Aspirin use and reduced risk of fatal colon cancer

Article Abstract:

Aspirin is one of a group of drugs known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Aspirin and other NSAIDs have been shown to inhibit tumors in experimental animals, and several large studies have suggested that regular aspirin use might reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in humans as well. Not all studies have confirmed this, however. It is not known how aspirin might accomplish this potentially beneficial feat, and medical researchers are usually cautious about data for which there is not yet any satisfactory explanation. Therefore, a study was conducted to confirm the possible protective effects of aspirin in a large cohort of North American residents. The study analyzed the incidence of deaths from colon cancer and aspirin use in 662,424 people participating in an even larger overall cancer prevention study. Aspirin use among the patients developing colon cancer was compared with aspirin use among randomly selected control subjects from the large cohort; it was found that increased aspirin use was correlated with a decreased rate of death from colon cancer for both men and women. Of course, there are several different risk factors known to influence the development of colorectal cancer, such as fat intake and vegetables in the diet. The data were analyzed again after taking known risk factors into account, but this did not affect the significance of the correlation for aspirin. Men and women who took aspirin more than 16 times per month had about 60 percent of the risk of death from colon cancer as did people who did not take aspirin at all. These results support the suggestion that aspirin may help to reduce the risk of death from colon cancer. Acetaminophen, a common aspirin substitute, was not found to have any such effect. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Risk factors, Colorectal cancer

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Low-dose aspirin therapy in pregnancy

Article Abstract:

The use of regular doses of aspirin during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk for hemorrhage, prolonged pregnancy and prolonged labor. Low doses of aspirin (60-150 milligrams per day), however, may have some therapeutic uses in pregnancy. Studies are currently testing low-dose aspirin therapy as a means of preventing fetal growth retardation, and preeclampsia, a disorder of pregnancy marked by high blood pressure, swelling and protein in the urine. The effect of low-dose aspirin on maternal and fetal blood clotting and fetal circulation was studied. Maternal blood measurements were made of: thromboxane, which induces the blood platelets to aggregate during clotting; prostacyclins, which inhibit platelets from clumping; and prostaglandin, a mediator of thromboxane production. Healthy women in their last three months of pregnancy were given either 20 mg, 60 mg, or 80 mg of aspirin per day, or a daily placebo for the remainder of their pregnancy. Maternal prostaglandin (PGF1) was not affected, but platelet thromboxane production was decreased one week after women received 60 and 80 mg of aspirin. When platelet aggregation was stimulated by the addition of collagen, thromboxane production was inhibited in women receiving both 60 and 80 mg of aspirin. Similar stimulation with adenosine diphosphate (ADP) produced inhibition of thromboxane production after 60 mg of aspirin. Fetal thromboxane, PGF1, platelet aggregation and circulation were unchanged with all doses of aspirin. Therefore, 60-80 mg of aspirin per day during the last three months of pregnancy inhibits maternal platelet thromboxane production without affecting fetal circulation. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Fetus, Preeclampsia, Blood platelets, Hemostasis

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Increased airway leukotriene levels in infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Article Abstract:

Leukotrienes are biologically active compounds, some of which have been found to be potent airway constrictors, specifically C4, D4, and E4. These leukotrienes have been found in the air passages of infants with pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the arteries supplying the lungs) and viral infections. In order to determine if there were increased levels of leukotrienes in the airways of newborns with abnormal development of the lungs and bronchi (bronchopulmonary dysplasia, BPD), 26 infants were studied. The diagnosis of hyaline membrane disease, an acute lung disease seen especially among premature newborns, had been made for 10 of these infants; nine premature infants had BPD. The remaining seven were normal, full-term infants. The results indicate that there were increased levels of leukotrienes in the airways of the infants with BPD as compared with the other two groups. The increased concentration of these compounds in the BPD infants suggests that they may play a role in the abnormal physiology of this disease. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, Measurement, Diseases, Infants (Premature), Premature infants, Leukotrienes, Bronchopulmonary dysplasia

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