Evaluation of platelet function using PFA-100® in patients treated with Acetylsalicylic acid and qualified for Trauma and Orthopedic surgery procedures

Complex roles of the old drug aspirin in cancer chemoprevention and therapy

The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent aspirin is widely used for preventing and treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In addition, epidemiologic evidences reveal that aspirin may prevent a variety of human cancers, while data on the association between aspirin and some kinds of cancer are conflicting. Preclinical studies and clinical trials also reveal the therapeutic effect of aspirin on cancer. Although cyclooxygenase is a well-known target of aspirin, recent studies uncover other targets of aspirin and its metabolites, such as AMP-activated protein kinase, cyclin-dependent kinase, heparanase, and histone. Accumulating evidence demonstrate that aspirin may act in different cell types, such as epithelial cell, tumor cell, endothelial cell, platelet, and immune cell. Therefore, aspirin acts on diverse hallmarks of cancer, such as sustained tumor growth, metastasis, angiogenesis, inflammation, and immune evasion. In this review, we focus on recent progress in the use of aspirin for cancer chemoprevention and therapy, and integratively analyze the mechanisms underlying the anticancer effects of aspirin and its metabolites. We also discuss mechanisms of aspirin resistance and describe some derivatives of aspirin, which aim to overcome the adverse effects of aspirin.

Von Willebrand factor revisited

Degenerative aortic valve stenosis is the most common valvular heart disease seen in developed countries. Since the implementation of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, there has been a surge of efforts to improve procedural technique as well as reduce mortality. Until recently, the mainstay method of assessment of valve implantation as well as paravalvular regurgitation has relied heavily on imaging techniques including transesophageal echocardiography and aortic root angiography. There has been a lot of scientific inquiry to identify biomarkers in the management of patients with aortic stenosis. von Willebrand factor activity and high molecular weight multimer level assessment has emerged as an excellent biomarker with intraoperative, point of care potential. These implications can both supplement imaging modalities as well as potentially serve as a more accurate assessment TAVR complications.