Expert warns against misuse of aspirin

[Naveed Yaseen]

Dean Faculty of Science and Professor at the Department of Microbiology Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi has warned against the misuse of anti-platelet drug aspirin and sought cooperation from fellow scientists to discover new drugs that were extracted from plants and herbs that have no or minimal side effects.

Dr Kazmi sounded the warning while delivering her presidential address at the 10-day workshop on “Anti-Platelet Properties of Naturally Occurring Chemicals in Pakistani Herbs/Plants”, organised by the Dr AQ Khan Institute of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering (KIBGE) on Monday.

She pointed out that vegetarians had fewer chances of heart attacks and especially mentio0ned that onion, garlic and maize bran were an excellent source of reducing the cholesterol levels in the body and thus preventing cardiac problems.

Dr Kazmi stressed the need of identification of molecular signature of the thrombin platelet hyperactivity to diagnose the symptoms of thrombosis in early stages and thus preventing the fatalities through the disease. “We can treat the patients better if we solve this problem”, she said.

The workshop supervisor, Dr Huzoor Akbar from Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University, USA, gave a presentation on the “Role of platelets in haemostatis and thrombosis with emphasis on the mechanism of platelet activation and inhibition”. The presentation included detailed information on biomedical pathways involved in the process and the role of aspirin and related drugs in inhibiting the hyperactivity of platelets that can lead to heart, kidney failure and other ailments.

He elaborated the amazing role and physiological functions of anti-platelet cells of blood. He informed the audience that a large number of plants and herbs in Pakistan have these types of compounds, which could help in the prevention of heart and circulatory disorders.

Co-Director General KIBGE Dr Abid Azhar said that it was the fourth such workshop that was organised by his institute and was highly appreciated by the scientists and the researchers.

Earlier, Director General of KIBGE Dr Syed Irtifaq Ali welcomed the participants of the workshop and explained that such workshops were held to allow the young researchers gain latest scientific knowledge.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=208946