Scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School and National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS), in collaboration with colleagues in Singapore and the UK have published a study in Science Translational Medicine, which suggests that the human form of the signaling protein interleukin 11 (IL-11) has a harmful effect on human liver cells— contrary to a previous hypothesis that it could help livers damaged by paracetamol poisoning. An overdose of paracetamol could lead to severe liver damage and even cause death, which could be treated with an antidote known as N-acetylcysteine if administered within eight hours of the overdose. However, liver transplant is the only available option for treating long-term effects of the drug.
Studies in mice have confirmed that prolonged consumption of paracetamol reduces liver antioxidants. Furthermore, this causes damage to mitochondrial proteins, triggering a chain…
