Good ol’ aspirin..compounded by the (brilliant for the time) German organic chemists in about 1872…found to have, by accident, anti-arthritis and pain properties; in 1900, people in the U.S. were buying aspirin from Canada and sneaking it over the border because it was alot cheaper in Canada than in the U.S. ..(sound familiar??..some things never change)….Then, after WWI, the U.S. basically took the patent away from Bayer and it became generic and widely available.
Along the way, aspirin was found to help prevent stroke and heart attacks, at least in men. For it to work, we need enough aspirin to affect the platelets; the low doses(baby=80mg) may not do that sufficiently, or at least not in most people. We probably should do “aspirin sensitivity testing” to see if our dose is effective; after all, if we take a med(aspirin) for years or decades, shouldn’t we at least see if it is working? I think, in the end, we will end up with a dose closer to one full(325mg) aspirin daily. The downside, of course, is GI(stomach) bleeding/upset. There are risks to all meds.
Now, it has been shown, for a # of years, that aspirin(and possibly other nsaids, or antiinflammatories) may also help prevent certain cancers. Which cancers, and at what dose aspirin, is still unclear(most notably mentioned are colon and breast cancer).
We also know that one aspirin a day will help prevent headaches, or at least cut down on them, in certain people. Aspirin is also in a # of meds(Excedrin, for example) that treat a headache. In fact, 1000mg(3 regular aspirin) may be almost as effective as a triptan(Imitrex, sumatriptan, etc.). Aspirin is also effective for some with arthritis. Further, aspirin may help to prevent blood clots or strokes in certain susceptible people, such as those with anticardiolipin antibodies(immune system is overactive, causing blood clots/miscarriages/strokes). I started publishing on this in 1988, more recently did an update, on this site, on The Immune System and Migraine…I was convinced 26 years ago that the immune system was a key in headache, now am more convinced than ever………
