Page 195 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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showed an average 1.3 percent improvement in cognitive performance compared to an 8.4 percent
worsening in the placebo group, a significant difference.

The Pros and Cons of Aspirin

Aspirin remains the top choice among anti-inflammatory agents, because it has two more promemory
actions: antioxidant activity by trapping hydroxyl radicals, and anticlotting property that helps
prevent stroke.

Personal experience makes me a trifle wary of recommending aspirin for everyone. A few years
ago, after my mother had a balloon angioplasty for unstable angina, her cardiologist started her on a
single tablet of aspirin 325 mg daily. A few days later, she noticed blood in the stools. I suggested to
her cardiologist that the aspirin be stopped. Barely five days had elapsed since the angioplasty, so he
was loath to discontinue the aspirin, because he wanted to prevent recurrence of blood clots in the
coronary arteries that supply the heart. Eventually, after considerable coaxing from me, he agreed to
reduce my mother's dose to a baby aspirin (81 mg) daily. A couple of days later, she had further,
massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding, and I rushed her to the emergency room. It was touch and go
for a while, and she required six pints of blood in the intensive care unit before she was stabilized.
After an endoscopic examination, the consultant gastroenterologist found evidence of bleeding and
educated me about the fact that aspirin can cause bleeding from not only the stomach but also lower
down in the intestines. This explained why my mother had both upper and lower gastrointestinal
bleeding that was so severe it had dropped her hemoglobin to one-third the normal concentration in
the blood. She was then switched to ticlopidine (Ticlid) and later to clopidogrel (Plavix), which have
anticoagulant properties similar to aspirin. Obviously, she has not been within a hundred feet of an
aspirin tablet since that time.

While this degree of exquisite sensitivity to aspirin is quite rare, I hope this makes you realize that
even aspirin is not an entirely harmless medication. In fact, if aspirin were presented today to the
FDA as a new drug, it might not be approved because of its high toxicity.

COX-II Inhibitors and the Future

If anti-inflammatory agents can prevent or slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease, then
could they also work against milder forms of memory loss? Merck, the pharmaceutical company that
manufactures rofecoxib (Vioxx), one of the new Cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-II