New uses for aspirin … and other research

Old drug, new use?The ancient Sumerians and Egyptians used willow bark containing salicylates to treat pain and fevers more than 3500 years ago. In 1897, Bayer chemist Felix Hoffmann synthesised the first aspirin tablet, and 70 years later John Vance explained that it works by inhibiting prostaglandins. Today, aspirin remains one of the most widely used drugs worldwide and new indications for its use can still get researchers excited.This preliminary phase 2 trial of 80 adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) found that six months of taking daily, low dose aspirin (81 mg) significantly reduced their total hepatic fat quantity compared with placebo (−6.6% v 3.6%, mean difference −10.2%) and increased the number of participants achieving 30% hepatic fat reduction (42.5% v 12.5%). The rationale is that reducing hepatic fat prevents inflammation, fibrosis, and eventual progression to liver failure. But further study in a larger sample size is…
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