Coxibs and Cardiovascular Disease

The coxibs are a subclass of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) designed to inhibit selectively cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). 1 Their development was based on the hypothesis that COX-2 was the source of prostaglandins E 2 and I 2 , which mediate inflammation, and that cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) was the source of the same prostaglandins in gastric epithelium, where they afford cytoprotection. Three coxibs — celecoxib, rofecoxib, and valdecoxib — have been approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); a fourth, etoricoxib, has been approved by the European regulatory authority, and it and a fifth, lumiracoxib, are currently under consideration for FDA . . .