New form of aspirin is easier on stomachs

ROME, March 17 (UPI) -- Italian researchers have altered the atomic makeup of aspirin to make it less harsh on users' stomach linings, experts said.

Scientists from Turin and Parma Universities added atoms onto the aspirin's main molecule, preventing the common headache drug from destroying the lining of the stomach, head researcher Alberto Gasco said.

Aspirin's destructive impact on stomach tissue has been found to cause ulcers and irritation in its users because of the way it is absorbed into the bloodstream, ANSA reported Monday.

The new form medicine "has no side effects," Gasco said in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

The new aspirin has only gone through trials involving rats, Gasco said.

''But if the results are confirmed by further tests, it should represent a safer alternative to old aspirin in very many clinical applications''.