Aspirin is a well-established, safe and low-cost drug in long-term common use in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, and in the past pain relief and fever reducing medication. The use of aspirin was very popular during the 1918 Spanish pandemic, several decades before its activity against RNA viruses was tested in-vitro. Studies have shown that aspirin, in addition to its well-known anti-inflammatory effects, can alter the textured and altered immune responses by helping the human immune system to some viral diseases.
With this information in mind, Israeli researchers speculated that pretreatment treatment with the use of low-dose aspirin (75mg) could have a beneficial effect on COVID-19 vulnerability and disease duration. A joint team from Leumit Health Services, Bar-Ilan University, and Barzilai Medical Center conducted an observational epidemiological study, using data from Leumit Health Services, a national health maintenance organization in Israel. Their results were recently published in The FEBS Journal.
The researchers analyzed data of 10,477 people tested for COVID-19 during the first wave of COVID-19 in Israel from February 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020. The use of aspirin to improve cardiovascular disease in healthy individuals avoided a 29% lower incidence of COVID-19 infection, compared with aspirin users. The proportion of patients treated with aspirin was significantly lower among the COVID-19-positive individuals, compared with the COVID-19-negative ones. And those subjects treated with aspirin were less associated with the likelihood of COVID-19 infection than those who were not. In addition, the group found that the turnaround time of SARS-CoV-2 PCR test results from positive to negative among patients using COVID-positive aspirin was significantly shorter, and the duration of disease two to three days shorter, depending on patients’ pre-existing conditions.
“This observation on the potential beneficial effect of low doses of aspirin on COVID-19 disease is predictable but seems promising,” says Dr. Eli Magen from Barzilai Medical Center, led the study.
The study’s lead investigator Dr Eugene Merzon, of Leumit Health Services, emphasizes the importance of repeating the results of the study using larger samples, and including hospital patients and other countries, to confirm the results.
Dr. Milana Frenkel-Morgenstern, from the Azrieli Faculty of Science at Bar-Ilan University: “This study sought to better understand the potential beneficial effects of aspirin in supporting systemic battle. human protection COVID-19. We plan to study a larger cohort of patients and in randomized clinical trials. “
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Magazine Reference:
Merzon, E .., et al. (2021) Use of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is associated with a lower incidence of COVID infection – 19. Iris FEBS. doi.org/10.1111/febs.15784.