How aspirin was discovered - Krishna Sudhir

Prevoditelj: Irma Komljenović Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

4,000 years ago, the ancient Sumerians made a surprising discovery.

Prije 4000 godina, drevni Sumerani otkrili su nešto zanimljivo.

If they scraped the bark off a particular kind of tree

Kad bi sastrugali koru određene vrte drveta

and ate it,

i pojeli ju,

their pain disappeared.

njihova bi bol nestala.

Little did they know that why they'd found

Nisu ni sumnjali da će njihovo otkriće

was destined to influence the future course of medicine.

utjecati na budući smjer medicine.

What the Sumerians had discovered was a precursor to the medicine known today

Otkriće Sumerana preteča je lijeka kojeg danas zovemo

as aspirin.

aspirin.

Aspirin's active ingredient is found commonly in willow trees

Aktivnu supstancu aspirina može se naći u vrbama

and other wild plants,

i drugim divljim biljkama,

which is how it came to infuse the medical traditions

zbog čega je imao takav utjecaj na tradicije liječenja

of Sumer,

Sumera,

ancient Egypt,

drevnog Egipta,

ancient Greece,

stare Grčke

and other cultures.

i drugih kultura.

Around 400 BC, Hippocrates, thought of as the father of modern medicine,

Oko 400. godine pr. Kr., Hipokrat, smatran ocem moderne medicine,

first recommended chewing willow bark for pain relief

prvi je preporučio žvakanje kore vrbe za olakšanje boli

and making willow leaf tea to ease the pain of childbirth.

i spremanje čaja od vrbina lista za ublažavanje boli poroda.

But it took over 2,000 years for us to comprehensively investigate its potential.

Bilo nam je potrebno više od 2000 godina da opsežno istražimo njegov potencijal.

In the mid-18th century,

Sredinom osamnaestog stoljeća,

an Englishman named Edward Stone ran five years of experiments,

Englez Edward Stone proveo je petogodišnje eksperimente,

showing that willow bark crushed into a powder and eaten

dokazavši da kora vrbe smrvljena u prah i pojedena

could cure a fever.

može izliječiti groznicu.

It took nearly another 70 years for a German pharmacist, Johann Buchner,

Prošlo je skoro 70 godina dok njemački farmaceut Johann Buchner

to finally identify and purify the substance that made all this possible,

napokon nije identificirao i pročistio supstancu koja sve ovo omogućuje,

a compound called salicin.

spoj zvan salicin.

By then, doctors were routinely using willow bark

Do tad je bilo uobičajeno da liječnici koriste koru vrbe

and other salicin-rich plants, like the herb meadowsweet,

i ostale biljke bogate salicinom, poput prave končare,

to ease pain, fever, and inflammation.

za ublažavanje boli, groznice i upala.

But identifying the exact compound suddenly opened up the possibility

No identificiranje točnog spoja otvorilo je mogućnost

of manipulating its form.

manipuliranja njegovim oblikom.

In 1853, a French chemist managed to chemically synthesize the compound,

1853., francuski kemičar uspio je sintetizirati spoj,

creating a substance called acetylsalicylic acid.

stvorivši supstancu koja se zove acetilsalicilna kiselina.

Then in 1897, the pharmaceutical company Bayer found a new method

1897., farmaceutska tvrtka Bayer pronašla je novu metodu

and began marketing the compound as a pain reliever called aspirin.

i spoj počela prodavati kao analgetik zvan aspirin.

This was widely recognized as one of the first synthetic pharmaceutical drugs.

Priznan je kao jedan od prvih sintetskih farmaceutskih lijekova.

Originally, aspirin was just Bayer's brand name:

Izvorno je aspirin bio samo naziv robne marke Bayera:

A for acetyl,

A za acetil

and spir for meadowsweet,

i spir za pravu končaru,

whose botanical name is Spiraea ulmaria.

čiji je botanički naziv Spiraea ulmaria.

Soon, aspirin became synonymous with acetylsalicylic acid.

Uskoro je aspirin postao sinoniman acetilsalicilnoj kiselini.

As its influence grew, aspirin was found to ease not just pain,

Kako je njegov utjecaj rastao, otkrilo se da aspirin ne olakšava samo bol,

but also many inflammation-related problems,

nego i mnoge druge probleme povezane s upalama

like rheumatoid arthritis,

poput reumatoidnog artritisa,

pericarditis, which enflames the fluid-filled sack around the heart,

perikarditisa, upalu ovojnice koja okružuje srce napunjene tekućinom,

and Kawasaki disease,

i Kawasaki bolesti,

where blood vessels become inflamed.

u kojoj dolazi do upale krvnih žila.

