Nobody Knows How Acetaminophen Works (Paracetamol)

Video Description

Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in brand name Tylenol plus over 600 other medicines. But even today, scientists aren’t totally sure how it relieves pain or lowers fever. In this video, Patrick Kelly tracks the history of acetaminophen’s discovery, the development of Tylenol, and why we still don’t know how it works. Get Nebula using my link for 50% off an annual subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/patrickkelly Watch Red Atoms here: https://nebula.tv/redatoms ☠️None of the information in this video should be used as medical advice or opinion. Always consult with healthcare professionals regarding medical decisions ☠️ 🎬C R E D I T S🎬 Written, performed, and edited by Patrick Kelly Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images 🔗 L I N K S 🔗 📱Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patkellyteaches/ 💰Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/corporis 📚Book recommendations: www.patkellyteaches.com/books 🔑 P A T R O N S 🔑 Oxytocin Tier: Mike W | Paul R | Daphnanne P | Oliver W | Tal Globus | Paul Belmes | Ben N | Eugen101 Growth Hormone Tier: Carey & Jack P | Brendan P | Brandon K | Kristofer R | Joe B | Mindi F | Michael G | Brian B | Eileen H | Waffles the Dog | Brian T | Brian H | Michael R | Karen S | Sarah B | Robin B | Jacob S | Hyeon-Seo | Paul! | Lucy Fur | Huynhy | Jim C | elnombre91 | Alcedo | Josef K | Dab B | Robert M | Jiggs | TierZoo | Seth G | Jane G | Jack M | Matthew B | Michelle J | Helena SB | Eric L | Ryne J | Kilian | Dean M | Cody S | Michelle L | Joseph G | Aryan R | Vic K | Becca | Jesse B | Stella | Marc M | Roxanna A | Doyle V | Maria A | Karen S | Jon A | Brian | Blake | Caitlin E | David W | DrCredibleHulk | Eugene F | Anthony DiF | Charlie C | Reniece J | chris | Rachel J | ZoeMarie | Katie B-S | Broderic D | CJ | Darren H | Snail Guy | Matthew S | Ky W | Ben | Gerald | Dave F | Andrew L | Tyler H | Smoerredeg | Matthew E | Jennifer M | Sabrina 📜 S O U R C E S 📜 An annotated version of the script can be found on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/tylenol-video-144731999 Samuel Hopkins Adams, Great American Fraud https://archive.org/details/greatamericanfra00adamuoft/page/4/mode/2up Brodie & Axelrod Fate of Acetanilide in Man (1948) https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/hh/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-101584577X4-doc Brodie & Axelrod 2 (1948) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18885610/ The rediscovery of paracetamol - commentary on Brodie / Axelrod https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9780191057243_A35506143/preview-9780191057243_A35506143.pdf Vane aspirin mechanism (1971) https://www.nature.com/articles/newbio231232a0 Vane & Flower paracetamol mechanism (1972) https://www.nature.com/articles/240410a0.pdf COX-3 a cyclooxygenase-1 variant inhibited by acetaminophen and other analgesic/antipyretic drugs https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.162468699 The History of Acetaminophen (2025) https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/medical-pseudoscience/tylenol-and-presidential-scientific-illiteracy The Development and Hepatotoxicity of Acetaminophen. Reviewing Over a Century of Progress (2021) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8427730/ Acetaminophen — ACS https://www.acs.org/molecule-of-the-week/archive/a/acetaminophen.html Acetaminophen https://salempress.com/Media/SalemPress/promotions/pharmacology_pgs.pdf History of NSAID Use in the Treatment of Headaches Pre and Post-industrial Revolution in the United States (2019) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11916-019-0744-6 Code Blue: Life-threatening Methemoglobinemia (2019) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6497199/ How does acetaminophen work (2014) https://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i29/Does-Acetaminophen-Work-Researchers-Still.html Updated Review on Mechanism of action of paracetamol (2023) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10066900/ Paracetamol (acetaminophen): A familiar drug with an unexplained mechanism of action (2021) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23328940.2021.1886392 Potential Analgesic Mechanisms of Acetaminophen (2009) https://www.painphysicianjournal.com/current/pdf?article=MTE4NA%3D%3D&journal=47 FDA Tylenol https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/dont-overuse-acetaminophen Reye’s Syndrome in NEJM https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199905063401801?articleTools=true Reye’s Syndrome CDC https://www.cdc.gov/Mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00049023.htm Analgesic Action of Acetaminophen: A Review of Known and Novel Mechanisms of Action (2020) https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2020.580289/full Prostaglandins & Inflammation (2012) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3081099/#S1 COX-3 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC129799/ 💻 C O N T A C T 💻 patkellyteaches [at] gmail.com ⌛T I M E S T A M P S ⌛ 0:00 Intro 0:39 Part 1: Drugs from Trash 5:23 Part 2: The Rediscovery of Acetaminophen 12:37 Part 3: How does Acetaminophen Work? 23:04 Takeaways #historyofmedicine #medicalhistory