953 nut 59,020 #1 Posted March 6, 2016 3-6-1899 Bayer patents aspirin On this day in 1899, the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin registers Aspirin, the brand name for acetylsalicylic acid, on behalf of the German pharmaceutical company Friedrich Bayer & Co. Now the most common drug in household medicine cabinets, acetylsalicylic acid was originally made from a chemical found in the bark of willow trees. In its primitive form, the active ingredient, salicin, was used for centuries in folk medicine, beginning in ancient Greece when Hippocrates used it to relieve pain and fever. Known to doctors since the mid-19thcentury, it was used sparingly due to its unpleasant taste and tendency to damage the stomach. In 1897, Bayer employee Felix Hoffman found a way to create a stable form of the drug that was easier and more pleasant to take. (Some evidence shows that Hoffman’s work was really done by a Jewish chemist, Arthur Eichengrun, whose contributions were covered up during the Nazi era.) After obtaining the patent rights, Bayer began distributing aspirin in powder form to physicians to give to their patients one gram at a time. The brand name came from “a” for acetyl, “spir” from the spirea plant (a source of salicin) and the suffix “in,” commonly used for medications. It quickly became the number-one drug worldwide. Aspirin was made available in tablet form and without a prescription in 1915. Two years later, when Bayer’s patent expired during the First World War, the company lost the trademark rights to aspirin in various countries. After the United States entered the war against Germany in April 1917, the Alien Property Custodian, a government agency that administers foreign property, seized Bayer’s U.S. assets. Two years later, the Bayer company name and trademarks for the United States and Canada were auctioned off and purchased by Sterling Products Company, later Sterling Winthrop, for $5.3 million. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 43,211 #3 Posted March 6, 2016 81mg a day keeps the doctor away! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JC 1965 1,532 #4 Posted March 6, 2016 Aspirin is an amazing drug. They are still finding uses for it all the time. I've been taking low dose 81mg. for twenty plus years. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 41,174 #5 Posted March 6, 2016 My breakfast menu for the past 20 years 81mg aspirin blueberries and strawberries whole grain cheerios Except Sundays....today it's Ham, eggs, and home fries 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 59,020 #6 Posted March 6, 2016 4 hours ago, JC 1965 said: They are still finding uses for it all the time. It seems that it may even reduce the likelihood of Colin Cancer. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) last week released draft recommendations around the use of aspirin to help prevent disease, including both cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes) and colorectal cancer. The inclusion of colorectal cancer as part of these guidelines is a first. The USPSTF is a government appointed, but independent, panel of medical experts whose recommendations are highly influential in guiding what doctors tell their patients to do. The new USPSTF recommendations are still a draft. They are currently open for public comment, and USPSTF will review the feedback it gets before making a final decision. There are risks and benefits to regular aspirin use, and the USPSTF weighed both in order to come up with their recommendation. The draft guidelines are recommending that certain adults in their 50s, who are at higher risk of a heart attack or stroke, and do not have risk factors for stomach bleeding, start taking low-dose aspirin daily to help prevent cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. Regular aspirin use can cause serious health problems such as stomach bleeding, which is why no public health organization, including the American Cancer Society, recommends taking aspirin solely to reduce cancer risk. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
