Increased susceptibility of aging gastric mucosa to injury and delayed healing: Clinical implications.

Increased susceptibility of aging gastric mucosa to injury and delayed healing: Clinical implications. World J Gastroenterol. 2018 Nov 14;24(42):4721-4727 Authors: Tarnawski AS, Ahluwalia A Abstract In this editorial we comment on the article by Fukushi K et al published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology 2018; 24(34): 3908-3918. We focus specifically on the mechanisms of the anti-thrombotic action of aspirin, gastric mucosal injury and aging-related increased susceptibility of gastric mucosa to injury. Aspirin is widely used not only for the management of acute and chronic pain and arthritis, but also importantly for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarcts and strokes. Clinical trials have consistently shown that antiplatelet therapy with long term, low dose aspirin (LDA) - 75 to 325 mg daily, dramatically reduces the risk of non-fatal myocardial infarcts, stroke and mortality in patients with established arterial diseases. However, such treatment considerably increases the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) ulcerations and serious bleeding by > 2-4 fold, especially in aging individuals. This risk is further increased in patients using LDA together with other antiplatelet agents, other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) and/or alcohol, or in patients with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. Previous studies by our group and others have demon...
Source: World Journal of Gastroenterology : WJG - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: World J Gastroenterol Source Type: research