Even at Regular Dose, Tylenol Causes Liver Damage, Tests Suggest
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CHICAGO – Healthy adults taking maximum doses of Tylenol for two weeks had abnormal liver test results in a small study,r esearchers found, raising concerns that even recommended amounts of the popular painkiller might lead to liver damage.
In the study, 106 participants took four grams of Tylenol – equivalent to eight extra-strength Tylenol tablets – each day for two weeks. Some took Tylenol alone and some took it with an opioid painkiller. Dummy pills were given to 39 others.There were no alarming liver test results among the people who took the placebos. But nearly 40% of people in all the other groups had abnormal test results that would signal liver damage, according to the study that appears in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
“I would urge the public not to exceed four grams a day. This is a drug that has a rather narrow safety window,” said a study co-author, Dr. Neil Kaplowitz of the University of Southern California.
Another co-author, Dr. Paul Watkins of the University of North Carolina, said he’s less worried than Dr. Kaplowitz, noting that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, has been used for 50 years and has a good safety record.
The maker of Tylenol, McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, said its own research found much lower rates of abnormal liver results. The company’s studies tracked high-dose users over longer periods than did the new study.
“It doesn’t lead to liver disease, and it usually resolves as patients continue to take acetaminophen,” a senior director of medical affairs at McNeil, Dr. Edwin Kuffner, said.
