Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island Opens Up Recruitment

Pawtucket, RI – Can aspirin prolong a healthy life? Researchers at Memorial Hospital
of Rhode Island are recruiting trying to find out.

The Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) study aims to assess whether
aspirin can not only prolong life, but a life free of physical disability and/ or
dementia for healthy older people.

This study’s sponsor is The National Institute on Aging and Memorial’s Principal
Investigator is Charles Eaton, MD, Director, Center for Primary Care and Prevention.
This study is investigating whether the potential benefits of aspirin in reducing
the risk of heart attack, stroke, memory loss, dementia, physical disability
outweigh the side-effects of possible bleeding in the brain or stomach.
Taking an aspirin a day can be a life-saver. «There’s clear evidence in middle-aged
people that already have cardiovascular disease, strokes and heart attacks, that (an
aspirin) prevents strokes and heart attacks,» said Dr. Charles Eaton of Memorial
Hospital of Rhode Island.

But what about in the elderly? Can an aspirin a day prevent even more than a heart
attack?

«There’s some evidence in the elderly that it might prevent colon cancer… and also
dementia or memory loss,» Eaton said.
That’s what led to the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) study.
Researchers at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island are continuing to recruit. Are you
75 or over? Join thousands of others in a research study for healthy aging and
independence. It’s as simple as taking one pill a day (either Aspirin or placebo)
for about 5 years.
You just have to be age 75 or older.
For more information, please call Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island at (401)
729-2274 or (401) 729-2183.