Aspirin: New Evidence Is Helping Explain Additional Health Benefits and Open Potentia

[Arnold]

Aspirin: New Evidence Is Helping Explain Additional Health Benefits and Open Potential for New Uses

ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2012) - New evidence is helping explain additional health benefits of aspirin. Researchers in Canada, Scotland and Australia have discovered that salicylate, the active ingredient in aspirin, directly increases the activity of the protein AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase), a key player in regulating cell growth and metabolism. AMPK which is considered a cellular fuel-gauge is switched on by exercise and the commonly used anti-diabetic medication metformin.

The research from scientists at McMaster University, the University of Dundee and the University of Melbourne will be published in the April 20 issue of the journal Science.

"We're finding this old dog of aspirin already knows new tricks," said Dr. Greg Steinberg, a co-principal investigator of the study. "In the current paper we show that, in contrast to exercise or metformin which increase AMPK activity by altering the cells energy balance, the effects of salicylate is totally reliant on a single Ser108 amino acid of the beta 1 subunit.

"We show that salicylate increases fat burning and reduces liver fat in obese mice and that this does not occur in genetically modified mice lacking the beta1 subunit of AMPK," he said. Steinberg is an associate professor of medicine in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University and the Canada Research Chair in Metabolism and Obesity.

These findings are important as a large clinical trial is currently underway testing whether salsalate (a well-tolerated aspirin derivative), can prevent Type 2 diabetes.
Salicylate, which is derived from willow bark, and is the active ingredient in aspirin, is believed to be one of the oldest drugs in the world with first reports of its use dating back to an Egyptian papyrus in 1543 BC.

An anti-inflammatory drug first used as a painkiller more than a century ago, aspirin is now given to people at risk of heart attacks and strokes as well as patients with vascular disease. McMaster scientists played a key role in that previous research.

Three studies published last month in the medical journal The Lancet reported that taking an aspirin every day may significantly reduce the risk of many cancers and prevent tumors from spreading. The unanswered question was how this anti-cancer benefit occurs.

With many recent studies showing that metformin may be important for cancer prevention the authors' study raise the interesting possibility that aspirin may also be working in a similar manner; however, further studies are needed as the concentrations of salicylate used in the current study were higher than the cancer trials. Nonetheless, the researchers' results show the one thing that salicylates and metformin hold in common is their ability to activate AMPK.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by McMaster University, via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:
Simon A. Hawley, Morgan D. Fullerton, Fiona A. Ross, Jonathan D. Schertzer, Cyrille Chevtzoff, Katherine J. Walker, Mark W. Peggie, Darya Zibrova, Kevin A. Green, Kirsty J. Mustard, Bruce E. Kemp, Kei Sakamoto, Gregory R. Steinberg, and D. Grahame Hardie. The Ancient Drug Salicylate Directly Activates AMP-Activated Protein Kinase. Science, 19 April 2012 DOI: 10.1126/science.1215327

 

[Watson]

ive read this ^^ but there is also the problem with platelets not fucntioning properly if u take aspirin daily

similar to the problems of long term anti-coagulant treatment (which im on for life - warfarin)

in other words long term "blood thinning" (not really thinning but reducing INR (clot factor)) causes ur platelets to function abnormally and u become a blood clotting bleeder
my mother (going on 30 years on warfarin) has had this multiple times (i thank for bitch for the genetics, JK LOL) and i assume i will in time also

so far shes had several bleeds in her hips and knees, internal, very very painful she said

so i guess there is good and bad in daily aspirin consumption
but if ur on anti-coagulants already, it would be suicidal to take asparin in any form and from what ive read long term aspirin takers are having the same problems with those of us on warfarin

 

[~RaZr~]

Warfarin itself is suicidal Paul. I mean, that shit is basically rat poison. Then again, you could be stuck with daily injections of Lovenox...

Anyways aspirin does have its benefits, as I take hefty dose daily. I think those who DO take 3-6 aspirin tabs (325 mg each) need to be aware of the S/S of bleeding, both externally and internally.

Worse case scenario is a gastric ulcer that completely eats through your stomach wall. Then your f-cked.

 

[Watson]

blood clot right leg, inner vein, 4 inchs partial, just above knee
8 pulmonary embolisms, 5 left lung, 3 tight

(yes i know ive posted this before)

thats why im on warfarin for life hehe, not a choice, i used to have daily clexane injections but terrible bruising under belly button when i was sticking it, other option is heparin(sp?) that caused my mother to re-clot/reform the clot so i guess i wont try that

but because i am on warfarin, i meet with the best hematologists and professors of hematology, i also read enormous amounts about coagulation, which is why i know taking aspirin can screw up ur platelets regardless of the other health benefits

yeah it is essentially rat poison, coumadin, rats arent given controlled doses and eat until they bleed out

personally, knowing what i know, i wouldnt touch aspirin, the problems my mother gets with spontaneous bleeds for no reason and the pain it puts her through,
doc thinks my pain in left hip the other day was a minor one

 

[Watson]

between the purple and green top bottles u can see the king of pop lol

 

[~RaZr~]

Crazy business brother. I'll post something good when I get home tonight.

 

[SFW]

if inflammation is the cause of most diseases, aspirin seems like a logical preventative approach. But who knows...These scientist seem to tell us whatever some big corp tells them to say.

 

[Watson]

this is one of the articles

[h=1]Daily dose of aspirin may do more harm than good: study[/h]January 10, 2012

Millions of people who take a daily dose of aspirin in the hope of preventing a heart attack or stroke risk doing themselves more harm than good, British researchers have warned.
Aspirin has previously been hailed as a "wonder drug" and has come to be regarded as a "just in case" self-medicated measure for millions of healthy patients.
Experts had called for everyone over the age of 45 to consider taking a daily dose of aspirin because it could reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke and prevent some cancers.
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Researchers yesterday called for guidelines to be revised after they found the risk of internal bleeding outweighed potential benefits.
The study of 100,000 healthy people who have taken aspirin, the largest of its kind, found that the drug reduced the risk of heart attacks by about 10 per cent. The risk of "non-trivial" bleeding rose by a third.
The findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggest that, while one heart attack or stroke was averted for every 120 people treated with aspirin over a six-year period, one in 73 people suffered potentially significant bleeding.
The researchers at St George's, University of London, recommended that people who have suffered a heart attack or stroke and are therefore at a high risk of another should still be routinely prescribed aspirin.
However, they raised concerns about the millions of otherwise healthy people taking aspirin in an attempt to prevent their first heart attack or stroke.
The study also found that the risk of dying from cancer was not affected, despite recent studies showing that the drug could prevent bowel cancers.
It has previously been suggested that aspirin could be included in a future "polypill" that everyone over the age of 50 could take to prevent heart problems.
Professor Kausik Ray, the lead author, said: "The beneficial effect of aspirin on preventing future cardiovascular disease events in people with established heart attacks or strokes is indisputable. We urge people with these conditions not to discontinue their medication unless advised to do so by their physicians for valid reasons.
"However, the benefits of aspirin in those individuals not known to have these conditions are far more modest than previously believed and, in fact, aspirin treatment may potentially result in considerable harm due to bleeding."
A spokesman for the Aspirin Foundation said: "We have had no opportunity to review this new publication in scientific detail. Our first response is that it is at odds with so much existing medical opinion."

 

[~RaZr~]

^^^good stuff.

I mean an 81 mg tablet a day MAY NOT be bad. I think once people start hammering 4-5 tablets a day (with no routine physicals or bloodwork), that's when problems start to occur.

If it isn't broke, don't fix it...