Aspirin

Aspirin is a widely used pain-relieving, fever-reducing and anti-inflammatory drug. It is also known as acetylsalicylic acid. It is available over the counter from chemists and other shops.

High doses of aspirin can cause stomach irritation or ulceration and may interfere with platelet function, slowing down the time it takes for wounds to stop bleeding.

Aspirin does not interact with any currently available protease inhibitors or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs).

Aspirin has also been investigated as a treatment for people with HIV because it inhibits prostaglandins, natural body substances which in test-tube studies can stimulate HIV to start replicating in latently infected cells. Prostaglandins may also activate other cytokines which may stimulate HIV replication such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF). However, a test-tube study reported in early 1995 found that aspirin may inhibit HIV replication in some cells but stimulate increased HIV replication in others.1 Furthermore, a trial of aspirin for HIV infection stopped early in February 1995 after participants developed anaemia.

References

  1. Critchfield JW et al. Aspirin and salicylic acid accelerate HIV-1 infection in acutely infected A3.01 cells yet partially inhibit HIV activation from latency. Second National Conference on Human Retroviruses and Related Infections, Washington, abstract 514, 1995

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