Celebrex is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug related to aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen. Celebrex received its patent in 1953, gained FDA marketing approval in 1999 and became available as the generic celecoxib in 2014. More than 7 million prescriptions are written for the drug each year.

Generally Celebrex is reserved for arthritis – osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Approval also includes treating acute pain and dysmenorrhea related to the menses.

A newly released oral solution received FDA approval but only for acute migraine headache. The medicine performs only modestly better than placebo for migraines.
Recent investigations suggest combining Celebrex with a SSRI may benefit a select population with depression and if added to a mood stabilizer might lead to improvement in bipolar disorder.

Individuals allergic to sulfonamides should not receive Celebrex. A history of asthma worsened by aspirin also excludes Celebrex. After coronary artery bypass surgery, Celebrex appears to increase the risk of repeat coronary events.

Celebrex principally targets the COX 2 enzyme while other NSAIDS and aspirin reduce activity of both the COX 1 and COX 2 enzymes. Theoretically avoidance of COX 1 inhibition should reduce unwanted adverse reactions including intestinal bleeding and cardiovascular thrombotic events. In practice the differential while present remains anything but certain.

As a result, individuals should take the lowest dose for the shortest period of time in order to reduce the side effect profile. During the third trimester of pregnancy the drug must be avoided. In the first stages of pregnancy animal develop heart defects, skeletal malformations and stillbirth.

For pain relief, most of the NSAIDS appear about equal.