By competitively inhibiting the first enzyme in the metabolism of ethylene glycol and methanol, fomepizole slows the production of the toxic metabolites.
The shared metabolic rate-limiting steps thus leads to slowed metabolism and clearance for both compounds including ethanol's known toxic metabolite acetaldehyde.
In kidney failure, the kidneys' tasks must be performed via a treatment called dialysis to prevent the lethal buildup of toxic metabolites in the blood.
This is due to the fact that paracetamol yields a toxic metabolite that can accumulate in the kidney while aspirin works to deplete the glutathione stores necessary to oxidize it.