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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Aug 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2017 Jun 23;38(8):733–748. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2017.05.008

Figure 3. Illustration of the relationship of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac and celecoxib.

Figure 3

Top panels: Plasma concentration vs time curves under steady state conditions after 10 days of dosing. Grey area: 90% confidence interval. Middle panels. Expected dynamics of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and −2 function, given the degree of COX-2 selectivity of the drug and its pharmacokinetic properties. Bottom panels: Expected dynamic changes in organ function. Platelets have a markedly steeper COX inhibition-response relationship than other tissues. Thus, changes in platelet function are less gradual then changes in the function of other tissues. The dynamics for 2 distinct half-lives (9 and 18hrs) of naproxen are shown. (The plasma concentration vs time curves are based on simulations using two-compartment model parameters [64]. The illustration of the expected impacted on COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition is informed by published data [65–67]. The drawings of the expected changes in organ function are based on our understanding of COX biology.)