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ASPIRIN AND HOMEOSTASIS
NOHA Honorary Member Emanuel Cheraskin, MD, DMD, has written an interesting
new book, Human Health & Homeostasis: Body Balance: Measuring and
Mapping the Steady State. In it he points out many ways that our bodily
systems maintain balance (homeostasis) when they are in superb health.
In his chapter on "Hormones and Homeostasis," he includes a
Aspirin is like a medicinal sledgehammer.
When it eliminates bad prostaglandins, it simultaneously eradicates good
ones too.
description of the prostaglandins, which are formed from the essential
fatty acids that we ingest. The metabolites of the prostaglandins have
powerful opposing actions, like causing or inhibiting the formation of
blood clots and also constricting or dilating our blood vessels. His comments
on aspirin are fascinating:
Of all the wonder drugs this century
has produced, aspirin may be the most important. The breakthrough in
explaining the mechanics of aspirin came in the late 1960s when John
Vane . . . discovered that aspirin stopped the body’s cells from
manufacturing prostaglandins. It accomplishes this action by conducting
a suicide mission to destroy a single cyclooxygenase enzyme, the key
enzyme that controls the production of all prostaglandins. One molecule
of aspirin will totally destroy one cyclooxygenase enzyme. It takes
about four to six hours for the body to make more of the enzyme, so
depending on how much aspirin is taken, the body is making very few
prostaglandins, good or bad. . . .
Aspirin is like a medicinal sledgehammer.
When it eliminates bad prostaglandins, it simultaneously eradicates
good ones too. Someone producing an overbalance of bad prostaglandins
(manifested in a headache or arthritic pain) probably would not mind
canceling some good prostaglandins to get temporary relief. But, doing
so frequently on a long-term basis would decrease prostaglandin formation
throughout the body. When this happens, platelets do not clump properly
(which can give rise to internal bleeding), bicarbonate is not secreted
in the stomach (ulcers can develop), and gastrointestinal (GI) tract
bleeding can take place. Even worse, long-term use of aspirin can eventually
depress the immune system.
Article from NOHA NEWS, Vol. XXV, No. 1, Winter 2000, page
6.
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