Aspirin: from a historical perspective.

Aspirin is one of the oldest medicines. Due to its wide range usage in different fields of medicine, we aimed to present the history, effects and different uses of aspirin in this review. Furthermore, recent patents of novel pharmaceutical interventions in the field of acetylsalicylic acid, expanding treatment options are presented. Literature search was performed in order to reach data and present information about aspirin from a historical perspective. Since its first use as a pain killer, aspirin has found a broad range of use in general medicine, cardiovascular medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, dentistry, gastroenterology, oncology with its different effects. Aspirin, a painkilling gift of history to mankind, with a history dating back to BC and various healing effects, promises to be of greater use in different fields of medicine with the light of recent studies, inspiring more research and gaining more popularity.

Coronary flow reserve is impaired in patients with adult growth hormone (GH) deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: Relationship between adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) and increased cardiovascular disease risk is very well known in hypopituitary patients treated with conventional hormone replacement therapy other than growth hormone (GH) administration. Endothelial dysfunction, an early and reversible event in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, is associated with increased vascular smooth muscle tone, arterial stiffening and intima-media thickness (IMT). Coronary flow reserve (CFR) measurement by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) reflects coronary microvascular and endothelial functions, as a cheaper and an easy screening test. We have used TTDE to evaluate endothelial function and coronary microvascular function in AGHD. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. PATIENTS: A total of 10 GH-deficient adults on conventional replacement therapy other than GH (4 males, 6 females; mean age 37 +/- 11 years) and 15 healthy subjects (7 males, 8 females; mean age 41 +/- 11 years) were studied. Patients and controls were all nonsmokers, normotensive and nondiabetic. MEASUREMENTS: IGF-1, free T4, lipid profile, insulin, glucose, insulin resistance (IR), anthropometrical and physical parameters were recorded. CFR recordings and IMT measurements were performed using the Vivid 7 echocardiography device. RESULTS: IMT were significantly higher in patients than controls (0.70 + 0.19 mm and 0.53 + 0.13 mm, respectively; P = 0.02). CFR was significantly lower in patients than in controls (1.96 +/- 0.35 and 2.62 +/- 0.45, respectively; P < 0.001). CFR was positively correlated with IGF-1 levels (r = 0.54, P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: CFR is significantly lower in adults with GH deficiency than in controls. Direct correlation between CFR and IGF-1 concentrations suggests GH replacement could improve microvascular function and thereby could decrease cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in AGHD.