Ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug, may help to prevent or delay the onset of Parkinson's disease.

The purpose of the study was to identify whether the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDs ) like Ibuprofen is associated with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease.

A previous study for the first time showed that regular users of non-aspirin NSAIDs had a lower risk of Parkinson's disease than non-users.
There has been evidence suggesting a role of neuro-inflammation in the disease process.

Out of 146,948 participants of the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, 413 cases of Parkinson's disease were identified.

The average follow-up period was 8.5 years.

The findings indicated that Ibuprofen users had a 35 percent lower risk of Parkinson's disease, and the results were similar in both men and women.

Compared with nonusers, users of less than two tablets per week had an RR of 0.73, for users of two to 6.9 tablets per week it was 0.72, and for daily users it was 0.61 (P trend = 0.03).

The mechanisms as to why Ibuprofen protects against the disorder are not clear.
Age, gender, and smoking status, known risk factors for Parkinson's disease, could not explain the results.
No significant associations were found between the use of Aspirin, other NSAIDs, or Acetaminophen and the risk of Parkinson's disease.

The findings are still preliminary, and more research is needed.

Source: American Academy of Neurology – 57th Annual Meeting, 2005


XagenaMedicine2005