Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
Something Old becomes Something New
972 - Something Old becomes Something New
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr Norbert Herzog.
And I’m Dr. David Niesel
We sometimes forget with all the modern painkillers out there, what a wonder drug good old aspirin is.
The active chemical in aspirin is salicin, which was first extracted from Willow tree bark, and the modern form is the synthetic acetylsalicylic acid.
Aspirin began as a pain reliever as early as ancient Egypt and in four thousand BC when Hippocrates wrote about its use as a fever reducer.
In the nineteen fifties, people began taking it to prevent a heart attack or stroke for its blood thinning effect. Soon, it was prescribed to prevent a second cardiac event in those people, but that for some that can carry the risk of stomach bleeds.
The newest discovery of aspirin’s healing wonder is its role in cancer. It can prevent metastasis, or the spread of cancer, by stimulating a person’s immune response.
What aspirin does is inhibit a chemical called cyclooxygenase which then inhibits the production of another chemical called thromboxane A two. That then allows for T cells that were already around a tumor site to respond more robustly.
Experiments showed that genetically modified mice had activated T cells at the tumor site which kept cancer cells from spreading to the liver and lungs. Aspirin essentially does the same thing through the reduction of thromboxane A two.
For many years, aspirin has been called the “Wonder Drug” for its many benefits. With this new discovery, it may just be the MVP of drugs!
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.com or listen to our podcast on your favorite podcast service.
