Minerva

The Society of Medical Writers has launched the 2011 Roger Bacon Biography Award for Medical Students. Up to 5000 words are required about any person, famous or otherwise. They don’t have to be medical but they should offer some features of medical interest. The winning entry will be published in The Writer and the author will win a cash prize of £200. The closing date is 1 December 2011. For more information please telephone Dorothy Crowther on (+44) 017687 74689.

The pharmacodynamic effects of aspirin are reduced in people with type 2 diabetes. To test the theory that such patients might enjoy more effective platelet inhibition if aspirin was given more frequently, patients with type 2 diabetes and stable heart disease were recruited to test out different aspirin regimens. Twice daily low dose aspirin was more effective than once daily as assessed by aspirin sensitive assays and a dose dependent effect on serum levels of thromboxane B₂ (Circulation Cardiovascular Interventions 2011, doi:10.1161/circinterventions.110.960187 …