63 replies to this topic

[niner]

In an attempt to improve the GI safety of traditional NSAIDs, a new class of NSAIDs has been developed in which the drug has been associated (non-covalently) with a phosphatidylcholine (PC) molecule.

This is interesting; it provides an alternate hypothesis as to how NSAIDs injure the GI lining. Not having access to the full text, I'll speculate that all you would need to do is mix equimolar solutions of aspirin and PC in an appropriate solvent system, then evaporate off the solvent. In principle we could do that at home. Unfortunately, PC isn't soluble in water.

Nat Med. 1995 Feb;1(2):154-8.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) associate with zwitterionic phospholipids: insight into the mechanism and reversal of NSAID-induced gastrointestinal injury.
Lichtenberger LM, Wang ZM, Romero JJ, Ulloa C, Perez JC, Giraud MN, Barreto JC.

Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston 77030, USA.

The molecular basis of the injurious actions of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is only partly understood. In this study we have obtained evidence, employing both in vitro and in vivo systems, that five NSAIDs have the ability to form a chemical association with zwitterionic phospholipids. Since this same class of phospholipids line the luminal aspects of the mucus gel layer to provide it with non-wettable properties, this intermolecular association may be the mechanism by which NSAIDs attenuate the hydrophobic barrier properties of the upper GI tract. Preassociating a number of NSAIDs with exogenous zwitterionic phospholipids prevented this increase in surface wettability of the mucus gel layer and protected rats against the injurious GI side-effects of these drugs, while enhancing their lipid permeability, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory activity.

PMID: 7585013

[Luminosity]

An alternative view point could be found here, taken from Dr. Leonard Coldwell's website:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Beware dangerous new advice to use daily aspirin to prevent cancer


Before anyone jumps on the latest mainstream media bandwagon and begins taking daily aspirin to prevent cancer, there are several strong reasons to hesitate. To begin with, the study which produced the media storm was flawed and the claimed benefits are highly questionable.
The new aspirin study was conducted by Professor Peter Rothwell at the Stroke Prevention Research Unit at Oxford University. According to the study, taking an aspirin a day could reduce your risk of cancer within three years after beginning the therapy. Only two years earlier, Professor Rothwell published a previous study which suggested that protective benefits would be seen only after 10 years of daily aspirin use.
The new findings are actually just a re-analysis of about 90 previously published studies. For unexplained reasons, the new analysis failed to look at several major US trials which failed to find any protective benefit from aspirin. Also, the average dose of aspirin in the studies which were examined was far above the recommended “safe” dose of 75 mg.

Professor Rothwell appears to have come full circle regarding aspirin. In 2007 he published a study which found that aspirin was a major cause of stroke in the elderly and had caused a sevenfold increase in strokes over the past twenty five years among elderly patients. At the time, he warned that aspirin could soon replace high blood pressure as the leading cause of stroke among the elderly. . . .

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

To see the rest of the article go to:

http://drleonardcold...prevent-cancer/

I would not take aspirin for health purposes. There are better alternatives, including diet and lifestyle. Bayer certainly appreciates the added income though, not that they need it. If there is a key to life and health, something tells me a drug company doesn't have it.

Edited by Luminosity, 07 April 2012 - 10:36 PM.

[niner]

Bayer certainly appreciates the added income though, not that they need it. If there is a key to life and health, something tells me a drug company doesn't have it.

Aspirin went off patent protection before you were born, so I don't think you need to worry about giving money to Bayer. There are a zillion different producers for you to choose from, and aspirin is distinctly NOT a high profit item. It is, OTOH, an amazingly useful drug that could very well contribute a lot to the health of some people, but it has major risk factors as well, so its use needs to be considered carefully. A questionable attack on one piece of the large body of aspirin research or appeals to anti-pharma internet paranoia aren't factors that carry a lot of weight with me; others may differ.

[Mind]

Has the risk of GI bleeding been over-stated by a factor of 4?

[niner]

Has the risk of GI bleeding been over-stated by a factor of 4?

Mostly that article seems to be saying that the death rate has declined over the years due to people taking less NSAIDs and using more proton pump inhibitors. It's not claiming that the danger for a given dose is any different. It intimates that, without basis, I'd say, and also contains a dose of LEF-typical conspiracy claims.

