Scientist at Bayer is savior of aspirin

[Guest guest]

Posted on Sun, Sep. 15, 2002

Scientist at Bayer is savior of aspirin

Felix Hoffmann's work century ago made drug less harsh on stomach

By a Schleis

Beacon Journal staff writer

Aspirin was an invention 2,500 years in the making, but it took a German

chemist who wanted to relieve his father's arthritis pain to finish the job.

The story actually began with Hippocrates, the father of medicine. The

ancient Greeks learned from him that chewing on the bark of willow trees

helped ease pain, fevers and headaches.

It wasn't until 1829, however, that scientists realized the active

ingredient in the willow plant was salicylic acid. But there was a problem

-- the acid was very hard on stomachs. It was a cure often worse than the

illness; most people couldn't tolerate it.

In 1853, French chemist Frederic Gerhardt found a way to synthesize

the drug, but the process was difficult, and he dropped the idea.

Then in 1897, Felix Hoffmann, working at Bayer in Dusseldorf, Germany,

rediscovered Gerhardt's formula and gave it to his father in a desperate

attempt to relieve his rheumatoid arthritis.

Even though it worked, Bayer wasn't immediately interested in developing the

drug. Instead, the company was intrigued by something else Hoffmann was

working on -- heroin.

As Bayer began marketing cough medicine with heroin -- so-called because it

made people feel heroic -- Hoffmann worked on a way to buffer the harsh

effects of salicylic acid.

Using the same procedure that made other drugs less irritating, Hoffmann

altered the chemical structure of the acid. After secretly conducting trials

of aspirin in Berlin hospitals, Hoffmann went to his boss with results in

hand.

Bayer jumped on board, and the 20th century was introduced to the closest

thing there has been to a miracle drug. Aspirin not only killed pain, but

was also recognized for cooling fevers and reducing inflammation in joints.

Bayer's blockbuster soared to No. 1 on the list of best-selling drugs

worldwide.

In the United States, Bayer received a patent in 1900 that gave it a

monopoly on making the drug. In 1915, aspirin was made into tablets. And

because there weren't enough willow trees around, chemists learned how to

extract the active ingredient from petroleum.

After Germany lost World War I, Bayer was forced to give up its trademarks

to both aspirin and heroin as part of the Treaty of Versailles ending the

war. Bayer's American plants were sold in 1919, and aspirin became a staple

over-the-counter drug.

As for heroin, the drug was widely sold to suppress coughing, relieve the

pain of childbirth and help soldiers with serious war injuries before it was

recognized as being extremely addictive. Since the 1930s, it has been banned

in most countries.

But aspirin's benefits have only compounded with time.

In 1948, a California doctor noticed that of 400 men to whom he prescribed

aspirin, none had suffered a heart attack. In recent years, the U.S. Food

and Drug Administration has confirmed that a regimen of aspirin helps

prevent heart attacks and strokes.

In spite of all that was known about aspirin, it wasn't until the 1970s that

the medical world began to understand how it did what it did. In a nutshell,

scientists discovered that aspirin stops cells from making a chemical that

alerts the brain to the presence of pain.

Today, people around the world consume 70 million pounds of aspirin a year.

In a 1996 national survey by MIT, people were asked which invention they

couldn't live without.

One in five named aspirin.

[Guest guest]

Hi a, great info on aspirin history...good readin at 2 a.m.....I'm

drinking warm milk and taking a second sleeping pill and hope to head to bed

again shortly...the dogs are having a great time in the backyard...they

enjoy chasing the wild turkeys...glad my neighbors are a ways down the

street I am sure they appreciate my talking dogs...hope to get a few more

hours of sleep..buut thanks again for the good reading...I seem to dream

more since starting the sleeping pills...is there a connection to dreams and

elavil? marge

[ ] Scientist at Bayer is savior of aspirin

> Posted on Sun, Sep. 15, 2002

> Scientist at Bayer is savior of aspirin

> Felix Hoffmann's work century ago made drug less harsh on stomach

> By a Schleis

> Beacon Journal staff writer

>

>

> Aspirin was an invention 2,500 years in the making, but it took a German

> chemist who wanted to relieve his father's arthritis pain to finish the

job.

