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Many Americans take a low-dose aspirin daily to protect their heart. It now seems that aspirin can also reduce relapses in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
In a study of people with COPD, researchers found that aspirin was badociated with fewer, but not severe, exacerbations of lung disease. He also reduced moderate and severe bouts of difficult breathing.
More research needed
"This study highlights that the addition of aspirin to current treatment regimens could potentially improve the well-being of patients with chronic heavy disease while reducing the use of health care" said Dr. Ashraf Fawzy, principal investigator. He is a fellowship in Respirology and Critical Care at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
However, Fawzy said more research was needed before recommending that patients start taking aspirin as part of their COPD treatment.
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health of the United States. Fawzy and his colleagues examined nearly 1,700 people with COPD. About 45% of participants reported taking low-dose aspirin regularly at the beginning of the study. (The low dose aspirin is usually 81 mg.)
The researchers found that aspirin users had fewer outbreaks in three years.
Patients also reported a better quality of life and less shortness of breath, compared to patients who did not use aspirin, according to the study.
COPD includes bronchitis and emphysema, two chronic lung diseases. Smoking is the main cause, but long-term environmental exposure to toxic dust or chemicals is another culprit.
No evidence for the moment
According to the American Lung Association, millions of Americans suffer from COPD. It is the third leading cause of death from illness in the country.
There is treatment but no treatment. Medications usually include a bronchodilator that opens the airways, which facilitates breathing, and an anti-inflammatory. In the most severe cases, patients need a constant supply of oxygen.
Aspirin has already shown a benefit in preventing heart attacks and strokes in patients with cardiovascular disease, but its role in COPD has not been clearly defined.
However, as this study can not really prove that aspirin resulted in a reduction in the number of relapses, the experts are not ready to make a general recommendation on the use of aspirin in the treatment of COPD.
"It's really too early to say," said Dr. Alan Mensch, senior vice president of medical affairs for Plainview and Syosset hospitals in Long Island, New York.
"COPD is a chronic condition for which we really have few options for treating patients," said Mensch, who has not participated in the new research.
Randomized controlled trial warranted
New treatments would be welcome, but it's hard to tell from this study whether aspirin actually reduces flare-ups.
This is because it was what is called an observational study. The researchers compared patients who reported taking aspirin or not, but who were not randomly badigned to one group or another.
Fawzy added that "a randomized controlled trial on the use of aspirin in patients with COPD is warranted to rigorously evaluate whether aspirin is beneficial for this population of people." patients. "
A problem in comparing patients with COPD is that many suffer from other conditions. Most patients with COPD, for example, also have cardiovascular disease, Mensch said.
However, he noted that other studies have shown that aspirin can prolong the life of patients with COPD and slow the progression of emphysema. "It can help," said Mensch.
So how exactly can aspirin act magically? Mensch noted that aspirin is an anti-inflammatory, which could explain the reduction of COPD flare-ups.
The report appears in the log Chest.
Image credit: iStock
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