A study published this week in the Journal of Immunology shows that Cox-2 inhibiting analgesics such as Bextra and Celebrex can not only damage the heart and blood vessels but may also suppress a patient’s immune system, rendering it unable to defend against viruses and other germs. Richard Phipps, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Rochester which conducted the study, said B-lymphocytes in blood expressed a lot of COX-2 enzymes, which may point to a link between the enzyme and the immune function. Suppressing the enzyme COX-2 may also suppress immune function.

Mice in the experiment were given Celebrex and Celebrex was put onto human cells in the lab. This caused the human and mice immune cells to produce much less antibody than usual. Phipps said long-term use of COX-2 inhibitors could suppress the immune function to the point that patients could be extremely vulnerable to serious life-threatening infections such as pneumococcal bacteria, the flu bacteria that can cause upper respiratory infections and the influenza virus.

The COX-2 inhibitor Bextra has recently been withdrawn from the market due to its connections with heart attacks, stroke and Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a serious allergic reaction that can be fatal. Celebrex is still on the market with a “black-box” warning indicating its association with fatal complications in some patients.

Source: “Study find painkillers affect antibodies that attack germs,” Reuters, April 7, 2005.