Low-dose aspirin therapy may increase risk of age-related macular degeneration

Take this seatbelt and call me in the morning

“Do you wear a seatbelt when you drive?”

I was surprised when my M.D. asked this question. After all, it was a bit off the topic of my health. But I answered, “Of course.”

“Then why wouldn’t you take the precaution of using a daily aspirin?”

Oh brother! Because seatbelts don’t cause internal bleeding.

If he and I were having that conversation today, I’d be able to add another good reason to pass on the daily aspirin. And this one is a real deal-breaker. Especially for older patients. Yes, the very patients who are most likely to be convinced to use aspirin therapy.

Healthy eyes in a living body

Ten years ago, a doctor might have pumped up the daily aspirin sales pitch with an added promise. Back then, some researchers believed it could reduce risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

That benefit link didn’t pan out. In fact, the aspirin/AMD connection has come full circle with some very disturbing news.

Researchers in the Netherlands examined more than 4,000 elderly subjects. Many of them took a daily low-dose aspirin. Analysis showed that those who used aspirin were TWICE as likely to develop “wet” AMD.

That’s the advanced form of the disease. And it sharply increases your risk of blindness.

This doesn’t prove that aspirin promotes wet AMD. But we should take this potential link seriously until further research reveals what’s going on.

The pro-aspirin types already developed a theory to discount these results. They say there might be an AMD link to heart disease. So it’s more likely that someone fighting that disease will use aspirin.

But the lead researcher says, “No.”

He and his colleagues analyzed the influence of heart disease. They found it has no sway on the results.

Nevertheless, he went on to share his opinion that the heart health benefits of aspirin therapy outweigh the AMD risks.

He said, “A healthy eye with full visual capacities is of no use in a dead body.”

But how about an eye, blind from disease, in a living body that also suffers from dangerous internal bleeding?

In a 2005 study, about 20,000 middle-aged women took 100 mg of aspirin daily for 10 years. Another group took a placebo.

Results showed that aspirin provided ZERO protection from heart attack. Meanwhile, women in the aspirin group had a significantly increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. In some cases, the bleeding was severe enough to require transfusions!

In study after study, this is the reality. Daily aspirin use increases risk of bleeding and potentially fatal hemorrhage.

Now, add wet AMD as a risk. The conclusion is easy. This “wonder drug” is far from wonderful.

Sources:
“Regular aspirin users at higher risk of sight problems, research suggests” Martin Evans, The Telegraph, 10/3/11, telegraph.co.uk