[treonsverdery]

aspirin might be described as spf 2 or 3 as well It takes 2.4 times as much UV b to produce a response

Reduction of the erythema response to ultraviolet light by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents
The effect of three nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents (NSAIA) on ultraviolet B (UV-B)-induced erythema was studied in normal human volunteers. Aspirin, indomethacin, and ibuprofen were administered orally 2 h before exposure to UV-B from fluorescent sunlamps and at 4-h intervals for a total of four doses. The minimal dose of light to produce erythema (MED) was determined for each subject with and without drugs. There was a 240% increase in the mean MED when the NSAIA were given. NSAIA, given orally, can increase the threshold for UV-B-induced erythema when administered near the time of irradiation.

pmid 7165335

Edited by treonsverdery, 01 June 2012 - 11:43 PM.

[niner]

aspirin might be described as spf 2 or 3 as well It takes 2.4 times as much UV b to produce a response

I wonder if that protects the skin as much as an SPF 2.4 sunscreen? Maybe or maybe not, since it's probably reducing the inflammatory response to the damage, rather than the damage itself, although that's just a speculation on my part.

Congratulations on your (soon to be) thousandth post!

[Logic]

What about topical application/absorbtion?
That would bypass the whole stomach issue, possibly provide some SPF and prevent hairloss:
http://www.longecity...n-for-hairloss/

I have already added aspirin to my shampoo.

Thoughts?

Edited by Logic, 05 August 2012 - 12:37 AM.

[Adamzski]

This has been in the news again recently.

 

http://www.cancer.go...esearch/aspirin

 

Is Aspirin the only thing that has ever been even remotely close to proven to reduce cancer risk? 

 

What dose would be recommended?

[sthira]

This has been in the news again recently.

http://www.cancer.go...esearch/aspirin

Is Aspirin the only thing that has ever been even remotely close to proven to reduce cancer risk?

What dose would be recommended?

Aspirin is good! Aspirin is bad!

"...More formal study is needed..."

"...the data are incomplete or even conflicting..."

"...these findings need to be replicated before we can be sure of them," Dr. Umar cautioned.

"...And so, despite its promise, Dr. Umar cautioned that using aspirin ... is still an active area of research and that “long-term trials are needed to answer several important questions..."

Hahaha! This is aspirin. Aspirin! And we wonder why we're so gloomy about the pharmaceutical prospects for the longevity movement? We can't even agree on fucking aspirin.

Haha, and the ever-popular classic quote of all: "...And anybody considering taking aspirin on a regular basis "should talk to their primary care physician first." (= fucking awesome!)

[joelcairo]

The evidence for aspirin is overwhelming, in numerous studies encompassing numerous different types of cancer. Researchers sometimes use an excess of caution. I don't think I've ever seen a positive result reported yet without the caution "more study is needed before making a recommendation".

 

Having said that, aspirin does have gastrointestinal effects and blood thinning effects and is not for everyone.

[Darryl]

Is Aspirin the only thing that has ever been even remotely close to proven to reduce cancer risk? 

 

What dose would be recommended?

 

Nah. A number of commonly prescribed medications for other chronic diseases seem to have some effect on cancer risk. Take our old friend metformin, where use is commonly associated with significantly reduced gastrointestinal and especially hepatic cancer, which is consistent with the fact little metformin escapes the liver to circulate systemically.

 

Franciosi M et al. 2013. Metformin therapy and risk of cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes: systematic review. PloS one, 8(8), e71583.

In observational studies there was a significant association of exposure to metformin with the risk of cancer death [6 studies, 24,410 patients, OR:0.65, 95%CI: 0.53-0.80], all malignancies [18 studies, 561,836 patients, OR:0.73, 95%CI: 0.61-0.88], liver [8 studies, 312,742 patients, OR:0.34; 95%CI: 0.19-0.60] colorectal [12 studies, 871,365 patients, OR:0.83, 95%CI: 0.74–0.92], pancreas [9 studies, 847,248 patients, OR:0.56, 95%CI: 0.36–0.86], stomach [2 studies, 100701 patients, OR:0.83, 95%CI: 0.76–0.91], and esophagus cancer [2 studies, 100694 patients, OR:0.90, 95%CI: 0.83–0.98]. 

 

Thakkar B et al. 2013. Metformin and sulfonylureas in relation to cancer risk in type II diabetes patients: a meta-analysis using primary data of published studies.Metabolism, 62(7), 922-934.

Analysis of 24 metformin studies in subjects with T2DM showed that metformin use is associated with reduced risk for the development of cancer, in both cohort (RR=0.70 [95% CI=0.67–0.73]) and case–control studies (OR=0.90 [95% CI=0.84–0.98]), but this finding was not supported by RCTs (RR=1.01[95% CI=0.81–1.26]). Data from 18 sulfonylurea studies in subjects with T2DM showed that sulfonylurea use is associated with an increase in all-cancer risk, in cohort studies (RR=1.55 [95% CI=1.48 -1.63]),

 

Yin M et al. 2013. Metformin is associated with survival benefit in cancer patients with concurrent type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The oncologist, 18(12), 1248-1255.

