ATLANTA, Nov 11 (Reuters Health) -- A pain reliever found in most medicine
cabinets may help prevent the buildup of fatty plaques in arteries. Aspirin?
Yes, but a new study in rabbits suggests that acetaminophen, the active
ingredient in Tylenol, may also have this heart-healthy effect.
Dr. Addison A. Taylor of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas,
presented findings Thursday at the 72nd Scientific Sessions of the American
Heart Association that indicate acetaminophen may help prevent the buildup of
clogging fat in the aorta, the largest artery in the body. He told Reuters
Health that he started studying this effect in animals following previous
studies that showed improved blood fat levels in normal healthy volunteers who
took a 3-day course of acetaminophen.
In the current study, rabbits were fed a high-cholesterol diet for 12
weeks. The diet was designed to encourage the development of fatty plaques in
their arteries. Some were also given doses of acetaminophen equivalent to human
doses, while the others were not. Taylor's group then examined the animals'
aortas, and found that the rabbits given acetaminophen had 50% fewer early fat
deposits in the lining of the aorta.
Taylor attributes the plaque-fighting effects of acetaminophen to the
drug's ability to prevent oxidation of LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol), a
process believed to be important in the initiation of fat deposition in the
lining of arteries.
Taylor told Reuters Health that he now plans "to look at acetaminophen's
effect in high-risk individuals (with high cholesterol levels)."
"Although further research is necessary to draw any definitive
conclusions, our findings, together with those reported by other investigators,
are helping to build a body of evidence suggesting that acetaminophen may help
protect against cardiovascular disease," Taylor noted in a statement.
