Aspirin to be Tested for Its Effect on Dementia

Clinical trial to be conducted to prove or disprove the effects of aspirin in dementia and to determine if the benefits outweigh the risks.

Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid is used as a painkiller, antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication. Now, it may have a role in fighting dementia. //

Dementia is not a specific disease. It's an overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities.

Aspirin Administration in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Treated With Alteplase
A three month treatment with 300 mg IV aspirin does not improve the functional outcome of alteplase-treated acute ischemic stroke patients. However, the risk of developing SICH and SAEs is enhanced.

Australia-based Monash University has been commissioned by the U.S. based National Institutes of Health to undertake a huge clinical trial to prove or disprove it by 2018.

The local media reported that Monash University in Melbourne has begun a 50 million Australian dollar (41 million U.S. dollar) trial called ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE).

The ASPREE study, for the first time, will determine whether the potential benefits of aspirin outweigh the risks in healthy people aged 70 years and over.

Diseases Related to Old Age
Ageing is referred to the accumulation of changes that brings a person closer to death.

ASPREE aims 16,000 enrolments from Australia and 3000 from the United States to reach a total of 19,000 enrolments in the trial.

ASPREE, led by researchers from Monash University, is a collaborative effort involving; the Menzies Institute, the University of Tasmania, the University of Melbourne, Australian National University, the University of Adelaide and the Berman Centre for Outcomes & Clinical Research at the University of Minnesota in the US.

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Heart Attack - Overview
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Other names for heart attack include acute myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, and coronary occlusion.

ASPREE will study aspirin’s properties such as ability to stop blood platelets clumping together, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes and its impact on neuro-cognitive functions.

The major and active ingredient in aspirin is salicin, known for its anti-inflammatory effect and is derived from willow trees, found in abundance in Australia.