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'Variety of painkillers' effective against Alzheimer's

29/05/2008

Different types of painkillers including ibuprofen and aspirin are equally effective in lowering the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests.

The research is the largest of its kind to study the effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Previous studies have suggested that a certain group of NSAIDs including ibuprofen may be more beneficial than another group that includes naproxen and aspirin.

For the latest research US scientists examined data on NSAID use in 13,499 people without dementia from six different studies.

Over the course of these six studies, 820 participants developed Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers found that people who used NSAIDs had a 23 per cent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease compared to those who never used NSAIDs.

The risk reduction did not appear to depend upon the type of NSAID taken.

"This is an interesting finding because it seems to challenge a current theory that the NSAID group which includes ibuprofen may work better in reducing a person's risk of Alzheimer's," said study author Dr Peter Zandi from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"The NSAID group that includes ibuprofen was thought to target a certain type of plaque in the brain found in Alzheimer's patients. But our results suggest there may be other reasons why these drugs may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's."