[Infowarrior] - Ibuprofen may reduce risk of Parkinson's disease

[Richard Forno]

Ibuprofen may reduce risk of Parkinson's disease

By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY

Updated Mar 02, 2011 5:00 PM |

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/story/2011/03/Ibuprofen-may-reduce-risk-of-getting-Parkinsons-disease-by-a-third/44420904/1?csp=34news

Regular use of the common over-the-counter pain reliever ibuprofen may cut the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a new study suggests.

In one of the largest studies to investigate the possible benefits of the drug on Parkinson's — a brain disorder that causes tremors and movement problems and affects mostly elderly people — Harvard Medical School scientists found that people who take ibuprofen regularly have a 38% lower risk of developing the condition, compared to those who don't use it. Other pain relievers, such as aspirin and acetaminophen, did not show the same effect, researchers said.

"Our study suggests ibuprofen could be a potential neuroprotective agent against Parkinson's," says author Xiang Gao, a research scientist at Harvard School of Public Health, and instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. The study was published in the online edition of the journal Neurology on Wednesday and is scheduled to appear in the March 8, print edition.

Researchers analyzed data taken from 136,197 nurses and other health professionals who reported their use of ibuprofen and similar pain relievers, known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. Taking ibuprofen two or more times a week was considered regular use.

After six years, 291 participants were diagnosed with Parkinson's; people who took ibuprofen regularly had a 38% lower risk of developing the disorder compared to those who didn't use the drug. Additional analysis combining several other studies on ibuprofen and other NSAIDs showed ibuprofen users had a 27% lower risk of developing the disease, scientists found.

The idea that there is inflammation involved in the process of Parkinson's is not new, says neurologist Alessandro Di Rocco, director of the Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Division at NYU's Langone Medical Center. Knowing ibuprofen may have a positive impact though, is a step further, he says.

"By understanding what chemical interactions in the brain are affected by ibuprofen, we may gain a broader understanding of what causes the disease and develop more effective ways to intervene to stop its progression," says Di Rocco.

In the general population, about 16% regularly use ibuprofen, says Gao. Among Parkinson's patients, close to 10% do.

It's too early for doctors to prescribe ibuprofen to prevent Parkinson's, which affects about 1 million Americans, says the author of an accompanying editorial, James Bower, an associate professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

"The study itself was scientifically very sound. But an association does not mean causation. That's what I want to make sure we remember," says Bower.

"It's very tempting to extract from this and go to the next step: Why not give ibuprofen to everybody? But there are reasons not to. It's a drug that is more powerful than it appears," says Di Rocco, who lists kidney, digestive, and urological complications related to ibuprofen's use.

Another study out this week in Urology suggests ibuprofen and other NSAIDs could also be linked to erectile dysfunction.

"The other reason not to jump on this is that we don't know how many years you have to take these drugs to really have an effect, at what age do you start, and what is the optimal dose?" says Di Rocco.