The use of the primary ingredient of aspirin as a medicine, goes back thousands of years. Clay tablets from ancient Sumer describe the preparation of that primary ingredient, salicylate, from willow bark, and enumerate a laundry list of ailments that it could be used to treat. In the late nineteenth century, the acetylsalicylic acid form of the drug was marketed around the world by the Bayer company of Germany. In the 20th century, aspirin was found to be effective at lowering fever, reducing pain, and treating rheumatic fever.
It has also been used to treat inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, pericarditis, and Kawasaki disease. It reduces the risk of death from heart attack and stroke in people who are at high risk for those events. There is also some evidence that aspirin in effective at preventing colorectal cancer. No wonder it has been considered a “wonder drug.”
There is some risk of intestinal bleeding from aspirin, but the benefit of low dose aspirin in preventing and treating the conditions that it does, are thought to outweigh any problems caused by such bleeding, particularly for people under 70 years old.
Now it appears that there is yet another benefit to be gained from taking aspirin on a regular basis. A peer-reviewed paper that appeared in the 24 November 2020 issue of Cell Death Discovery, from the prestigious Nature family of scientific journals, describes a surprising discovery in some experiments done with lab mice.
It has been known since the 1930s that when a wide variety of animals are restricted in the number of calories that they consume, that they live longer. People have taken up the practice of calorie restriction, and in so doing have lengthened their healthy lifespan. Calorie restriction works, but it is difficult to sustain on an ongoing basis. Only a relatively small number of highly motivated people have been able to keep it up year after year.
More recently, it has been found that the effect brought on by severe calorie restriction can be achieved with the practice of intermittent fasting. This differs from calorie restriction in that rather than limiting the number of calories consumed in a day, an intermittent fast limits the window of time during which food may be consumed, leaving longer intervals during which the body shifts into fasting mode. For example, one might do all of a day’s eating during a six-hour period, and then consume nothing but water and black coffee or tea during the other 18 hours. Intermittent fasting is a calorie restriction mimetic, having essentially the same effect on the body’s operation as does calorie restriction.
Surprisingly, aspirin is also a calorie restriction mimetic. Aspirin produces major metabolic changes that are like those induced by fasting. When administered to the lab mice, aspirin reduced protein deacetylation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and cranked up autophagy. Autophagy is the process of clearing out old, tired cells that are no longer doing their job. The result was a better functioning, more youthful mouse. Autophagy is one of those processes that normally declines as an organism ages. By propping up the process with aspirin, the effects of aging are diminished. Studies must be conducted in people before we can draw strong conclusions. However, based on the mouse data, it seems possible that daily aspirin might be just the ticket for a longer, healthier life.
BIO:
Allen G. Taylor is a 40-year veteran of the computer industry and the author of over 40 books, including Develop Microsoft HoloLens Apps Now, Get Fit with Apple Watch, Cruise for Free, SQL For Dummies, 9th Edition, Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies, Database Development For Dummies, Access Power Programming with VBA, and SQL All-In-One For Dummies, Third Edition. He lectures internationally on astronomy, databases, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He also teaches database development and Crystal Reports through a leading online education provider. For the latest news on Allen’s activities, check out his blog at wwwallengtaylor.com or contact him at allen.taylor@ieee.org.