'Pain relievers don't prevent Alzheimer's disease'.Byline: ANI Washington, Apr 23 (ANI): Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Definition Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are medicines that relieve pain, swelling, stiffness, and inflammation. (NSAIDs), such as the pain relievers ibuprofen ibuprofen (ī`by  prō'fən), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that reduces pain, fever, and inflammation. and naproxen naproxen and naproxen sodium, potent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) used to alleviate the minor pain of arthritis, menstruation, headaches, and the like, and to reduce fever. , do not
prevent Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. or other forms of dementia, a new study
has shown.
In fact, researchers found that the risk of developing dementia in the study's very elderly population was 66 percent higher among heavy NSAID NSAID: see nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. users than among people who used little or no NSAIDs. For the study, researchers identified 2,736 members of Group Health, an integrated healthcare delivery system, who did not have dementia when they enrolled in the study at an average age of 75. The researchers then followed these people for 12 years to see if they developed Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. They checked Group Health pharmacy records for NSAIDs (tracking both prescriptions and over-the-counter use) and also asked participants about their use of NSAIDs. Of the participants, 351 people had a history of using NSAIDs heavily at the study's start, and another 107 became heavy NSAID users during the follow-up period. Heavy use was defined as having prescriptions for NSAIDs at least 68 percent of the time in two years. During the study, 476 people developed Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Researchers found that the risk of developing dementia among heavy NSAID users was 66 percent higher than among people with little or no NSAID use. "NSAIDs are useful for relieving pain from conditions including arthritis. Although we hoped to find a protective effect, there was none. Thus, for this age group, there's no basis for taking NSAIDs to prevent Alzheimer's disease. Our study in this quite elderly population showed more risk of dementia with NSAIDs, especially when used heavily," said study author Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH, executive director of Group Health Center for Health Studies. The study is published online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is a professional society for neurologists and neuroscientists. As a medical specialty society it was established in 1949 by A.B. Baker of the University of Minnesota to advance the art and science of neurology, and thereby promote the best . (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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