Victims of paracetamol overdose could be saved by a new ‘antidote’ that protects the liver from irreversible damage.
Currently, emergency medication must be given within eight hours of an overdose, as after this time, the build-up of damaging chemicals released by the liver in response to high levels of the painkiller becomes impossible to counteract.
Damage to the organ then becomes permanent. Paracetamol, which reduces pain and fever, is one of the most commonly bought over-the-counter tablets and, additionally, 22 million NHS prescriptions are written for it each year.
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