Tag Archives: aspirin

October 29, 2020 · 12:33 pm

Aspirin Use Reduces Risk of Death in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients – Study

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were taking a daily low-dose aspirin to protect against cardiovascular disease had a significantly lower risk of complications and death compared to those who were not taking aspirin, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). Aspirin takers were less likely to be placed in the intensive care unit (ICU) or hooked up to a mechanical ventilator, and they were more likely to survive the infection compared to hospitalized patients who were not taking aspirin, The study, published today in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia, provides “cautious optimism,” the researchers say, for an inexpensive, accessible medication with a well-known safety profile that could help prevent severe complications.

“This is a critical finding that needs to be confirmed through a randomized clinical trial,” said study leader Jonathan Chow, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at UMSOM. “If our finding is confirmed, it would make aspirin the first widely available, over-the-counter medication to reduce mortality in COVID-19 patients.”

To conduct the study, Dr. Chow and his colleagues culled through the medical records of 412 COVID-19 patients, age of 55 on average, who were hospitalized over the past few months due to complications of their infection. They were treated at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore and three other hospitals along the East Coast. About a quarter of the patients were taking a daily low-dose aspirin (usually 81 milligrams) before they were admitted or right after admission to manage their cardiovascular disease.

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June 20, 2020 · 12:09 am

Can aspirin reduce dementia risks? – Study

As the old adage goes, an aspirin a day keeps the doctor away. However, new research shows that an aspirin a day will not keep dementia away.

The ASPREE study, Aspirin in Reducing Events in Elderly, evaluated the use of daily, low-dose aspirin in delaying cognitive decline for healthy older adults. Unfortunately, the study did not find that aspirin had any benefit on reducing memory and thinking problems.

“Aspirin is a commonly used drug known to reduce inflammation.,” explained Joanne Ryan, PhD, who collaborated with her colleagues on ASPREE study. “Since inflammation is a significant factor in Alzheimer’s disease, it formed the basis of the hypothesis that aspirin could be beneficial in helping to reduce the occurrence of cognitive decline.”

The ASPREE study involved more than 19,000 participants, mostly 70 years of age and older, who did not have heart disease or a diagnosis of dementia. Half the participants received 100mg of aspirin daily and half received a placebo. All participants received a series of memory & thinking tests throughout the study.

“At the end of the five year trial, we identified that aspirin had no effect on dementia regardless of ethnicity, age, gender or an individual’s current health.” said Dr. Ryan, head of the Biological Neuropsychiatry and Dementia Unit at Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine in Melbourne, Australia.

The question remains whether aspirin could be beneficial if begun in mid-life, long before Alzheimer’s disease starts to take hold in the brain. Dr. Ryan feels it is possible that the benefits of low-dose aspirin may not be seen for several more years. For that reason, the National Institute on Aging, which funded the ASPREE trial, has sponsored ongoing monitoring of cognitive function and other health measures for the trial’s participants. However, it will be some years before results are known.

“The ASPREE study provides strong evidence that low-dose aspirin will not reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Ryan. “While the results are disappointing, the findings are very relevant to older people and their physicians and indicate aspirin should not be prescribed solely on the basis of potential cognitive benefits.”

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March 29, 2020 · 12:30 am

Low-dose aspirin linked to reduced liver cancer risk

When I was growing up there was a funny saying, “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.” Supposedly, that was a typical doctor’s advice. Now, it like the aspirin might be a good idea.

Among adults at high risk of liver cancer, those who took low-dose aspirin were less likely to develop the disease or to die from liver-related causes. The findings come from an analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine and conducted by a team led by investigators at the Karolinska Institutet, in Sweden, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

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“Rates of liver cancer and of mortality from liver disease are rising at an alarming pace in U.S. and European countries. Despite this, there remain no established treatments to prevent the development of liver cancer, or to reduce the risk of liver-related death,” said lead author Tracey Simon, MD, MPH, investigator in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at MGH. Continue reading →

Long term aspirin use sharply reduces incidence of digestive cancers – Study

Personally, I try to take as few drugs as possible and as small a dosage that I can. My action is rational in that I don’t like to introduce foreign substances into my system. Additionally, I also feel uncomfortable about foreign substances in my system. So, I take a minimum of drugs, especially considering the fact that I will be 78 years old at the end of January. One of the few exception is aspirin. I take one regular aspirin (326 mg) every morning to help reduce the pain from arthritis in both of my hands. So, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are further benefits to aspirin.

The long-term use of aspirin has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence of digestive cancers, new research presented at the 25th UEG (United European Gastroenterology) Week has found.

