Paracetamol study '˜may help treat liver poisoning damage'

Scientists have discovered how a popular 'over the counter' painkiller could damage the liver by harming vital structural connections between adjacent cells in the organ.

The latest research shines a light on how paracetamol could damage the human liver. Picture: Edward Olive

The paracetamol study by researchers at the University of Edinburgh may offer valuable insights into poisoning caused by an excess dose, which can be difficult to treat and may prove fatal.

The discovery could also inform research into therapies to counteract harm caused by the freely avaliable pain-killing drug, which is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the Western world.

Scientists studied the impact of paracetamol on liver cells in human and mouse tissue.

Tests showed that, in certain settings, paracetamol can damage the liver by harming vital structural connections between adjacent cells in the organ.

When these cell wall connections – known as tight junctions – are disrupted, the liver tissue structure is damaged, cells are unable to function properly and they may die.

This type of cell damage is known to occur in liver conditions including hepatitis, cirrhosis and cancer, but until now it was not linked to paracetamol toxicity.

Researchers aim now to develop a reliable method of using human liver cells as an alternative to animal testing. They then will seek to examine how varying paracetamol doses and timescales affect toxicity in the liver, and identify potential targets for new drugs.

Dr Leonard Nelson, of the university’s hepatology laboratory and institute for bioengineering, who co-led the study, said: “Paracetamol is the world’s preferred pain remedy – it is cheap, and considered safe and effective at therapeutic dose.

“However, drug-induced liver damage remains an important clinical problem and a challenge for developing safer drugs. Our findings reinforce the need for vigilance in paracetamol use, and could help discover how harm caused by its adverse use might be prevented.”

Co-author Pierre Bagnaninchi, of the university’s MRC centre for regenerative medicine, said: “Although liver damage caused by paracetamol toxicity has been the subject of intense study for 40 years, recent developments in biosensor technology are enabling a fuller picture of the biological mechanisms involved.”

The study which also involved the university of Oslo and the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, was published in Scientific Reports.