Alzheimer's: Take Two Ibuprofen and Call Me in the Morning?
Alzheimer's: Take Two Ibuprofen and Call Me in the Morning?
Aug. 10, 2000 -- Taking a few tablets of ibuprofen every day may help prevent Alzheimer's disease, according to animal research recently published in the August issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. And now, researchers think they are beginning to understand why. But until they know for sure, it's best, and safest, not to run out and stock up on the drug.
In Alzheimer's disease, patients gradually lose their memory and their ability to carry out normal activities. This seems to be caused by changes in their brains associated with plaque deposits made up of a protein called beta-amyloid.
Researchers have thought for a while that ibuprofen and similar anti-inflammatory medicines may help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies conducted in large groups of people have shown that those who've used anti-inflammatory medicines in the past are less likely to develop the disease. Now, these researchers are suggesting how or why this might happen.
In this study, a special strain of mice that develop a condition similar to Alzheimer's disease was fed a diet rich in ibuprofen for six months. As expected, the amount of inflammation in their brains was reduced, compared to mice on a standard diet.
But researchers were surprised by another, unexpected effect. Ibuprofen-eating mice developed only half as many amyloid plaques as the other mice. "If you have a red, inflamed area on your leg due to a splinter, and you take an anti-inflammatory medicine, you do expect the inflamed area to decrease. You don't expect the medicine to get rid of the splinter," Greg Cole, PhD, tells WebMD. "What we found was like a medicine that somehow reduces or prevents the splinter." Cole, the author of the study, is associate director of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Center and associate professor of medicine and neurology.
If ibuprofen cuts human amyloid plaque by 50%, that could delay onset of Alzheimer's disease by a decade, Cole says. Since the risk of developing the disease increases dramatically after age 65, that 10-year delay translates into a 75% decrease in the total number of Alzheimer's patients.
In Alzheimer's disease, patients gradually lose their memory and their ability to carry out normal activities. This seems to be caused by changes in their brains associated with plaque deposits made up of a protein called beta-amyloid.
Researchers have thought for a while that ibuprofen and similar anti-inflammatory medicines may help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies conducted in large groups of people have shown that those who've used anti-inflammatory medicines in the past are less likely to develop the disease. Now, these researchers are suggesting how or why this might happen.
In this study, a special strain of mice that develop a condition similar to Alzheimer's disease was fed a diet rich in ibuprofen for six months. As expected, the amount of inflammation in their brains was reduced, compared to mice on a standard diet.
But researchers were surprised by another, unexpected effect. Ibuprofen-eating mice developed only half as many amyloid plaques as the other mice. "If you have a red, inflamed area on your leg due to a splinter, and you take an anti-inflammatory medicine, you do expect the inflamed area to decrease. You don't expect the medicine to get rid of the splinter," Greg Cole, PhD, tells WebMD. "What we found was like a medicine that somehow reduces or prevents the splinter." Cole, the author of the study, is associate director of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Center and associate professor of medicine and neurology.
If ibuprofen cuts human amyloid plaque by 50%, that could delay onset of Alzheimer's disease by a decade, Cole says. Since the risk of developing the disease increases dramatically after age 65, that 10-year delay translates into a 75% decrease in the total number of Alzheimer's patients.
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