We found that there was a relative survival benefit associated with metformin treatment compared with treatment with other glucose-lowering medications in both overall survival and cancer-specific survival (hazard ratio   = 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.55–0.79 and HR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.46–0.84, respectively). These associations were also observed in subgroups by cancer type and country.

 

Gandini S et al. 2014. Metformin and cancer risk and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis taking into account biases and confounders. Cancer Prevention Research.

Overall cancer incidence was reduced by 31% [summary relative risk (SRR), 0.69; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.52–0.90], although between-study heterogeneity was considerable (I2 = 88%). Cancer mortality was reduced by 34% (SRR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.54–0.81; I2 = 21%). BMI-adjusted studies and studies without time-related biases also showed significant reduction in cancer incidence (SRR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.70–0.96 with I2 = 76% and SRR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.89–0.91 with I2 = 56%, respectively), albeit with lesser magnitude (18% and 10% reduction, respectively). However, studies of cancer mortality and individual organ sites did not consistently show significant reductions across all types of analyses.

 

 

I suspect most non-steroidal anti-inflammatories and CR mimetics/AMPK inhibitors would demonstrate modest cancer preventative effects, given large enough sample sizes.

 

FYI, aspirin is deacetylated in the body in about 20 minutes, and during this short lifetime it irreversibly disables cyclooxygenases by donating its acetyl group. Cox inhibition prevents angiogenesis, which contributes to cancer preventative effects, but also reduces thromboxanes active in clotting, leading to the hemorhaging effects. Deacetylated salicylate inhibits AMPK, and hence may be a systemic CR mimetic.

 

I found taking high-dose aspirin lead to bruising and alarmingly rapid blood donations. Instead, I take 81 mg aspirin, and 794 mg salicylate (as 2 x "Doan's Extra Strength", ea 397 mg salicylate + 50 mg Mg) daily. The Rx drug salsalate has a longer half-life, and would be preferable if it wasn't cost prohibitive.

 

Instead of metformin, I take berberine, where the parent compound or similarly active metabolites do appear to circulate systemically.

Edited by Darryl, 07 November 2015 - 05:32 AM.

[Adamzski]

Thanks great information.

Metformin is very interesting, a drug that can maybe help prevent the secondary cancers would be huge. 

I will look at taking a very low dose of berberine.

 

My girlfriend a nurse here in Korea is much against me taking Aspirin daily but yes I was thinking that a 75mg dose could not hurt.

 

What was the high dose you were taking? And what benefits were you trying to obtain by taking a large dose?

 

At 75mg would you think that this could start to impact the survival of massive traumas like car accidents or lol perhaps axe murderers?

 

With your larger dose it would have to impact the survival of any kind of decent hit even.

 

For younger people it may come into it.

 

Disease and Accidental Causes of Deaths Annual Deaths Death Risk During One's Lifetime

Heart disease 652,486 1 in 5

Cancer 553,888 1 in 7

Stroke 150,074 1 in 24

Hospital Infections 99,000 1 in 38

Flu 59,664 1 in 63

Car accidents 44,757 1 in 84

 

 

 

 

Edited by Adamzski, 07 November 2015 - 06:26 AM.

[pamojja]

 I was thinking that a 75mg dose could not hurt.

 

I take a lot of natural blood-thinners. No combination except with a 81mg baby aspirin makes my blood as thin, for example with finger prick glucose test. And - more worrisome - additionally stools get mingled with blood. Supplemental Phosphatidyl Choline would prevent that most obvious sign of internal bleeding. However, in my case I wouldn't want to take the risk of a daily aspirin.

[joelcairo]

I take vitamin K1 as well, which is healthful in its own right and somewhat offsets the blood thinning effect. In my case I'm not taking aspirin for heart health or to prevent clotting, I'm taking it for cancer protection.

[pamojja]

I take vitamin K1 as well ..  and somewhat offsets the blood thinning effect.

 

Not in my case, with in average 3.4 mg K1, 10 mg K2-mk4 and 330 mcg K2-mk7.

[niner]

I take vitamin K1 as well, which is healthful in its own right and somewhat offsets the blood thinning effect. In my case I'm not taking aspirin for heart health or to prevent clotting, I'm taking it for cancer protection.

 

A deficiency of K can lead to defective clotting, but supplemental K only brings you up to a normal level of clotting, not super-normal.  K works by carboxylating certain glutamate residues in clotting proteins, and once there is enough K to get them all carboxylated, that's as good as it gets.  More K doesn't make a difference at that point. 

