Medicine Pointing In The Right Direction

Aspirin, like ibuprofen and Voltaren (diclofenac), is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat pain and relieve fever. What distinguishes aspirin from other NSAIDs is its ability to dilute the blood, and it is used to prevent blood clotting in people at risk for heart disease and strokes. Recently, it has also been shown that the risk of some types of cancer can be reduced. How does it work? Aspirin inhibits an enzyme called cyclooxygenase, which produces prostaglandins. These in turn are associated with inflammation, pain and fever. Through the same enzyme aspirin also inhibits the production of substances called thromboxanes. These are responsible for the accumulation of platelets in the blood, a process that is required for hemostasis. That is what we mean when we say that aspirin "dilutes the blood". The mechanism by which aspirin may protect against cancer is not fully understood. However, certain genetic and other features may identify those

Background Mendelian randomization is the random collection of genes from parent to progeny that occurs during gamete formation. It represents a kind of natural randomization in large populations, where the combination of variants of one or more genes determines the intensity of a phenotype [1]. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (pVitD) concentrations are affected by polymorphisms of DHCR7 and CYP2R1 genes, so clustering of a population by its haplotypes allows stratification of lifelong exposure to low or high pVitD levels. Such a natural experiment was described by Afzal et al. [2] to show that in a large European cohort, lifelong exposure to reduced pVitD levels is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. In the human quest for immortality, this evidence would mean that vitamin D supplementation is an easy way to increase life expectancy - a sort of elixir of longevity. However, the results of clinical trials that have challenged this issue remain inconclusive, esp