Eyes & Eyesight
Daily Aspirin Linked To "Wet" AMD
Date: 12/12/11
Keywords: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), adverse side effects, Ageing, Aspirin, Omega 3, Eyesight Disorders
Ten years ago, doctors were punting a daily dose of aspirin against almost every imaginable ailment and made wild promises like its ability to reduce risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
That was ten years ago and doctors probably did not know better back then (or they did and just kept quiet) and neither did their patients...
However, since then study after study have shown that daily aspirin use increases the risk of intestinal bleeding and potentially fatal haemorrhage.
Adding to that, a recent study showed there was likely no benefit in taking aspirin to help prevent AMD. In fact, the aspirin/AMD connection has come full circle with some very disturbing news for anyone who values their eyesight.
Ten years ago, doctors were punting a daily dose of aspirin against almost every imaginable ailment and made wild promises like its ability to reduce risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
That was ten years ago and doctors probably did not know better back then (or they did and just kept quiet) and neither did their patients...
However, since then study after study have shown that daily aspirin use increases the risk of intestinal bleeding and potentially fatal haemorrhage.
Adding to that, a recent study showed there was likely no benefit in taking aspirin to help prevent AMD. In fact, the aspirin/AMD connection has come full circle with some very disturbing news for anyone who values their eyesight.
Swallow your words doc
Dutch researchers examined more than 4,000 elderly patients. Among these patients, 840 took a daily low-dose aspirin. When the researchers compared records, they found that those who used aspirin were TWO TIMES more likely to develop "wet" AMD — the advanced form of the disease that sharply increases risk of blindness.
Okay, I know that this does not prove that aspirin promotes wet AMD... still, there is a significant link and a very alarming risk that should be taken seriously.
But if your doctor is in pro-aspirin camp, he'll be one of those who's dreamed up this theory that will dispel the AMD/aspirin link: AMD might be linked to cardiovascular disease, and it's more likely that someone fighting that disease will use aspirin.
Luckily, the lead researcher of the Dutch study is one step ahead since he and his colleagues specifically analysed the influence of cardiovascular disease, and they believe it has no sway on the results.
Close but no cigar
Unfortunately, that's as good as it gets because then the researchers continued to say that, the heart health benefits of aspirin therapy outweigh the AMD risks.
Argh!!! It's like banging your head against a brick wall with these entrenched mainstreamers.
So what they are actually saying is: Continue taking your daily aspiring for its heart benefits, because a healthy eye with full visual capacities is of no use in a dead body...
But how much use is living in a body ridden with internal bleeding and eyes, blind from disease?
I know I'm repeating myself, but it's probably worthwhile to mention this again (just in case!): In a 2005 New England Journal of Medicine study, about 20,000 middle-aged women took 100mg of aspirin daily for 10 years. Another group of nearly the same size took a placebo.
Results showed that aspirin provided no protection from heart attack, but did slightly reduce risk of ischemic stroke.
Meanwhile, women in the aspirin group were found to have a 40 per cent increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding severe enough to require transfusions!
Add to that wet AMD and it really is a no-brainer! This "wonder drug" is simply NOT worth the risk.
Sources:
"Regular aspirin users at higher risk of sight problems, research suggests" Martin Evans, The Telegraph, 10/3/11, telegraph.co.uk
Back to topThat was ten years ago and doctors probably did not know better back then (or they did and just kept quiet) and neither did their patients...
However, since then study after study have shown that daily aspirin use increases the risk of intestinal bleeding and potentially fatal haemorrhage.
Adding to that, a recent study showed there was likely no benefit in taking aspirin to help prevent AMD. In fact, the aspirin/AMD connection has come full circle with some very disturbing news for anyone who values their eyesight.
Swallow your words doc
Dutch researchers examined more than 4,000 elderly patients. Among these patients, 840 took a daily low-dose aspirin. When the researchers compared records, they found that those who used aspirin were TWO TIMES more likely to develop "wet" AMD — the advanced form of the disease that sharply increases risk of blindness.
Okay, I know that this does not prove that aspirin promotes wet AMD... still, there is a significant link and a very alarming risk that should be taken seriously.
But if your doctor is in pro-aspirin camp, he'll be one of those who's dreamed up this theory that will dispel the AMD/aspirin link: AMD might be linked to cardiovascular disease, and it's more likely that someone fighting that disease will use aspirin.
Luckily, the lead researcher of the Dutch study is one step ahead since he and his colleagues specifically analysed the influence of cardiovascular disease, and they believe it has no sway on the results.
Close but no cigar
Unfortunately, that's as good as it gets because then the researchers continued to say that, the heart health benefits of aspirin therapy outweigh the AMD risks.
Argh!!! It's like banging your head against a brick wall with these entrenched mainstreamers.
So what they are actually saying is: Continue taking your daily aspiring for its heart benefits, because a healthy eye with full visual capacities is of no use in a dead body...
But how much use is living in a body ridden with internal bleeding and eyes, blind from disease?
I know I'm repeating myself, but it's probably worthwhile to mention this again (just in case!): In a 2005 New England Journal of Medicine study, about 20,000 middle-aged women took 100mg of aspirin daily for 10 years. Another group of nearly the same size took a placebo.
Results showed that aspirin provided no protection from heart attack, but did slightly reduce risk of ischemic stroke.
Meanwhile, women in the aspirin group were found to have a 40 per cent increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding severe enough to require transfusions!
Add to that wet AMD and it really is a no-brainer! This "wonder drug" is simply NOT worth the risk.
Sources:
"Regular aspirin users at higher risk of sight problems, research suggests" Martin Evans, The Telegraph, 10/3/11, telegraph.co.uk
Click here to send to a friendShare thisPrinter friendly version
