Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Don't Cut Risk Of Dementia After All
The latest study of people who take large amounts of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) indicates that, contrary to what earlier studies suggested, they don't seem to cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's. In fact, it's just the opposite: "During the study, 476 people developed dementia, and heavy NSAID users had a 66% higher risk of developing the condition than those with low or no use."
The study doesn't disprove that inflammation may be a factor in Alzheimer's, just that NSAIDs don't seem to be preventive. As for any earlier studies that suggested the drugs helped, one expert says they were probably biased by the test groups:
Duke aging expert Murali Doraiswamy says that the latest results aren't a revelation to him and that previous trials evaluating Vioxx, aspirin and prednisone, among other anti-inflammatory medications, did not show reduced risks cognitive decline. "Any benefits noted in prior studies were likely due to an epiphenomenon - the people taking NSAIDS were younger, healthier and better educated, all of which biased the results."
You can read about the details of the study here.
"Anti-inflammatory drugs don't cut dementia risk, they raise it" [USA Today]
(Photo: LoreleiRanveig)
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Comments:
Alzheimer's blows. it sucks seeing people you care about slowly forget who you are then just degrade into a vegetable. hopefully they get that shit figured out.
What doesn't kill me will only make me....pancakes!
preventative isn't a word...it's PREVENTIVE:)
@danger the pirate ★♥ has a fake star and a fake heart, now ...: Defenders of Alzheimer's firing off blistering responses to this post in 3...2...1
@polyeaster: Actually, preventative IS in the dictionary...I think preventive is the preferred version though. But it IS indeed a word!
@polyeaster: It's a valid variation. But, after looking online, I think it's more commonly reserved for use as a noun. So I'll change it to preventive.
Oh great. I can take aspirin and cut my risk of heart disease or I can take aspirin and increase my risk of dementia. When will they find out that smoking is good for you?
Prednisode is hardly "non-steroidal", so this study goes beyond just NSAIDS.
I'll keep using NSAIDS for headache and backache, though.
@Barrister76: Dr. Erhardt von Gruppen-Mundt already has figured this out. He also disproved gravity.
The next study will contradict this one, as that seems to be what happens when these studies come out.
@polyeaster: Are you my roommate/roommate's friend? They were trying to argue about this about a month ago... too bad field research shows I am correct 100% of the time.
"Heavy" NSAID users are people taking far more ibuprofen than the average guy popping a pill for a headache. They mean someone taking enormous doses such as for rheumatoid arthritis -- it's well-known that such large doses come with their own risk of side effects, such as NSAID-caused ulcers.
So don't freak out about your baby aspirin. It's still known to be preventative for heart disease AND colon cancer, and the studies are much more solid than this Alzheimer's connection that was just disproved.
The very latest scientific papers I've read add considerable weight to the theory that the cold sore virus Herpes Simplex I is a major part of the cause of AD. Reactivation of latent HSVI happens when it detects certain inflammation signals in the body. That's why outbreaks happen when you are sick and why they're called "cold sores".
@chris_d:
Ya, I read that too. If they could only find a cure for HSV-1, they would kill 2 birds with 1 stone. (3 birds if the cure also works for genital herpes, since that's caused by a very, very similar virus [or even the same virus in some cases.])
@danger the pirate ★♥ has a fake star and a fake heart, now ...: Dementia's a bitch, too. My wife's grandmother was diagnosed about a year ago. That was after a few years of her seeing things that weren't there, remembering things that never happened, and every doctor telling her family it was just a reaction to switching and mixing medications (and then prescribing new medication...). It's terrible seeing someone deteriorate like that, especially not being able to empathize.
It at least makes for some good stories about my mother-in-law, who's selfish to the point of indecency and keeps her mother at a good distance. You can't pass up good mother-in-law stories like that.
@jbl-az: pretty sure they're referring to use of NSAIDS as a longterm treatment for muscle swelling and joint pain...like 3 advil 3 times a day for months.
@Barrister76: HEAVY use of NSAIDs. Like taking 600mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day for physical therapy.
@Barrister76: also, you don't take aspirin to reduce your risk of heart disease, you take it to prevent a heart attack. Aspirin and other NSAIDs just thin out your blood so it can fit through the congestion.
@Frank Murphy: Yeah, it's not worth completely freaking out if it's only the first study to find that X is or isn't true.
@Randy Treibel: Muhammed Ali has Parkinson's...and I'm glad you have a new scapegoat for your learning disability
So my ibuprofen for sports injuries is going to make me go all chemical muhammed ali insane in the membrane. I knew my memory was going to crap. I just blamed it on concussions in my youth!