Researchers Find Molecular Link Behind Aspirin’s Protective Powers

Contact: Sarah Avery Phone: [phone] Email:[e-mail]://www.dukehealth.orgFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016Aspirin ’s ability to reduce the risk of both cardiovascular disease and colon cancer has been a welcome, yet puzzling, attribute of the pain reliever that has been a mainstay in medicine cabinets for more than 100 years. Now researchers atDuke Health have identified a new mechanism of aspirin ’s action that appears to explain the drug’s diverse benefits. Publishing in the journal EBioMedicine, the researchers describe how aspirin directly impacts the function of a gene regulatory protein that not only influences the function of platelets, but also suppresses tumors in the colon.“This research identifies a new way in which aspirin works that was not predicted based on the known pharmacology,” said lead authorDeepak Voora, M.D., assistant professor in Duke ’sCenter for Applied Genomics& Precision Medicine. Voora said aspirin ’s pain-reducing and blood thinning powers have long been traced to its ability to block COX-1, an enzyme involved in both inflammation and blood clotting.“But COX-1 has only partially explained how aspirin works for cardiovascular health,” he said, “and it has not been shown to be implicated in cancer at all.”Instead, Voora and colleagues focused on a pattern of gene activity they call an aspirin response signature the team had previously developed. The signature identified a network of g...

Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - September 7, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news