NSAIDs Supplement Forward

Abstract

Disclosures: Dr. Fine: Takeda (Advisory Board; honorarium for time and expenses); Pfizer (Speaker, Educational Program AAPM, APS; honorarium and expenses for time spent) Dr. Stanos: Pfizer Consultant (Honorarium); MyMatrix Consultant (Honorarium); Mallinckrodt Consultant (Honorarium) In 1763, the Reverend Edward Stone's eloquent statement to the Earl of Macclesfield, described the first clinical trial in recorded history [1]. “Among the many useful discoveries which this age has made, there are very few which better deserve the attention of the public that what I am going to lay before your Lordship.” His report on the rediscovery of the medicinal value of willow bark for the treatment of painful malaria symptoms was an important part in the early history of aspirin and the practice of medicine. Two hundred and fifty years later, the “discovery” of aspirin and related anti-inflammatory compounds remains an ongoing story highlighting the successes, and sometimes failures, of the pharmaceutical industry, the scientific community, and the expectations of the lay public. Early history as far back of the Egyptian papyrus (approximately 1530 BC) mentions willow bark and its …