- Taking too many painkillers can damage some people's
kidneys permanently, scientists claim.
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- Overuse was defined as taking two doses of full strength
aspirin or extra strong paracetamol every day.
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- The risk only affects people who are susceptible - most
people, including cardiovascular patients taking small doses of aspirin
- are not at risk.
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- But doctors told the American Society of Nephrology they
had no way of spotting the few who are at risk.
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- The researchers found that heavy use of aspirin or paracetamol
- defined as 300 grams a year - was linked to a condition known as small,
indented and calcified kidneys (SICK).
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- The condition was detected in patients with irreversible
kidney failure by carrying out computed tomography (CT) scans.
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- Changes in the kidneys
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- Over 200 patients treated for kidney failure across the
US were scanned for SICK and asked about their use of painkillers.
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- Seven per cent were found to have SICK, and a third of
those patients had overused analgesics.
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- Scientists from the National Analgesic Nephropathy Study
said: "We conclude that heavy use of analgesics at least nine years
prior to the development of irreversible kidney failure is associated with
the anatomic changes of small, indented and calcified kidneys."
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- Dr Vardaman Buckalew, a kidney specialist at Wake Forest
University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina said: "If a patient
does have SICK, there is an increased likelihood of analgesic abuse."
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- He added: "We think just some individuals are susceptible,
But there is no way yet to figure out which individuals are susceptible
and which aren't."
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- A spokeswoman for the National Kidney Research Fund told
BBC News Online: "Large doses of some analgesics, including aspirin
and paracetamol, may depress kidney function in patients who already have
kidney disease.
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- She added: "Extremely large doses of aspirin and
paracetamol can cause acute renal failure, usually when taken as a suicide
attempt.
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- "And there is some anxiety that if large doses can
cause disease in many subjects, lower doses may cause it in a few subjects.
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- "The advice is don't take analgesics unless you
really need them, take single drugs such as aspirin and paracetamol, carefully
study the instructions - and if you have any kidney disease, seek medical
advice before taking analgesics."
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- © BBC MMIII
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3271191.stm
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