Conclusion

Salicylates appear to have been first used therapeutically around 400 BC. aspirin, derived from salycilic and acetic acids, was the first drug to have been synthesised and its formulation is regarded as the foundation of the modern pharmaceutical industry. The benefit of aspirin as a prophylactic after a thrombotic event was first reported twenty-five years ago, in 1974 and its use after coronary or cerebral thrombosis is now virtually mandatory, unless there are signs of intolerance.

The current phase of the aspirin story is however not over, and its possible use in new conditions seems likely to ensure that it will long continue to play a remarkable part in clinical practice.

`Aspirin has a whole host of possibilities that were never envisioned, it really has the extraordinary potential to have benefits in a wide range of diseases.' Charles Hennekens.