Aspirin for the second hundred years: new uses for an old drug.
The history of aspirin can be traced back to ancient Egypt where extract of willow bark was used to treat inflammation. The active component of the extract was identified as the glucoside of salicylic alcohol. The severe gastric side effects associated with the use of sodium salicylate prompted the synthesis of the o-acetyl-derivative as a possible pro-drug. In fact, acetylsalicylic acid was antiinflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic but also ulcerogenic to the stomach. Acetylsalicylic acid was synthesized one hundred years ago, and was mass-produced under the commercial name of 'Aspirin' (Dreser, 1899) by the German company Bayer for the treatment of fever and rheumatism.
Vainio
H
H
Unit of Chemoprevention, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
Morgan
G
G
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000517:prevention & control; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001168:Arthritis / Q000517:prevention & control; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D016861:Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D001241:Aspirin