Aspirin Linked to Macular Degeneration

Well as someone who take a baby aspirin a day, I sat up and paid attention to this one.

Researchers in Australia have found that those who take aspirin regularly may be in danger of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The researchers followed nearly 2,400 study participants for a decade and a half. After 15 years, 3.7% of the study participants who did not take aspirin regularly had developed neovascular AMD, a severe form of macular degeneration. Among those identified as regular aspirin users, more than double that number – 9.3%– were diagnosed with AMD.

Regular aspirin use was defined as taking the drug at least once a week over the course of a year.

“Thoughtful clinicians” may want to consider the study results, doctors from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles said in an invited commentary. Previous studies have also linked aspirin usage to macular degeneration.

The findings were published within days of a proposal from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to expand Medicare coverage for certain forms of AMD. Under the proposal, optical coherence tomography would be covered as a method for assessing treatment response.  

Source: McKnights LTC