 

I take a lot of K, and 81mg of Aspirin is enough to make a difference in my clotting that I can see-- If I cut myself, I get visible subcutaneous bleeding when on aspirin, but it's much less when I'm not using aspirin.

[joelcairo]

This is why I said somewhat. Physiologically I have no way of knowing if my ability to clot is "as good as it gets" or not, so I take supplemental K1.

[Logic]

Ascorbic acid attenuates aspirin-induced gastric damage: role of inducible nitric oxide synthase.

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/17218764

 

Effects of buffered and plain acetylsalicylic acid formulations with and without ascorbic acid on gastric mucosa in healthy subjects.

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/14984384

 

BAYER ASPIRIN PLUS C

http://home.intekom....r/baspir-c.html

 

http://www.huffingto...g_b_529058.html

[pamojja]

 

I take vitamin K1 as well ..  and somewhat offsets the blood thinning effect.

 Not in my case, with in average 3.4 mg K1, 10 mg K2-mk4 and 330 mcg K2-mk7.

Physiologically I have no way of knowing if my ability to clot is "as good as it gets" or not, so I take supplemental K1.

 
The problem with aspirin is that it's prolonged bleeding time isn't reversible, also not by Vitamin K.
 

Ascorbic acid attenuates aspirin-induced gastric damage

 
Again not with me, have been taken in average 23 g/d of ascorbic acid.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia...astrointestinal

 

Blockade of COX-1 by aspirin apparently results in the upregulation of COX-2 as part of a gastric defense^[88] and that taking COX-2 inhibitors concurrently with aspirin increases the gastric mucosal erosion.^[89] Therefore, caution should be exercised if combining aspirin with any "natural" supplements with COX-2-inhibiting properties, such as garlic extracts, curcumin, bilberry, pine bark, ginkgo, fish oil, resveratrol, genistein, quercetin, resorcinol, and others.

 

There you have it:

 

I can take as much garlic extract, curcumin, pine bark, ginkgo, fish oil, resveratrol and quercetin as I do without bleeding. However, adding to this mix only 1 regular baby aspirin isn't a good idea.

[Logic]

Again not with me, have been taken in average 23 g/d of ascorbic acid.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia...astrointestinal

 

Blockade of COX-1 by aspirin apparently results in the upregulation of COX-2 as part of a gastric defense^[88] and that taking COX-2 inhibitors concurrently with aspirin increases the gastric mucosal erosion.^[89] Therefore, caution should be exercised if combining aspirin with any "natural" supplements with COX-2-inhibiting properties, such as garlic extracts, curcumin, bilberry, pine bark, ginkgo, fish oil, resveratrol, genistein, quercetin, resorcinol, and others.

 

There you have it:

 

I can take as much garlic extract, curcumin, pine bark, ginkgo, fish oil, resveratrol and quercetin as I do without bleeding. However, adding to this mix only 1 regular baby aspirin isn't a good idea.

 

 

Two other dietary supplements appear promising to prevent aspirin-induced stomach damage.

The first supplement is DGL, which stands for deglycyrrhizinated licorice. DGL is an extract of the popular herb licorice.

 

The second is called SAMe, which stands for S-adenosyl-methionine. SAMe is an amino acid naturally formed in your body. It's available as a dietary supplement and is mostly used for treating symptoms of depression, arthritis and fibromyalgia. A dose of 500 milligrams of SAMe given together with a large dose of aspirin (1300 milligrams) in a research study reduced the amount of stomach damage by 90 percen

 

http://www.huffingto...g_b_529058.html

[IWS]

For what I know DGL has (limited) healing properties on existing ulcers etc. not a preventive effect for Aspirin side effects, also keep in mind SAMe is considered a blood thinner so not sure if adding it to Aspirin could be a good idea.

[joelcairo]

These side effects are not a problem for everyone. I've been taking aspirin daily for years, and I have not had stomach problems nor have I noticed a difference in bruising or bleeding. As I mentioned I take vitamin K1, but also enough other supplements (mostly skewing towards phytonutrients) that speculating on which ones might be helping would be difficult.

[niner]

One thing to bear in mind is that the stomach erosions are one effect of aspirin, but increased bleeding is a different effect that happens systemically.  If the erosion is bad enough to bleed, then these effects interact and you have a bleeding ulcer.  If you get rid of the erosions, and if that includes the rest of the GI tract, then you've taken away a significant part of the risk, but you could still have a brain bleed, which is probably the worst-case scenario here.

