Aspirin

[Bazile]

http://www.naturalnews.com/028068_aspirin_health_hazards.html

How accurate is the contents of the above ?
Especially the following -

''...taking an aspirin a day also increases the risk of pancreatic cancer by 86 percent ''

( i've posted this in Body & Soul as well )

[heathfield]

So who are we to believe?...

http://www.cancer.gov/aboutnci/ncicancerbulletin/archive/2004/042004/page4#b

[McMouse]

I was prescribed 75mg aspirin daily some 15 years ago and have been taking it ever since. Had open heart surgery 18 months ago and the hospital team and the referring cardiologist were adamant that I should continue with aspirin. There is a risk of abdominal bleeding but so far I have had no side effects (other than still being alive).

[Bazile]

Indeed heathfield , very confusing

[Teddio]

How many of us are qualified to give an informed opinion on such a complex medical matter ?

[jake-the-peg]

Well you have to dig into the research and not believe what you read second or third hand

Sorry - that means work -but you don't get an informed opinion reading newspapers on stuff like this!

Note natural news don't make it easy by posting a link to their actual reference either ( pet peeve they just want you to tryst what they say)

In fact the only link I can find to that actual claim says Yahoo News October 27, 2003 !

Not impressed!

Note also this article is about 3 years old

In fact most of the actual published papers seem to suggest a reduction in risk for colorectal and pancreatic cancer.

BUT

There is some recent discussion linking Aspirin use to macular degeneration

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Ophthalmology/GeneralOphthalmology/36943

I haven't had a chance to dig into that but the refernce look more encouraging that it's more likely to be serious research.

It wouldn't surprise me that much - reducing the risk of one thing may very well increase the risk of another - there's no magic bullet.

Personall if I was in a high risk group for heart attack or cancer I'd probably take it and make sure I took regular optician check ups

If I was high risk for macular degeneration (close familly with it) I'd probably not

[jake-the-peg]

Doesn't seem to stop people on global warming Teddio :c)

[Teddio]

You're correct Jake. A neighbour of mine is convinced that Global Warming is caused by rockets puncturing the atmosphere ! :c)

[Bazile]

Here is a lenghty discussion from 2010 ( including sqad and the prof ) .

I know you said you have lost interest sqad , but on the off chance that i can rekindle your interest .

Would your opinions posted there have changed due to any developments
to date since 2010 ?

[Bazile]

oops , here it is

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Science/Question967936-6.html

[Sqad]

Bazile.......no.....I remember that discussion and my opinions re. Aspirin remain the same.

[Peter Pedant]

The most recent article is on aspririn and AMD (age related macular degeneration ) and is here:
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1558450#qundefined

The general view appears to be that the results are uncertain
- which is kinda strange because the research involves 2500 pts
and sufferes most from not being randomised so that 'the usual' confounding factors have NOT been excluded

wh is kinda odd since they have spent quite a lot of money on this.

The smart money seems to be on - keep on taking low dose aspirin unless there is a history of AMD in wh case refer to a doctor.

Seems sensible: in my own case I had a TIA and I have no intention of stopping aspirin

[theprof]

Bazile, for the sake of completeness, my opinion also remains the same. Research has been sparse regarding this since the original post with very few published papers on the matter.

MrsProf, who has become a cardiology professor herself in the intervening period, also concurs with me and is adamant that low-dose aspirin has, and continues to be, a lifesaver. For those patients encountering gastric sensitivity to aspirin, enteric coated versions remain available.

[slaney]

Bazile - I've posted an answer to this (aspirin/cancer) on your other post in Body & Soul
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Body-and-Soul/Question1209632.html

[nescio]

increasing the risk by 86% is meaningless, unless you have figures for that risk.
There is a big difference between an 86% increase in something with a one in a billion chance of happening and one with a one in ten chance.

[slaney]

Agree with nescio - the newspapers always quote the relative risk rather than the absolute risk.
For cerebral haemorrhage the risk is something like 0.2 events per 1000 patient years - that is for every 1000 patients treated over 5 years, aspirin therapy would result in 1 excess haemorrhagic stroke.
The risk is fairly low.

[beso]

I heard a report today that aspirin has also been linked to macular degeneration (the most common cause of blindness).

Like may women in the 1950's and 1960s, my mother was addicted to Vincent's powders (containing aspirin and two other drugs) for years and damaged her kidneys. (Bex was another brand of a similar concoction that also did huge damage.)

In her early 70s she developed macular degeneration.

[Bazile]

So , from what i can see , there is no evidence that a low dose aspirin causes cancer

Thank you all, for your contributions .

Hi prof - long time no see you around

[LazyGun]

Just my 2 cents.

I would agree with Sqad, Prof, Slaney et al. Low dose aspirin therapy is useful, with benefits outweighing the risks.

It is also important to consider the source of any reports you are reading. Natural News, in my opinion, is biased against conventional medicine, finding fault and exaggerating risks of standard therapies, and recommending alternative therapies whenever possible.

The common denominator in all their stories is an underlying narrative that standard medical therapy is entirely funded by the evul "big pharma" who care nothing for patients and everything for the bottom line.

The author of the article is Dr. Jay Davidson - but he is not an MD - he has a doctorate in chiropractic.Speaking for myself, I would need to personally verify the colour of the sky before believing what a chiropracter told me :)