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Rheumatology 1999; 38: 693-696
© 1999 British Society for Rheumatology

Editorials

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: back to the future

R. J. Flower

Department of Biochemical Pharmacology, The Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK

Ever since the chemical synthesis of aspirin in 1899—and even longer if you take into account the use of salicylic acid in the folk medicine of many cultures—the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been a mainstay of rheumatological practice. The NSAIDs do not reverse the disease process (indeed, there are some who would argue that they may ultimately exacerbate it), but they do provide much needed relief from pain and inflammation, and it is for this reason that they are more often than not the first treatment provided for patients.

Whilst aspirin itself is still in current use, and may indeed be said to be the world's most widely consumed drug, the NSAIDs as a class have undergone several rounds of refinement and development. Looking back, one can identify different phases in their evolution: the early drugs such as aspirin and paracetamol (acetaminophen), the introduction in the 1940s of phenylbutazone, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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