[ceridwen]

My Mother took a small amount of asprin every day. She got macular degeneration and died of STROKES!
She was 92 though

[Kevnzworld]

Another reason to take low dose aspirin?

"Aspirin targets key protein in neurodegenerative diseases
A breakdown product of aspirin blocks cell death associated with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease"

http://www.scienceda...51130084047.htm

[ceridwen]

I'm not sure that low dose asprin is required more like a special form of salicilic acid probably much harder to get. I was wondering though maybe Willow bark tea?

[jeffrg]

I've been taking 81mg of aspirin a day and was telling my Dad about all the great benefits of Aspirin when he said that he read that it was recently reported as being bad for you.  So I looked it up and saw the FDA reversal.  http://articles.merc...de-effects.aspx

 

I don't have a concern of bleeding, except maybe kidney stones, but I would see that.

 

Does the LongeCity community still think it's a good idea?

[Heisok]

I do not know if it is generally more beneficial or not. For me, however, low dose aspirin was associated with Hemorrhoidal type bleeding which would not stop. Weeks. Multiple instances of prolonged flare ups. I take other supplements like vitamin K which can effect bleeding, but removing the aspirin eventually solved the issue each time. I did not test by removing all other supplements other than aspirin, so I am not blaming the aspirin. Just how it interacted with my regimens at each time that the bleeding occurred.

[sthira]

"Alternative theory on how aspirin may thwart cancer"
http://www.scienceda...70208131901.htm

Alternative theory on how aspirin may thwart cancer

08 Feb 2017

Studies abound that point to a role for plain old aspirin in keeping deadly cancers at bay. While aspirin is not yet part of mainstream treatment for any cancer, it is recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for certain adults to help prevent colorectal cancer.

But researchers have puzzled over how exactly the "wonder drug" works to ward off cancer. Most think it has to do with the drug's inflammation-lowering effects.

Now Veterans Affairs (VA) scientists and colleagues in Texas have a new theory, tested successfully in mice and cell cultures. It has to do with aspirin's effects on platelets -- blood cells that form clots to stop bleeding.

The findings appear in the February 2017 issue of Cancer Prevention Research.

Along with clotting, platelets also play a role in forming new blood vessels. That action is normally beneficial, such as when a new clot forms after a wound, and new vessels are needed to redirect blood flow. But the same action can help tumors grow. It's this process that aspirin can interrupt, say the researchers. Their lab tests showed how aspirin blocked the interaction between platelets and cancer cells by shutting down the enzyme COX-1, thereby curbing the number of circulating platelets and their level of activity.

Some of the experiments used regular aspirin from a local drug store. In another phase, the researchers used a special preparation of aspirin combined with phosphatidylcholine, a type of lipid, or fat molecule. The molecule is a main ingredient in soy lecithin. The product, known as Aspirin-PC/PL2200, now in development by Houston-based PLx Pharma, Inc., is designed to ease the gastrointestinal risk associated with standard aspirin.

The enhanced aspirin complex was even stronger against cancer than the regular aspirin. Summarizing their findings, the researchers wrote: "These results suggest that aspirin's chemopreventive effects may be due, in part, to the drug blocking the proneoplastic [supporting new, abnormal growth, as in cancer] action of platelets and [they support] the potential use of Aspirin-PC/PL2200 as an effective and safer chemopreventive agent for colorectal cancer and possibly other cancers."

Dr. Lenard Lichtenberger, who led the research, has a financial stake in PLx Pharma, the company developing the new lipid-based aspirin under the brand name Aspertec. None of the other authors reported potential conflicts of interest. Lichtenberger is a professor of integrative biology and pharmacology at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center.

The VA leader in the group was Dr. Vinod Vijayan, a research health scientist at the DeBakey VAMC and an expert in platelet biology. He is with the site's Center for Translational Research on Inflammatory Diseases. Vijayan is also an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine.

The group says they plan to test the lipid-aspirin complex for safety and efficacy in people at high risk for colorectal cancer in a collaboration with researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Meanwhile, they say their results so far "support the use of low-dose aspirin for chemoprevention." They add that Aspirin-PC/PL2200 has "similar chemopreventive actions to low-dose aspirin and may be more effective."

Journal Reference:

Lenard M. Lichtenberger, Dexing Fang, Roger J. Bick, Brian J. Poindexter, Tri Phan, Angela L. Bergeron, Subhashree Pradhan, Elizabeth J. Dial, K. Vinod Vijayan. Unlocking Aspirin's Chemopreventive Activity: Role of Irreversibly Inhibiting Platelet Cyclooxygenase-1. Cancer Prevention Research, 2017; 10 (2): 142 DOI: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-16-0241