By:JOSEPH HALL - Aspirin, the little white staple of a million bathroom cabinets, may have struck medicinal gold again.
Already credited with helping to prevent or alleviate arthritic inflammations, heart attacks, strokes and several types of cancer — not to mention headaches and other common pains — the ubiquitous acetylsalicylic acid is now being pegged as a possible balm for urinary problems in men.
According to a study released today by Minnesota's Mayo Clinic, Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may help reduce urinary difficulties, often related to enlarged prostates, by 35 per cent.
It can also lower the risk of actually developing an enlarged prostate by 50 per cent, says the study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
"It (an enlarged prostate) is very, very common among aging men," said epidemiologist Jennifer St. Sauver, the paper's lead author. "And, as our population ages, it will just be more common exponentially."
Enlarged prostates, known medically as benign prostatic hyperplasia, are often associated with urinary problems, including frequent urination, trouble starting urination, a weak urine stream and getting up frequently at night to go to the bathroom.
"The typical scenario with benign prostatic hyperplasia is that men start getting up three to five times a night to urinate and their wives ultimately force them to go see a urologist," said Dr. Michael Lieber, a Mayo urologist and co-investigator of the study, in a statement about the research.
"All this adversely affects men's quality of life."
Previous Mayo studies have estimated that one in four men aged 40 to 50 will suffer from enlarged prostates. Nearly half of men 70 to 80 years old can expect to get the condition.
The researchers cautioned men against dashing to the drugstore to load up on Aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the hope of preventing prostate problems — particularly because the drugs can cause gastric ulcers and bleeding.
"We wouldn't recommend that, partly because this is an epidemiology association study, so we haven't proven causality here," said St. Sauver. "We'd like our finding to be replicated by another group to make sure this wasn't a total fluke.''
Millions of men across the continent are already taking daily dosages of Aspirin for pain and cardiovascular problems, St. Sauver said.
"And our data does suggest that there could be another benefit along with the reason that you are actually taking those drugs."
Just how Aspirin and related drugs may improve urinary problems is unknown, the researchers say. But St. Sauver says two possible mechanisms have been suggested.
"We've hypothesized that the (drugs) could be actually affecting the growth of the prostate cells, so they could be causing increased cell death," she says.
"Alternatively, it could just be reducing inflammation in the urinary pathway and it could be that inflammation itself that is causing increased urinary symptoms."
Whatever the reasons, famed Aspirin researcher Dr. Henry Barnett is not surprised that the pill's medical benefits may be expanding.
Barnett, professor emeritus at the University of Western Ontario's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, says it is already the No. 1 stroke prevention medication in the world and that its coronary and anti-cancer properties are also renowned.
"I just look at that and shake my head and say, `God, isn't that remarkable,'" said Barnett, one of the world's leading experts on Aspirin. .
"Here's a little headache pill ... it's a pillar in vascular disease, it's associated with certain cancers and now this."
Over the past decade, Aspirin use has been credited with helping to reduce the risk of several types of cancers, including those of the colon, throat and mouth.
Source: thestar.com