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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		What you should know about a common category of drugs
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:02
	Publish Date:		2016-07-18 19:00:00
	Description:		Many of us might assume a drug is safe if it’s available over-the-counter, but that’s not always the case. Biochemist Aldrin Gomes of the University of California, Davis studies NSAIDs, a category of drugs that includes familiar anti-inflammatories like Ibuprofen. Up to 20% of the population use these pain relievers at any given time, but their chronic use may be harsher on the body than expected. "Most people are not aware that NSAIDs have a known history of causing heart problems. NSAIDs actually increase the risk of stroke, cardiovascular disease. So we first did a screen of different NSAIDs to see if any of them would affect cardiac cells. And to our surprise, all the NSAIDs we tested affected the heart cells." Some of the NSAIDs had a profound effect, causing rapid cardiac cell death. But now, Gomes hopes to study the side effects of other NSAIDs and see if certain protective factors, like antioxidants, can relieve them.
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