Indian vultures have suffered population declines of 97 - 99 %, with the annual rate of decline of 16 % in the first part of this century, all because of exposure to
the drug diclofenac, given to farm animals to reduce joint pain and allow them to work longer.
«Regardless of dose, the prescription
drug diclofenac is the most effective drug among painkillers in terms of improving pain and function in osteoarthritis,» said lead researcher Dr. Sven Trelle.
Also, the anti-inflammatory
drug diclofenac bioaccumulates in fish, but its impact is unclear, said Diana Aga, a chemistry professor and researcher at the University of Buffalo who studies emerging chemicals in the Great Lakes.
The Oriental white - backed vulture has experienced a critical decline in its numbers, thought to be due to the veterinary
drug diclofenac.
Another called for eliminating the veterinary
drug diclofenac, which kills vultures and other birds, as well as rodenticides, insecticides, and poison bait.
People who suffer from inflammatory joint conditions or pain often take non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, like the well - known
drug diclofenac, for example.
Not exact matches
The cause was eventually traced to
diclofenac, a veterinary anti-inflammatory
drug that relieved pain in cattle, but proved highly toxic to vultures.
After India imposed a ban on veterinary forms of
diclofenac, for example,
drug companies there started selling an extra-large dose, ostensibly for human use, that was the same as the dose used on cattle.
The
drug,
diclofenac, is commonly used to treat pain in livestock.
Examples of
drugs identified as high - potential agents within the Repurposing Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project include mebendazole, cimetidine, nitroglycerin, diclofenac and clarithromycin, among others
drugs identified as high - potential agents within the Repurposing
Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project include mebendazole, cimetidine, nitroglycerin, diclofenac and clarithromycin, among others
Drugs in Oncology (ReDO) project include mebendazole, cimetidine, nitroglycerin,
diclofenac and clarithromycin, among others [3].
«If you are thinking of using a painkiller for osteoarthritis, you should consider
diclofenac,» Trelle said, but also keep in mind that like most NSAIDs the
drug increases the risk for heart disease and death.
What is most remarkable about the more recent study is not that turmeric curcuminoids have potent anti-inflammatory properties — there are already hundreds of studies confirming its COX - 2 reducing and otherwise anti-inflammary effects — but rather how much safer they are relative to NSAID
drugs like
diclofenac, which like most pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory
drugs have been linked to adverse health effects such as increased cardiac mortality, miscarriage and seizure.
In practical terms, the chance of you hurting yourself with a
drug like
diclofenac sodium — ironically, in an attempt to reduce pain — as compared to a simple kitchen spice like turmeric, is infinitely higher.
The most common analgesics currently used in rabbits include butorphanol, buprenorphine and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, carprofen,
diclofenac, flunixin, ibuprofen, indomethacin, ketoprofen, meloxicam, acetominophen and piroxicam.
As odd ad the word «
diclofenac» is, it was the even stranger name of a similar
drug that really made me wonder: «etoricoxib».