Aspirin, one of the oldest and most widely used drugs, prevents COVID-19 infections, Israeli scientists have claimed in ‘exciting’ findings.
In the peer-reviewed research, they found that patients taking small doses of aspirin were 29 percent less likely to test positive, in a sample of Israeli PCR tests. They crossed 10,477 results with medical records treating patients taking preventative drugs.
“We were very excited to see a huge decrease in the number of people who tested positive, and it gives a promising indication that aspirin, such a well-known and inexpensive drug, may be helpful in fighting the pandemic,” he said. Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern of Bar-Ilan University told The Times of Israel.
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In addition to the conclusion that people taking aspirin, developed more than 120 years ago, are less likely to be diagnosed with the virus, Frenkel-Morgenstern made another “important” finding: aspirin users diagnosed with COVID-19 is likely to have a shorter illness – about two days – and is less likely to suffer from the adverse effects of the coronavirus, she reported.
Hospital team members transfer patients to the new coronavirus ward of Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem on 16 November 2020 (Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90)
“This finding regarding ‘long COVID’, a phenomenon that is a real issue, is very important,” said Frenkel-Morgenstern, whose research was earlier in advance. Her study in June, in which she concluded that vitamin D gives people a big boost in the fight against COVID-19, was followed by similar claims from many other researchers.
The aspirin study focused on people who are taking 75 mg doses of “baby” for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, but who do not yet have such diseases. The results were adjusted to take into account age and co-morbidities.
Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern, Head of Bar Ilan University’s Computer Accounting Laboratory for Complex Diseases (courtesy of Bar Ilan University)
The research was conducted by Bar-Ilan, Leumit Health Services and the Barzilai Medical Center, and its findings were published in the peer-reviewed FEBS journal. Prof. Eli Magen, lead author of Barzilai, said: “This observation of the potential beneficial effect of low doses of aspirin on COVID-19 infection is preliminary, but looks very promising.”
Frenkel-Morgenstern said the mechanism by which aspirin appears to reduce the risk of infection is unknown, but she believes it shortens the length of the disease due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
Dr. Eugene Merzon, the principal Leumit scholar who worked on the study, said that despite the limitations of an observational study, as opposed to a complete clinical study, the infection rates could be seen as an indication that aspirin may be important. in the fight against the pandemic. And he said the separate calculations over the length of the disease apparently support the hypothesis.
“The fact that we have seen that it is not only the likelihood of infection but also the duration of the disease indicates the possibility that biological benefits are associated with the use of aspirin,” he said.
Frenkel-Morgenstern said it was early research, which she hoped would lead to a further study, and stressed that she did not recommend people prescribe aspirin.
