Source: China Daily

04-17-2009 14:17

WASHINGTON – Taking aspirin or similar blood-thinning medication may cause minute bleeding in the brains of older adults, according to a new study.

Bayer aspirin. Taking aspirin or similar blood- thinning medication may cause minute bleeding  in the brains of older adults, according to a  new study.[Agencies]

The report released Monday in the Archives of Neurology found that older patients taking aspirin appeared more likely to have barely-perceptible bouts of cerebral "microbleeding," detected by researchers with the aid of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology.

Compared with patients who did not use anti-clotting drugs, those who took aspirin or another anticoagulant drug, carbasalate calcium, were more likely to have cerebral microbleeds.

The study found that the link between the drugs and microbleeding was particularly pronounced among individuals taking aspirin at higher doses. The drug often is taken as a blood thinner by elderly people to treat or prevent heart disease.

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