Gene Signature Predicts Aspirin Resistance

National Institutes of Health: July 16th, 2013

About 60 million Americans take an aspirin a day to reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks. But for 10 to 30% of those who follow this recommendation, this preventive therapy turns out not to offer any protection. An NIH-funded team, based at Duke University Medical Center, has discovered a set of blood markers that predict who will benefit from aspirin therapy and who will not [1].

First of all, I’ve got to tell you that acetylsalicylic acid, the scientific name for aspirin, is a pretty amazing drug. German chemist Felix Hoffmann synthesized the first commercial form of the drug more than a hundred years ago to treat headaches, minor aches and pains, and fever—and we’re still discovering nuances about how the drug works, for whom, and for which diseases.  Read more