The Impact of Aspirin Dose Modification on the Innate Immune Response - Will Lower Dose Aspirin Therapy Reduce the Response to Endotoxin

Detailed Summary

Heart attacks are usually caused by clots in a coronary artery, depriving the heart muscle of blood. Platelets are the main type of blood cell causing clots to form and physicians typically give a combination of two anti-platelet drugs, aspirin and ticagrelor, to treat this. However, aspirin and ticagrelor have effects not just on the platelets but also on the immune system. The investigator has been investigating the effects of different doses of aspirin in heart attack participants when taken alongside ticagrelor, and have found that a new, lower dose of aspirin given twice daily, rather than the usual standard dose once daily, reduces the tendency to bleed whilst on treatment. The investigators are hoping to study the wider effects of different aspirin doses, with and without ticagrelor, and have therefore developed this study. During the two periods of the study, the investigator will give healthy volunteers a combinations of these medications and then stimulate their immune system, in order to see if the medications affect the immune response. The study will involve a period of medication for 10-14 days followed by a day in hospital stimulating the immune system with an injection into the bloodstream of a substance known as endotoxin, which causes temporary flu-like symptoms, followed by blood and urine tests. The investigator will then repeat the process, after a minimum of five weeks, taking a different medication combination and having a further endotoxin injection. The investigator will also keep in contact by telephone until 2 weeks after the end of the medication to ensure participant remain well.

Study Details

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Interventions