However, an Israeli study found no increased risk of miscarriage in the group of mothers using NSAIDs. Pharmacology
NSAIDs such as ibuprofen work by inhibiting the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, which convert arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H2 (PGH2). PGH2, in turn, is converted by other enzymes to several other prostaglandins (which are mediators of pain, inflammation, and fever) and to thromboxane A2 (which stimulates platelet aggregation, leading to the formation of blood clots). Like aspirin and indomethacin, ibuprofen is a nonselective COX inhibitor, in that it inhibits two isoforms of cyclooxygenase, COX-1 and COX-2. The analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory activity of NSAIDs appears to operate mainly through inhibition of COX-2, which decreases the synthesis of prostaglandins involved in mediating inflammation, pain, fever, and swelling. Antipyretic effects may be due to action on the hypothalamus, resulting in an increased peripheral blood flow, vasodilation, and subsequent heat dissipation. Inhibition of COX-1 instead would be responsible for unwanted effects on the gastrointestinal tract. However, the role of the individual COX isoforms in the analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and gastric damage effects of NSAIDs is uncertain, and different compounds cause different degrees of analgesia and gastric damage.Ibuprofen is administered as a racemic mixture. The R-enantiomer undergoes extensive interconversion to the S-enantiomer in vivo. The S-enantiomer is believed to be the more pharmacologically active enantiomer. The R-enantiomer is converted through a series of three main enzymes. These enzymes include acyl-CoA-synthetase, which converts the R-enantiomer to (−)-R-ibuprofen I-CoA; 2-arylpropionyl-CoA epimerase, which converts (−)-R-ibuprofen I-CoA to (+)-S-ibuprofen I-CoA; and hydrolase, which converts (+)-S-ibuprofen I-CoA to the S-enantiomer.
In November 2013, work on ibuprofen was recognized by the erection of a Royal Society of Chemistry blue plaque at Boots Beeston Factory site in Nottingham, which reads:
In recognition of the work during the 1980s by The Boots Company PLC on the development of ibuprofen which resulted in its move from prescription only status to over the counter sale, therefore expanding its use to millions of people worldwide
and another at BioCity Nottingham, the site of the original laboratory, which reads:
In recognition of the pioneering research work, here on Pennyfoot Street, by Dr Stewart Adams and Dr John Nicholson in the Research Department of Boots which led to the discovery of ibuprofen used by millions worldwide for the relief of pain. Society and culture
Availability
Ibuprofen was made available under prescription in the United Kingdom in 1969, and in the United States in 1974. In the years since, the good tolerability profile, along with extensive experience in the population, as well as in so-called phase-IV trials (postapproval studies), have resulted in the availability of ibuprofen OTC in pharmacies worldwide, as well as in supermarkets and other general retailers. Ibuprofen is its International nonproprietary name (INN), British Approved Name (BAN), Australian Approved Name (AAN) and United States Adopted Name (USAN). In the U.S., Motrin has been on the market since 1974, and Advil has been on the market since 1984.