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December 6, 2016 · 6:06 am

Daily aspirin benefits outweigh risk to stomach – Study

As a daily consumer of aspirin for the arthritis in my hands, I was pleased to run across this new study from Cardiff University on the drug’s benefits.

Stomach bleeds caused by aspirin are considerably less serious than the spontaneous bleeds that can occur in people not taking the drug, concludes a study led by Cardiff University.

Published in the journal Public Library of Science, the extensive study of literature on aspirin reveals that while regular use of the drug increases the risk of stomach bleeds by about a half, there is no valid evidence that any of these bleeds are fatal.

Professor Peter Elwood from Cardiff University’s School of Medicine said: “Although many people use aspirin daily to reduce the risk of health problems such as cancer and heart disease, the wider use of the drug is severely limited because of the side effect of bleeding from the stomach…”

“With our study showing that there is no increased risk of death from stomach bleeding in people who take regular aspirin, we hope there will be better confidence in the drug and wider use of it by older people, leading to important reductions in deaths and disablement from heart disease and cancer across the community.”

Professor Peter Elwood, School of Medicine
Heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death and disability across the world, and research has shown that a small daily dose of aspirin can reduce the occurrence of both diseases by around 20-30%.

Recent research has also shown that low-doses of aspirin given to patients with cancer, alongside chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, is an effective additional treatment, reducing the deaths of patients with bowel, and possibly other cancers, by a further 15%.

The study ‘Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials to ascertain fatal gastrointestinal bleeding events attributable to preventive low-dose aspirin: No evidence of increased risk’ can be found in Public Library of Science.

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November 21, 2014 · 9:56 pm

Daily Aspirin Fails to Help Older Hearts in Japanese Study

It makes sense for people at high risk of heart problems to take aspirin, he concluded.

“For all those people, they should take aspirin for the long haul, because the benefits outweigh the risk,” Gaziano said. “But if you’re very low risk, the benefits of aspirin likely don’t outweigh the risk” of increased bleeding.

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Daily low-dose aspirin therapy may not have significant heart-health benefits for older people, new research suggests.

The study, which involved more than 14,000 Japanese people aged 60 to 85, found no major difference in heart-related deaths or non-fatal heart attacks and strokes between people who took aspirin and those who didn’t.

“It indicates that primary prevention with daily low-dose aspirin does not reduce the combined risk in this population,” said study co-author Dr. Kazuyuki Shimada, of the University of Shin-Oyama City Hospital in Tochigi, Japan.

Despite this study’s findings, people should talk with their doctor before they stop taking aspirin to prevent heart attacks and strokes, said Dr. Michael Gaziano, chief of the division of aging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School.

“Patients need to discuss this with their doctor, because I think it’s difficult to do that calculation of benefit and…

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May 14, 2014 · 1:16 pm

Aspirin or No Aspirin?

“We estimate that individuals with significant plaque buildup in the arteries of the heart are much more likely to prevent a heart attack with aspirin use than to suffer a significant bleed” explains Miedema. “On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you don’t have any calcified plaque, our estimations indicate that use of aspirin would result in more harm than good, even if you have risk factors for heart disease such as high cholesterol or a family history of the disease.”

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Cardiac Screening Test May Help Determine Who Should Take Aspirin to Prevent Heart Attack

A study involving the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation shows that a simple test to measure plaque in the arteries of the heart may help doctors better determine who will and will not benefit from use of aspirin therapy to prevent heart disease.

For over 30 years, aspirin has been known to prevent heart attacks and strokes, but who exactly should take a daily aspirin remains unclear. New research published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes shows that your coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, a measurement of plaque in the arteries that feed the heart, may help determine whether or not you are a good candidate for aspirin.

“Many heart attacks and strokes occur in individuals who do not appear to be at high risk,” states lead author, Michael D Miedema, MD, MPH. “Individuals with known…

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Does Aspirin Prevent Cancer? – American Cancer Society

I have been hearing for years how taking aspirin daily would prevent this or that type of cancer. I admit to confusion on the issue. There always seemed to be new qualifiers to the statement. So, I was thrilled to see an interview with Eric J. Jacobs, Ph.D., American Cancer Society (ACS) Researcher on the ACS website.

Q. Is there, at this point in time, definitive evidence that regular aspirin use may help prevent certain cancers?

A. Yes, there is now definitive evidence that long-term daily aspirin use, even at low doses, will lower risk of developing one type of cancer – colorectal cancer, probably by approximately 40%. However, this benefit is unlikely to “kick in” immediately. There appears to be a delay of several years between when aspirin use is started and when risk of developing colorectal cancer is reduced. Continue reading →