Aspirin for the next generation

First used as an analgesic and antipyretic, investigations into aspirin’s anti-inflammatory effects led to its establishment in 1974 as a drug that altered the activity of platelets to influence the course and incidence of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular disease. It became the standard in treatment and prevention of vascular disorders. The 25th International Scientific Meeting on aspirin held at the Royal College of Physicians in London on 24th October 2012 took aspirin into fresh fields, among them cancer, diabetes, dementia and gynaecology.