ASPREE to evaluate effects of aspirin in elderly
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The Health Partners Research Foundation will enroll 19,000 healthy adults aged 70 years and older in the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly - a study to evaluate whether the potential benefits of low-dose aspirin outweigh the side effects for elderly people. Specifically, ASPREE will weigh the potential of aspirin to prolong healthy lifespan against the risk of bleeding - a well known side-effect of the drug. Researchers will evaluate participants for five years, according to study materials. The study also will evaluate the role aspirin could play in preventing heart disease. Many practitioners prescribe aspirin to help prevent secondary heart attacks and stroke, but this practice came under fire recently, John McNeil, head of the Monash School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine in Australia and a principal investigator for ASPREE, said in a July 6 release