question of organic and inorganic.
Thank You

[dailydoseofmedicinee]

👍taking more than the recommended dose — or taking acetaminophen with alcohol — increases your risk of kidney damage and liver failure over time.

[berniethekiwidragon]

5:05 Malnutrition is often seen in alcoholism, and they are both risk factors for overdose.

[definty]

N acetyl cysteine is used in treatment for liver damage from paracetamol overdose. It also helps me with my adhd and autistic traits!

[backstreetfan]

I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of thinking your anti-vax debunk would come out today. I will be patient 😁. Try to not go crazy with all the comments on your debunk videos. It's good that you respond, but it can't be good for your mental health, dealing with that volume of craziness and negativity. Thanks for all your hard work and all you do to bring us high quality science videos.

[mikahakkinen]

Glad you included Paracetamol as a reference, seeing as it is the *proper* name for this drug!👏👏

Before you Americans get angry, an *International Nonproprietary Name* (INN) is an *official, generic, and nonproprietary* name which is given to a pharmaceutical drug or an active ingredient.

INNs are intended to make communication more *precise* by providing a *unique standard name* for each active ingredient, to avoid prescribing errors. The INN system has been coordinated by the WHO since 1953. So where you lot decided to pluck ‘acetaminophen’ from, who knows. Regardless, once the INN name was decided upon, why didn’t America use that name?! I would imagine that the US is probably the biggest single contributor (of both finance and resources) to the WHO (by a single country) on Earth, so why the US doesn’t use that name is a unique American oddity.

When you Americans blow & wipe your nose, you seem to always say you wipe your nose with a “Kleenex.” No, you don’t! You wipe your nose with a *tissue!* Kleenex is just a brand name, not the name of the actual item you are using.

Having unambiguous standard names for each drug (standardisation of drug nomenclature) is important because a drug may be sold by many different brand names, or a branded medication may contain more than one drug. Take ADHD medication as an example. Ritalin is a brand name of only *one* type of ADHD medication (Methylphenidate Hydrochloride). There are several different brand names of that exact same drug (Concerta being one), plus, there are several different ADHD stimulants out there (Dexamfetamine Sulfate being one).

Mercifully, the colloquial name we use for what we drive in is a ‘car’, or ‘truck’, or ‘bus’, because otherwise it would be really confusing (and pretty fucking stupid) if you defined what you drive by manufacturer name. Mercedes is just one example of a manufacturer that makes cars, trucks, and busses, hence why it would be stupid and confusing to only use the manufacturer’s name.

Each drug's INN is unique but may contain a word stem that is shared with other drugs of the same class; for example, the beta blocker drugs Propranolol and Atenolol share the -olol suffix, and the benzodiazepine drugs Lorazepam and Diazepam share the -azepam suffix. (Diazepam is the proper name for what Americans refer to as Valium, which is just one old brand name). Alprazolam is the proper name for the drug Americans refer to as Xanax, which is (you guessed it), just a brand name.

I could maybe understand it if there is a new drug where the patent is still in force, which would mean that there is only one brand name for a drug until the patent runs out. However, continuing to use the original brand name long after the patent has run out is just stupid. La Roche (the manufacturers of Valium) now *have* to have “Diazepam” on their boxes of Diazepam by law.

The WHO issues INNs in English, Latin, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese, and a drug's INNs are often cognate across most or all of the languages, with minor spelling or pronunciation differences, for example: Paracetamol (English) Paracetamolum (New Latin), Paracétamol (French) and парацетамол (Russian).

Americans supposedly speak English, but decide to throw out normal standardised customs present in the rest of the world, for reasons which either don’t matter, are illogical, or because they decide to carry on with the errors that people made long before them. Following suit doesn’t do anybody any favours though, the rest of the world has to second guess what Americans are referring to, and Americans will likely be confused if they ever visit other countries because they will be exposed to names they have never been taught. It makes travelling a massive ball-ache.

Noah Webster was, essentially, a massive dick by changing the English dictionary based on *his preferred phonic* spellings, and has at *best* complicated things a lot, and at worst partly succeeded in ruining a language by changing it so much that it may as well be a foreign language now.

[Javalar]

Small nitpick: It's also called Acetaminophen in Canada, which is technically outside of the U.S.

[aufila]

Hai hai.. I'm from Indonesia.. and i love this video

[danjuric]

I never knew about N-acytl parabenzoquinone imine product. It's amazing how our bodies work yet scary. I wonder, can this be reversed if someone has damaged their liver abusing painkillers or could there be permanent damage left?

[farahazhar]

Amazing, dear Prof Dave, thanks, please tell about its Structure Activity Relationship (SAR), its pharmaceutical chemistry aspect, IF CONVENIENT, I do repeat, if convenient

[brucecook]

I cant wait to learn about ibuprofin because I take it every day for muscle pains, and it works well. I used to be prescribed hydrocodine(generic for vicodin) and I found that simple ibuprofin works wayyy better for the pains I have to deal with than the hydrocodine ever did, and the ibuprofin is not addictive....

[emmaryan]

Oh god plz don't tell people deoxygenated blood is blue....its a brownish maroon

[italophile]

Hi Prof, I always greatly enjoy your videos. I believe there is a good body of evidence for indirect endocannabinoid agonism as a mechanism of action for paracetamol, resulting in descending inhibition in spinal serotonergic pathways. It's a complicated story but includes the charmingly named 'bliss molecule' - anandamide - whose action is enhanced by a paracetamol metabolite.

[jordanthistle]

It's crazy that we have yet to figure out the exact mechanism of action for one of the most prescribed medications of all time.