#1 Cause of Liver Failure? It Isn't Alcohol!

Date:   2/1/2009 4:03:33 PM ( 15 y ago)

The quickest way to destroy your glutathione levels (GSH) is to take 'harmless' OTC drugs like acetaminophen. In fact, Acetaminophen toxicity is the number one cause of hospital admission for liver failure in the United States!! more at link

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/10/021014072451.htm


When a person takes acetaminophen, the liver produces small amounts of a potentially harmful compound called NAPQI (N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine). Normally, the liver uses another chemical called glutathione to quickly neutralize NAPQI.

"The problem occurs when you run out of glutathione," said Moore.

An overdose of acetaminophen can cause depletion of glutathione and land a person in the hospital. "Acetaminophen toxicity is the number one cause of hospital admission for liver failure in the United States," he said.

CAR is a receptor that regulates the response of the liver to drugs and other foreign compounds. When it is activated, the liver increases its ability to modify such compounds and eliminate them from the body. This is normally a protective response. In some cases, however, it can also result in harmful effects, for example by increasing the production of toxic byproducts like NAPQI.

Using a mouse bred to lack CAR, Moore and his co-workers showed that the receptor was critical to the medication's toxicity.

"We found out that high doses of acetaminophen activate CAR, and that CAR then activates target genes that increase toxicity," said Moore. "This generates a vicious cycle in which acetaminophen actually worsens its own toxicity. Because of the absence of this cycle, mice without CAR are partially resistant to high doses of acetaminophen."

 

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