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Acetaminophen has its pitfalls, too...

Over a year ago, I shared some interesting news about acetaminophen.  It's not unusual think of this common household medication as benign. Overdosing or taking too much over an extended period is liver toxic, but aside from that it seems pretty safe all in all.





Fast forward to 2015...I shared this post.  A study at Ohio State University reported findings that suggest that this drug tended to dull the emotions in study subjects.  The authors reported their findings to be "subtle but reliable."At the time it was thought that further study was needed to get a better idea of this phenomenon.

Now, a first of its kind study reported in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience reports that acetaminophen may impair the brain's ability to detect errors. According to postdoctoral fellow Dan Randles, lead author of the study...

“It looks like acetaminophen makes it harder to recognize an error, which may have implications for cognitive control in daily life. Sometimes you need to interrupt your normal processes or they’ll lead to a mistake, like when you’re talking to a friend while crossing the street, you should still be ready to react to an erratic driver."

Two groups of of 30 persons each were studied. The individuals in one group were given 1,000mg of acetaminophen prior to study.  Those in the drug free group performed better in subsequent testing of all subjects, which you can read about in detail by clicking here.

So, it appears that even a dose of acetaminophen can affect an individual more than we once thought!

Sources: Everyday Pain Management Ideas; Pain Week; Flickr

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