A decade-long study conducted at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, found that women who took Aspirin, the most commonly prescribed drug for cardiovascular disease (CVD), every alternate day also managed to combat their risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a visual impairment often affecting older adults.
The findings feature in the current issue of Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Details of the study
39,421 women without AMD at the onset of the study were enrolled for the purpose.
Participants were randomly assigned to take a 100 mg aspirin pill every other day or a placebo.
During the 10-year follow-up, 111 women in the aspirin group developed AMD, as against 134 in the placebo group, researchers reveal.
A low-dose aspirin helped lower the risk of developing vision-impairing AMD by 18 percent, researchers highlighted.
Implications of the study
As of now, the researchers feel the positive results are just an indication, requiring further research.
William G. Christen, ScD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, said, “Although our study found no large benefit from low-dose aspirin, the possible modest protective effect we did find warrants further study.”
“If future studies confirm our findings, it could be important to make the public aware of this benefit," he added.
How a potent heart drug could help slash AMD risk?
Risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, and inflammation are common to both medical conditions--heart disease and AMD, researchers explained.
More so, according to the results of another latest study, people diagnosed with early-stage AMD are more vulnerable to developing heart disease.
Thus, aspirin--comprising of the analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory properties--helps reduce the inflammatory marker of C-reactive protein, a protein found in the blood, the levels of which rise in response to inflammation.
Age-related macular degeneration
Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is a vision-impairing condition caused due to a damaged retina. The condition usually affects older adults.
Classified into “dry” and “wet” forms, the condition hampers the ability to distinguish faces. The peripheral vision is enough to ensure other activities of daily life are not hampered.
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