Aspirin
hideAspirin (USAN), also known as acetylsalicylic acid (pronounced /əˌsɛtɪlsælɪˌsɪlɪk ˈæsɪd/, abbreviated ASA), is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication.
Aspirin also has an antiplatelet effect by inhibiting thromboxane prostaglandins, which under normal circumstances bind platelet molecules together to repair damaged blood vessels. This is why aspirin is used in long-term, low doses to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and blood clot formation in people at high risk for developing blood clots. It has also been established that low doses of aspirin may be given immediately after a heart attack to reduce the risk of another heart attack or of the death of cardiac tissue.
The main undesirable side effects of aspirin are gastrointestinal ulcers, stomach bleeding, and tinnitus, especially in higher doses. In children and adolescents, aspirin is no longer used to control flu-like symptoms or the symptoms of chickenpox or other viral illnesses, due to the risk of Reye's syndrome.
Aspirin was the first discovered member of the class of drugs known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), not all of which are salicylates, although they all have similar effects and most have inhibition of the enzyme cyclooxygenase as their mechanism of action. Today, aspirin is one of the most widely used medications in the world, with an estimated 40,000 metric tons of it being consumed each year. In countries where Aspirin is a registered trademark owned by Bayer, the generic term is acetylsalicylic acid (ASA).
For more information about Aspirin, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with aspirin
Got a pain? -- Have a cup of Brazilian mint
Nov 24, 2009 |
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For thousands of years it has been prescribed by traditional healers in Brazil to treat a range of ailments from headaches and stomach pain to fever and flu.
Popular anti-platelet therapy reduces risk of cardiovascular events in men and women
Nov 10, 2009 |
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A new study, published in the November 17, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, adds to a growing body of research seeking to evaluate and understand possible sex differences associated with a ...
Search results for aspirin
What a grind: Bruxism at night likely a sign of stress by day
Nov 27, 2009 |
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You can practically track Steve Barkley's stress by the level of activity in his temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, the hinge joint that connects the lower jaw to the temporal bone of the skull and helps one chew, talk and ...
Sedatives, mood-altering drugs related to falls among elderly
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Falls among elderly people are significantly associated with several classes of drugs, including sedatives often prescribed as sleep aids and medications used to treat mood disorders, according to a study led by a University ...
New Anti-Clotting Medication Not More Effective than Standard Care; Hint of Other Clinical Benefits
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 17, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Two large studies confirmed that an investigational, reversible anti-clotting medication failed to show greater effectiveness than clopidogrel or a placebo for patients undergoing a procedure to open blocked ...
Drug therapy more cost-effective than angioplasty for diabetic patients with heart disease
Nov 17, 2009 |
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Many patients with diabetes should forego angioplasties for heart disease and just take medicine instead, according to a new National Institutes of Health study led by Stanford University School of Medicine researcher Mark ...
Migraine raises risk of most common form of stroke
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Pooling results from 21 studies, involving 622,381 men and women, researchers at Johns Hopkins have affirmed that migraine headaches are associated with more than twofold higher chances of the most common kind of stroke: ...
Early end to key study on benefits of niacin, a B vitamin, in keeping arteries open was premature
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Heart experts at Johns Hopkins are calling premature the early halt of a study by researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center on the benefits of combining extended-release niacin, a B vitamin, ...
Study raises new questions about Merck pill Zetia
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 16, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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(AP) -- A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin - drugs still taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, despite questions raised last year about how well they work.
Role of Statins in Reducing H1N1 Mortality Rates Studied
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers are studying statins, the class of drugs long associated with lowering cholesterol, as a way to reduce H1N1-related deaths.
Nano bubble gum for enhancing drug delivery in gut
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Of the many characteristic traits a drug can have, one of the most desirable is the ability for a drug to be swallowed and absorbed into the bloodstream through the gut. Some drugs, like over-the-counter aspirin, lend themselves ...
Common Pain Relievers May Dilute Power of Flu Shots
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- With flu vaccination season in full swing, research from the University of Rochester Medical Center cautions that use of many common pain killers - Advil, Tylenol, aspirin - at the time of injection may blunt ...
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