By Edward Pullen, MD | Check out DrPullen.com: A Medical Blog For The Informed Patient.

Aspirin has a long, celebrated history, but researchers continue to come up with new uses for the drug. There will probably be many more uses discovered as the benefits of aspirin are further explored.

The father of modern medicine was Hippocrates who lived sometime between 460 B.C and 377 B.C. Hippocrates left historical records of pain relief treatments, including the use of a powder made from the bark and leaves of the willow tree to help heal headaches, pains and fevers.

By 1829, scientists discovered that it was the compound called salicin in willow trees which produced the pain reliever. Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, is a derivative of salicylic acid and is a mild, non-narcotic analgesic useful in the relief of headaches and muscle and joint aches. The drug works by inhibiting the production of prostaglandins, which sensitize nerve endings to pain, and also aid in blood clotting.

Aspirin was first sold as a powder. In 1915, the first aspirin tablets were made. Interestingly, Aspirin ® and Heroin ® were once trademarks belonging to Bayer. After Germany lost World War I, Bayer was forced to give up both trademarks as part of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

Aspirin is currently used as medication to reduce the function of platelets in the initial formation of a platelet plug to stop bleeding. This platelet plug formation is also the culprit in many myocardial infarctions and strokes. When the lining of blood arteries is disrupted by a cholesterol plaque rupture, platelets rapidly stick to this blood vessel wall and can temporarily obstruct an artery. This can lead to death of some tissues like cardiac muscle and brain cells, which cannot tolerate even brief periods without oxygen supply. That’s why one of the first things paramedics or physicians do when they see a patient they suspect of having a myocardial infarction (heart attack) is have them chew an aspirin. This gets the medication quickly into the blood stream and prevents further platelet clumping at the site of the arterial blockage.

Other uses for aspirin include:

• Stroke prevention;
• Heart attack prevention for patients with a history of heart attacks, and for patients with risk factors like diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and high cholesterol;
• Pain control;
• Anti-inflammatory effectiveness at higher doses;
• Prevention of stent or balloon angioplasty blockage by platelet clumping after vascular procedures (often in combination with other anti-platelet medications).
• Potential uses include reduced risk of colon cancer and recurrence of early stage breast cancer.

Despite all of these potential benefits, aspirin is not for everyone. It can increase the risk of bleeding in people with gastrointestinal problems like peptic ulcers or gastritis, and can increase the risk of Reye’s syndrome in persons under 21 years old. If you have diabetes, high cholesterol, or arterial disease, there may be great benefits to taking a daily dose of aspirin. At your next visit, talk to your physician and see if taking aspirin daily would be a good idea.

Aspirin is one of the most studied medications in the world. Scientists continue to discover that aspirin may hold answers to ailments such as certain cancers or Alzheimer’s disease. Very recent research suggests that aspirin use may reduce the chance of recurrence of early stage breast cancer by as much as 50%.