>

> The story actually began with Hippocrates, the father of medicine. The

> ancient Greeks learned from him that chewing on the bark of willow trees

> helped ease pain, fevers and headaches.

>

> It wasn't until 1829, however, that scientists realized the active

> ingredient in the willow plant was salicylic acid. But there was a problem

> -- the acid was very hard on stomachs. It was a cure often worse than the

> illness; most people couldn't tolerate it.

>

> In 1853, French chemist Frederic Gerhardt found a way to

synthesize

> the drug, but the process was difficult, and he dropped the idea.

>

> Then in 1897, Felix Hoffmann, working at Bayer in Dusseldorf, Germany,

> rediscovered Gerhardt's formula and gave it to his father in a desperate

> attempt to relieve his rheumatoid arthritis.

>

> Even though it worked, Bayer wasn't immediately interested in developing

the

> drug. Instead, the company was intrigued by something else Hoffmann was

> working on -- heroin.

>

> As Bayer began marketing cough medicine with heroin -- so-called because

it

> made people feel heroic -- Hoffmann worked on a way to buffer the harsh

> effects of salicylic acid.

>

> Using the same procedure that made other drugs less irritating, Hoffmann

> altered the chemical structure of the acid. After secretly conducting

trials

> of aspirin in Berlin hospitals, Hoffmann went to his boss with results in

> hand.

>

> Bayer jumped on board, and the 20th century was introduced to the closest

> thing there has been to a miracle drug. Aspirin not only killed pain, but

> was also recognized for cooling fevers and reducing inflammation in

joints.

>

> Bayer's blockbuster soared to No. 1 on the list of best-selling drugs

> worldwide.

>

> In the United States, Bayer received a patent in 1900 that gave it a

> monopoly on making the drug. In 1915, aspirin was made into tablets. And

> because there weren't enough willow trees around, chemists learned how to

> extract the active ingredient from petroleum.

>

> After Germany lost World War I, Bayer was forced to give up its trademarks

> to both aspirin and heroin as part of the Treaty of Versailles ending the

> war. Bayer's American plants were sold in 1919, and aspirin became a

staple

> over-the-counter drug.

>

> As for heroin, the drug was widely sold to suppress coughing, relieve the

> pain of childbirth and help soldiers with serious war injuries before it

was

> recognized as being extremely addictive. Since the 1930s, it has been

banned

> in most countries.

>

> But aspirin's benefits have only compounded with time.

>

> In 1948, a California doctor noticed that of 400 men to whom he prescribed

> aspirin, none had suffered a heart attack. In recent years, the U.S. Food

> and Drug Administration has confirmed that a regimen of aspirin helps

> prevent heart attacks and strokes.

>

> In spite of all that was known about aspirin, it wasn't until the 1970s

that

> the medical world began to understand how it did what it did. In a

nutshell,

> scientists discovered that aspirin stops cells from making a chemical that

> alerts the brain to the presence of pain.

>

> Today, people around the world consume 70 million pounds of aspirin a

year.

>

> In a 1996 national survey by MIT, people were asked which invention they

> couldn't live without.

>

> One in five named aspirin.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I agree, Marge. This was such interesting reading, a. I had no idea.

Re: [ ] Scientist at Bayer is savior of aspirin

> Hi a, great info on aspirin history...good readin at 2 a.m.....I'm

> drinking warm milk and taking a second sleeping pill and hope to head

to bed

> again shortly...the dogs are having a great time in the

backyard...they

> enjoy chasing the wild turkeys...glad my neighbors are a ways down the

> street I am sure they appreciate my talking dogs...hope to get a few

more

> hours of sleep..buut thanks again for the good reading...I seem to

dream

> more since starting the sleeping pills...is there a connection to

dreams and

> elavil? marge