COX-2 inhibitor

noun

ˈkäks-ˈtü- 

: any of a class of drugs used to treat the pain and inflammation of arthritis by selectively blocking the variant of cyclooxygenase causing these symptoms

Word History

First Known Use

1994, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

COX-2 inhibitor

noun

variants also COX-2 blocker

: any of a class of drugs (as celecoxib) that are NSAIDs which selectively block the isoform COX-2 but not the isoform COX-1 of cyclooxygenase and are used chiefly to relieve the pain and inflammation of arthritis while minimizing gastrointestinal side effects

COX-2 inhibitors, as their name implies, were designed to block just the inflammatory functions of the COX-2 enzyme, leaving the stomach-protecting functions of the COX-1 form intact.

—Alice Park, Time