Yet, despite aspirin's medical value,

Unatoč medicinskoj važnosti aspirina,

at this point, scientists still didn't actually know how it worked.

u tom trenutku znanstvenici još nisu znali na koji način funkcionira.

In the 1960s and 70s, Swedish and British scientists changed that.

1960-ih i '70-ih, švedski su i britanski znanstvenici to promijenili.

They showed that the drug interrupts the production of certain chemicals

Dokazali su da lijek prekida proizvodnju određenih kemikalija

called prostaglandins,

zvanih prostaglandini,

which control the transmission of pain sensations and inflammation.

koji reguliraju prijenos osjećaja boli i upale.

In 1982, that discovery won the researchers a Nobel Prize in Medicine.

1982. zbog tog su otkrića znanstvenici dobili Nobelovu nagradu za medicinu.

Over time, research has also uncovered aspirin's risks.

S vremenom su istraživanja otkrila i opasnosti aspirina.

Overconsumption can cause bleeding in the intestines and the brain.

Prekomjerno korištenje može uzrokovati krvarenje u crijevima i mozgu.

It can also trigger Reye's Syndrome,

Može uzrokovati i Reyeov sindrom,

a rare but often fatal illness that affects the brain and liver

rijetku, ali često smrtonosnu bolest koja utječe na mozak i jetru

in children with an infection.

kod zaražene djece.

And in the late 20th century,

Krajem 20-og stoljeća,

aspirin's success had been overshadowed by newer pain killers

uspjeh aspirina bio je zasjenjen novijim analgeticima

with fewer side effects,

s manje nuspojava,

like acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

poput acetaminofena i ibuprofena.

But in the 1980s, further discoveries about aspirin's benefits

U 1980-ima, daljnja istraživanja u dobre strane aspirina

revived interest in it.

ponovno su oživjela interes.

In fact, the 1982 Nobel Prize winners also demonstrated

Zapravo, pobjednici Nobelove nagrade 1982. dokazali su da

that aspirin slows production of thromboxanes,

aspirin usporava stvaranje tromboksana,

chemicals that cause clumping of platelets,

kemikalija koje uzrokuju zgrušavanje trombocita,

which in turn form blood clots.

koji stvaraju krvne ugruške.

A landmark clinical trial showed that aspirin reduced heart attack risk by 44%

Kliničko je ispitivanje dokazalo da aspirin smanjuje rizik srčanog udara za 44%

in participants who took the drug.

kod sudionika koji su uzimali lijek.

Today, we prescribe it to people at risk of heart attack or stroke

Danas ga na recept dobivaju ljudi s rizikom srčanog ili moždanog udara

because it cuts the likelihood of clots forming in the arteries

jer smanjuje vjerojatnost stvaranja ugrušaka u arterijama

that supply the heart and brain.

koje opskrbljuju srce i mozak.

Even more intriguingly,

Interesantno je da postoji sve više istraživanja

there's a growing body of research that suggests

koja pokazuju kako je moguće

aspirin reduces the risk of getting and dying from cancer,

da aspirin smanjuje rizik dobivanja i umiranja od raka,

especially colorectal cancer.

osobito raka debelog crijeva.

This might be due to aspirin's anti-platelet effects.

Razlog toga je možda u anti-trombocitnim učincima aspirina.

By reducing platelet activity, aspirin may decrease the levels of a certain protein

Smanjenjem aktivnosti trombocita, aspirin smanjuje i razine određenog proteina

that helps cancer cells spread.

koji pomaže pri širenju stanica raka.

These discoveries have transformed aspirin from a mere pain reliever

Ta su otkrića aspirin pretvorila iz običnog analgetika

to a potentially life-saving treatment.

u lijek koji može spašavati živote.

Today, we consume about 100 billion aspirin tablets each year,

Danas je potrošeno oko 100 milijardi tableta aspirina godišnje,

and researchers continue searching for new applications.

a istraživači nastavljaju tražiti njegove nove primjene.

Already, aspirin's versatility has transformed modern medicine,

Raznolikost aspirina već je sad transformirala modernu medicinu,

which is astounding considering its humble beginnings

što je zadivljujuće s obzirom na njegove skromne početke

in a scraping of willow bark.

grebanja kore vrbe.