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New insights into why aspirin works so well

eurekalert.org

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Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#181

Post by tpm »

zabzonk wrote: post #8

annecdata: aspirin is pretty good as an anti-inflamitory and hence pain-killer. the reason i don't take it is that it irritates the stomach, and i have enough issues with my insides as it is (irritable-bowel syndrome - not fun) i currently use cocodamol (codeine and paracetomol) to control my arthritic pain, but it isn't doing so great. at the end of the day, if you really need pain control, you probably want a pure…

There are other, even OTC, painkiller medications that might be worth trying. Diclofenac (Voltaren/Flector etc) or Metamizole (variously banned, prescription-only or OTC seemingly random around the world) for example, and then there some newer non-opioid painkillers maybe worth trying but those are mostly prescription only.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#183

Post by dTal »

ad404b8a372f2b9 wrote: post #152
unwind wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to Wikipedia [1] there is no proven medical effect to curcumin (the yellow substance from turmeric): Laboratory and clinical research have not confirmed any medical use for curcumin. It is difficult to study because it is both unstable and poorly bioavailable. It is unlikely to produce useful leads for drug development. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curcumin#Stability

There are no proven medical effects to many medicines that work wonderfully.

That's oxymoronic - if there are no proven medical effects, definitionally they do not work wonderfully.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#184

Post by pfdietz »

INTPenis wrote: post #124

When you say in 2023 that they have "new insights" as to why a common over the counter drug works it really doesn't instill great confidence in pharma. Seems like we're still grinding up rhino horns and tiger penis and hoping for the best outcome, just that we do it with extensive testing now so we get a statistically acceptable outcome viable for marketing.

If aspirin were introduced today it would be prescription-only drug, and might not even be approved for that.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#185

Post by Fragoel2 »

selfmodruntime wrote: post #128
INTPenis wrote: post #124

When you say in 2023 that they have "new insights" as to why a common over the counter drug works it really doesn't instill great confidence in pharma. Seems like we're still grinding up rhino horns and tiger penis and hoping for the best outcome, just that we do it with extensive testing now so we get a statistically acceptable outcome viable for marketing.

No. Science has all along been testing if something works and then finding out why. Often the „why“ is orders of magnitudes harder to find out than the „if“. For example, we can observe how the brain functions in some instances, but why it works like does will elude us perhaps forever. Highly complex systems like the inner biomechanical workings of our brains are essentially a black box.

For an example in CS, we currently use machine-learning algorithms that work very well in practice. However, why they work so well is still unclear in many cases (although we are making progress).

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#186

Post by drakonka »

archerx wrote: post #39
DoreenMichele wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did not ask for health advice from random internet strangers. Trying to bully someone into following medical advice they didn't ask for is not cool.

[flagged]

I'm not sure what you're trying to say by "Let that poor soul..."

We aren't in a position to "let" or "not let" this person do anything with their own body and medical treatment. We are random people on the Internet. I get feeling the urge to offer unsolicited advice even though I don't necessarily agree with doing it, but the mindset that one is in any kind of position to "let" this complete stranger do something to themselves seems a little egotistical. Calling them a "poor soul" just reinforces that by adding condescension on top.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#187

Post by pfdietz »

simianparrot wrote: post #45
nobody9999 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It's shocking to me how we still refer to paracetamol and ibuprofen in the same breath when their relative risks are so different. And it's shocking to me how we still refer to paracetamol (Acetominophen for us USAians) and ibuprofen in the same breath, when paracetamol might as well be a sugar pill, for all the good it does and ibuprofen is the liniment of the gods!

Ibuprofen being an NSAID is high risk for anyone who’s had stomach ulcers due to its risks involved in causing GI bleeding. For people like me it’s simply not even an option.

While it's rare, ibuprofen is associated with an alarming (but transient) condition called DIAM, Drug-Induced Aseptic Meningitis, and autoimmune reaction that mimics ordinary meningitis. It resolves after the drug leaves the system, but does require the patient to avoid that drug henceforth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug-induced_aseptic_meningiti...

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#188

Post by chatmasta »

selfmodruntime wrote: post #128
INTPenis wrote: post #124

When you say in 2023 that they have "new insights" as to why a common over the counter drug works it really doesn't instill great confidence in pharma. Seems like we're still grinding up rhino horns and tiger penis and hoping for the best outcome, just that we do it with extensive testing now so we get a statistically acceptable outcome viable for marketing.

No. Science has all along been testing if something works and then finding out why. Often the „why“ is orders of magnitudes harder to find out than the „if“. For example, we can observe how the brain functions in some instances, but why it works like does will elude us perhaps forever. Highly complex systems like the inner biomechanical workings of our brains are essentially a black box.

I'm not sure that invalidates GP's point. Your comment is basically just repeating his premise. If we don't understand the why, we don't understand the how. We can spend years testing that "it works," but we're only testing for a specific outcome and checking for specific risks. Without understanding the how or why, we have little way of knowing what we don't know.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#189

Post by drKarl »

jeffparsons wrote: post #173
paulpauper wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paracetamol toxicity is the foremost cause of acute liver failure in the Western world, yup people are shocked when they learn it is good ol' Tylenol that is killing people or making them deathly ill, not those evil steroids or opioids hyped by the media. That is not to say those are not dangerous, but paracetamol is way easier to accidentally overdose. Taking to much of an oral steroid at once will not cause liver f…

Okay, I need to revisit my position. Now I'm shocked that _both_ paracetamol and ibuprofen are available "off the shelf" (without talking to anyone). I wonder if people in general are or were always as blasé about the risks of easily obtainable medicines as the people around me seem to be today. Could trust in government regulations to protect us from harm have the side effect of eroding personal responsibility? Or c…

I'm based in Ireland, and while you can buy paracetamol on the supermarket, you're only allowed by law tú purchase one product of paracetamol at a time. Of course you can enter the shop again and buy another one immediately after or go to another shop, but you can't buy 2 paracetamol products on the same purchase.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#190

Post by oldgradstudent »

wongarsu wrote: post #156
oldgradstudent wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we could reliably show that ground rhino horns and tiger penises work, we'd be using them, or finding an easily mass produced derivatives.

If they'd work we we would quickly start trying to find the one chemical in them that is responsible for that, and once successful find a way to synthesize it from cheaper to source ingredients. In the end you'd just have an ointment that says "active ingredient: acetylsalicylic acid" and it's up to the marketing department whether they want to mention rhinos or not.

That's skipping a few steps.

When insulin was discovered in 1921-2, it was only known that a pancreatic extract that has gone through some specific chemical processes could lower blood sugar.

International units of insulin were initially defined not by the quantity of material, but rather by their effect.

An international unit was defined to be the amount of extract that once given to a 24-hour fasted 1 kg rabbit, would lower its blood glucose level to 45 mg/L.

Only in the 1950s, it was discovered that insulin was a specific protein, and the definition was updated accordingly.

We could use rhino horns well before the chemical is isolated and a synthesized.

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