AUTOIMMUNITY part 63

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENT

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been used since 1800s when salicin was extracted from willow bark (1828) and sodium salicylate (1875) and aspirin (1899) were synthesized. A large number of these drugs, which either selectively or nonselectively inhibit the enzyme cyclooxygenase (a synthetic enzyme for prostaglandins), are currently in use to treat inflammatory disease. Although most of their anti-inflammatory properties derive from the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis, at high doses, there is inhibition of the transcription factor nuclear factor κβ (NFκβ), a key mediator of inflammatory cytokine production. Corticosteroids have a more potent effect on NFκβ and consequently a greater anti-inflammatory effect.