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Painkillers Are of No Use for AD Prevention

April 25, 2007

- Neurology, online journal –

In contrast with the earlier suggested hypothesis about the benefits of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs) in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the results of the study recently conducted in several clinics in the USA showed no association between the use of NSAIDs (celecoxib and naproxen) and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. The study was initiated by several medical institutions in the USA, including Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Sun health Research Institute; the results of the study were published in the online journal of the American Academy of Neurology on April 25, 2007.

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible brain disorder, affecting about 5% of people aged 65 and about 50% of those, who are above 85. The disease causes a progressive decline in mental function, which represents itself as a gradual loss of memory, impaired understanding, reasoning and other cognitive abilities. People, suffering from AD, experience problems with reading, writing, and making simple math calculations. Specially-designed medications, called cholinesterase inhibitors, are used to slow down the progression of AD symptoms. It was also suggested that common painkilling medications may also help to prevent the development of this devastating disease.

To evaluate the ability of painkillers to prevent Alzheimer’s disease a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted at six US dementia research clinics. The participants of the study received either celecoxib (the working agent of Celebrex), naproxen (the working agent of Aleve, Anaprox, Naprelan, etc.), or placebo.

The study began in 2001 and it was planned to last for four years. However, in less than 3 years the trial was suspended, because the researchers noticed the development of AD symptoms in patients, participating in the study. That meant that treating people with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was of no use in preventing the development of Alzheimer’ disease. The scientists say that the study did not show any notable improvement of the AD symptoms in people genetically predisposed to dementia.

"Although our study was conducted to test the hypothesis that celecoxib or naproxen would reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's disease, these results indicate no such effect, at least within the first few years after treatment begins," said one of the authors of the research. So, the scientists concluded that neither celecoxib nor naproxen can prevent Alzheimer dementia.

However, the scientists admit that the result of this study is inconsistent with several other studies of the same issue, which proved that those people, who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers for a long period of time, have a reduced risk to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Such a controversy could be explained by the fact that only two NSAIDs were chosen for the mentioned study. Maybe other pain-relieving medications do have some potential in preventing dementia.

So, while the question on the use of popular painkillers, such as Celebrex or Avele, for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease remains open, these medications are most commonly used for the treatment of mild to moderate pain, associated with arthritis, menstruation, acute gout, fever and other inflammatory conditions.

Nick

External resources
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070425164942.htm
http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/01.wnl.0000260269.93245.d2v1?ma...
http://www.amazon.com/American-Medical-Association-Complete-Encyclopedia/dp/0...
http://www.amazon.com/Pill-Book-12th/dp/0553588923/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-626289...