Study finds aspirin may slow onset of Alzheimer's
Oct. 25, 20002

By Kathleen Fackelmann
USA TODAY

Regular use of aspirin, or painkillers like it, may prevent Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.

The findings bolster the hope that researchers will one day find a shield against Alzheimer’s, a progressive brain disorder that slowly robs people of their minds and afflicts 4 million people in the United States.

John Breitner, a researcher at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle and his colleagues, knew that other studies had suggested that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as aspirin and ibuprofen, might help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.

To confirm those earlier findings, the team recruited more than 5,000 people age 65 and older who did not have Alzheimer’s. The team asked the recruits if they regularly took NSAIDS.

The team noted how many recruits developed Alzheimer’s during the three-year study. A statistical analysis suggested people taking ibuprofen or naproxen had about a 70 percent reduction in risk. Those taking aspirin, often a low-dose to ward off heart disease, had lowered their risk of Alzheimer’s by about half, he says.

The findings, reported in today’s “Neurology”, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggest that these drugs help only when taken several years before the onset of symptoms. Once mild memory loss sets in, it may be too late, Breitner says.

Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia in people age 65 and older, leads to forgetfulness, personality changes, faulty judgment, language difficulties and in the end, an inability to perform simple tasks.

A variety of factors may cause Alzheimer’s, but some studies suggest a toxic protein in the brain called beta amyloid may play a role in the development of the disease. Some experts believe aspirin and similar drugs may help stave off Alzheimer’s by reducing the amount of beta amyloid in the brain.

This study doesn’t offer scientific proof that aspirin or the other drugs protect against Alzheimer’s, cautions David Knopman, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. That evidence, from larger studies, could take up to five years to roll in.

Until then, the experts say healthy people shouldn’t pop aspirin solely to stave off Alzheimer’s.

“I don’t recommend it,” Breitner says, adding that aspirin and the other drugs can cause stomach bleeding in some users.