NEWS: Pharmacy: Old-style arthritis drug trumps new pills

[Guest guest]

Jan. 2, 2005, 7:30PM

PEOPLE'S PHARMACY

Old-fashioned drug trumps new arthritis pills

By JOE and TERESA GRAEDON

King Features Syndicate

First it was Vioxx. Then Bextra and Celebrex were tarnished. Even the

over-the-counter arthritis drug Aleve (naproxen) has been linked to

cardiovascular complications.

ADVERTISEMENT

Several weeks ago a safety expert for the Food and Drug Administration

estimated that as many as 160,000 Americans might have suffered a heart

attack or a stroke as a side effect of Vioxx. With Bextra and Celebrex added

to the list, goodness knows how many drug-induced heart attacks might have

occurred.

Ironically, these pricey prescriptions (more than $3 a pill) were supposed

to be safer than old-fashioned arthritis medicines. We're now learning that

the hype was way out of line.

The oldest arthritis medicine, aspirin, might turn out to be the unsung hero

after all. At just pennies per pill, aspirin remains the best deal in the

pharmacy. No other arthritis drug has ever been shown to be superior to

aspirin for relieving pain or inflammation.

Aspirin has an added benefit. Unlike the medicines now under scrutiny,

aspirin actually lowers the risk for heart attacks and thrombotic (clotting)

strokes. Dozens of studies involving thousands of subjects over several

decades have concluded that aspirin is a lifesaver.

In one of the largest studies of its kind, the Physicians' Health Study

followed 22,000 men for many years. Aspirin lowered the risk of a heart

attack by 44 percent in healthy men. Those at high risk for heart disease

doubled their benefit. The results were so good, the investigators stopped

the study early because they felt it would be unethical to deprive the

physicians on placebo of the benefits of aspirin.

In contrast, the Vioxx and Celebrex studies were halted prematurely because

the results were so alarming. People on the medications developed a

significantly higher risk of heart attack.

Aspirin can even reduce the risk of complications from coronary artery

bypass surgery. In one study (New England Journal of Medicine, Oct. 24,

2002), post-surgical strokes, heart attacks, kidney problems and intestinal

damage were much less common than expected in the patients on low-dose

aspirin. Aspirin can cause bleeding, but even this side effect was less

common than anticipated.

An added bonus to aspirin is its apparent ability to reduce the risk of

cancer. Regular aspirin-users seem to develop fewer tumors of the prostate,

lung, breast, ovary, pancreas or colon. In two separate studies, people

taking aspirin were less likely to develop precancerous colon polyps than

those on placebo (New England Journal of Medicine, March 6, 2003).

Despite all this good news about aspirin, the drug is not without risk.

People can develop ulcers, even bleeding ulcers that are life-threatening.

Some people are allergic to aspirin, and others take medications that are

incompatible.

We have collected information about the pros and cons of this

hundred-year-old wonder drug in our Guide to Key Aspirin Information. Anyone

who would like a copy, please send $1 in check or money order with a long

(No. 10), stamped (60 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons' People's

Pharmacy, No. A-12, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027.

Arthritis sufferers who can tolerate aspirin may want to discuss it with

their doctors. Used with caution, aspirin offers more than pain relief.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/headline/features/2974711