Posted on 03/20/2005 3:49:50 AM PST by billorites
Where aspirin is concerned, there is almost no such thing as bad news.
Take the surprising results of the landmark Women's Health Study released earlier this month by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
The 10-year study showed low-dose aspirin taken daily does not prevent heart attacks in healthy women under 65, as it does in men. But aspirin did appear to protect women against strokes caused by blood clots.
This finding was especially relevant because the women in the study were actually more likely to have strokes than heart attacks, the report's lead investigator says.
``So it's not really disappointing,'' said Dr. Julie Buring.
On the contrary, it got Buring to thinking about the many wonders of this one-cent wonder drug. At very high doses, aspirin soothes inflammation. At medium doses, it kills pain. And, at low doses, it protects against the No. 1 killer of men and women.
``At three different doses, it has three different effects,'' Buring said. ``That's fascinating in itself.''
With new studies lauding aspirin coming out every year - and with the bloom off such Cox-2 painkillers as Vioxx and Celebrex - health care professionals are again marveling at the magical mystery molecule known as acetylsalicylic acid.
Introducing, or rather reintroducing, aspirin: the other white pill.
Indeed, it is probably ingested as often as the other white meat. Worldwide, people pop an estimated 58 billion aspirins a year. Not surprisingly, Americans account for roughly half of that volume, or about 29.2 billion, according to Bayer AG market research.
Seven pharmaceutical giants, led by Bayer and Johnson & Johnson, account for the bulk of the brand names, from good old Bayer Aspirin to St. Joseph's Aspirin for Children.
But analysts no longer track it because most aspirin today is generic, made and sold by no-name manufacturers.
``It's really a commodity,'' said Herman Saftlas, an analyst with Standard & Poor's Equity Services. ``There are just too many private label brands.''
A $29 billion chemical colossus, Bayer claims it is still the No. 1 brand name in aspirin, with 7 percent of the U.S. market. But for younger consumers, its name is no longer synonymous with aspirin the way Kleenex is with tissues. Think Xerox and copier machines.
That said, Bayer can take credit for inventing one of the first wonder drugs.
The fever-breaking and pain-fighting powers of salicylic acid - also known as ``herbal aspirin'' - have been known for ages. Found in white willow bark, it had been used for centuries by both the Chinese and American Indians.
A German chemist discovered the drug in 1897. Felix Hoffman was looking to help his father, an arthritis sufferer. Problem was, the gastric side effects of the top treatment at the time - sodium salicylate - were almost as harsh as the disease itself.
Working at the Farvenfabriken Friedrich Bayer, Hoffman jiggered the old molecule with an eye toward easing its corrosive effects while retaining its anti-inflammatory powers.
In 1899, doctors began prescribing Hoffman's concoction under the inspired name Aspirin. It went over the counter in 1915.
By the 1920s, Bayer's marketing campaign was assuring customers that Aspirin ``does not affect the heart.'' Luckily for Bayer, that proved to be a prophetic case of false advertising.
Today, low-dose aspirin is known not only to reduce heart attacks and strokes, but it may also be helpful in preventing colon cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other forms of senility.
But every story has its dark side. Aspirin, quintessentially a blood thinner, can cause bleeding strokes in older people. And each year, an estimated 16,000 people die of stomach hemorrhages from aspirin. Many more get ulcers from its harsh effects on the stomach.
In this respect, aspirin is much like its fellow compounds, known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs.
Which was why the COX-2 inhibitors - Vioxx, Bextra, Celebrex and so on - entered the picture. Their purported advantage was they relieved arthritis pain without damaging digestive tracts.
When subsequent studies showed the COX-2s increased risks of heart attacks and strokes, the irony was not lost on aspirin makers and lovers alike.
After bad news, after good news, attention always seems to return to good old aspirin
``People were asking, What do I do now that I'm not taking Vioxx?'' recalls Greg Laham, owner of Sullivan's Pharmacy, in Roslindale Square. ``When a new study comes out, too. If you see something out of the New England Journal (of Medicine), then you see a big burst.''
Sadly, since total aspirin sales are no longer tracked, investors have lost one of their more light-hearted market indicators.
The Aspirin Count Theory once held that stocks will fall a year after aspirin production rises. Its corrolary: Prices will rise a year later if aspirin production declines.
What is considered a low dose? I assume a low dose for Ted Kennedy after drinking 20 cases of Thunderbird would be 4 bottles, but what is a low dose for the average person?
Men benefit where women don't??!!Who can NOW sue here?The Almighty?
Before starting to take aspirin (if you're contemplating such a move)I'd encourage you to check with your doctor first because there are rare cases where even low doses of aspiring can cause harm.
bttt
A few months ago, my wife was having so much distress from that plate in her neck that she was kicking me & the dog out of bed every night.
She was taking ( variously ) all the "newer, better stuff"-- celebrex, advil, ultram-- and I finally put my foot down, and suggested she try plain old 325mg enteric asprin, two every four hours, and glucosamine & MSM.
Worked like a charm, peace restored.
81 mg.
My cardiologist recommended 81mg coated aspirin daily, enteric coated fish oil pills with meals, and a glass of red wine before retiring for the night. So far so good.
I still use good old aspirin all the time. It does a great job of reducing pain and fever. If I'm really hurting, I'll go for a BC powder.
Has anyone cured death yet? No? Buh-bye.
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