aspirin
![http://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/diane555?facets={%22pageNumber%22:1,%22perPage%22:100,%22abstractType%22:[%22photos%22,%22illustrations%22,%22video%22,%22audio%22],%22order%22:%22bestMatch%22,%22portfolioID%22:[829226],%22additionalAudio%22:%22true%22,%22f%22:true}](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ab94a82/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2831x1585+0+907/resize/600x336!/format/jpg/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Faarp-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcontent%2F09%2F3c%2F8c4895967f75042b49de6380c8ff%2Fistock-000015755698-large.jpg)
Many Americans take a daily low-dose aspirin to protect against heart disease and stroke, but for the first time a federal advisory panel says taking it can also protect adults in their 50s and 60s against colon cancer.
![http://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/duckycards?facets={%22pageNumber%22:1,%22perPage%22:100,%22abstractType%22:[%22photos%22,%22illustrations%22,%22video%22,%22audio%22],%22order%22:%22bestMatch%22,%22portfolioID%22:[247745],%22additionalAudio%22:%22true%22,%22f%22:true}](https://aarp-content.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bbc5fb2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x896+0+152/resize/600x336!/format/jpg/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Faarp-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcontent%2F36%2F60%2F43802e03a4ef0b5640b5335e3572%2Fistock-000000505895-medium.jpg)
Taking a daily low-dose aspirin to fend off a first heart attack or stroke may work better in people in their 50s — and maybe 60s — than in people who are older or younger, say new recommendations from top preventive medicine experts.
Here’s another reason to limit the use of common painkillers: a higher risk of hearing loss.
Ten years ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that the widely used nonaspirin painkillers ibuprofen and naproxen — including over-the-counter brands such as Advil, Motrin and Aleve — may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.
News, discoveries and ... fun
Is a daily low-dose aspirin losing some of its luster as a cheap, easy way to prevent a heart attack?
Older women who took aspirin at least twice a week had a lower risk of developing melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, a new study finds.
Experts have told us for years that coated aspirin is easier on the stomach, but few have questioned whether that coating might, in fact, reduce aspirin's heart benefits.
It's one of the oldest, cheapest drugs around, which makes it even more remarkable that humble aspirin helped dramatically cut the death rate among people with a specific kind of colon cancer, compared with those who didn't take aspirin, new research shows.
Two new studies, published Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, offer contrasting news about aspirin's potential role in cancer prevention and treatment.