People who regularly take ibuprofen are less likely to suffer from Parkinson’s disease, a serious brain-wasting disease, according to research reported by EurekAlert.
It is caused by the death of dopamine-producing neurons – a compound that controls the brain, including movement, body balance and emotions. The disease appears when some of the nerve cells are irreversibly damaged. It is characterized by movement disorders such as trembling arms and legs at rest, shuffling, muscle stiffness, problems with facial expressions, as well as lack of appetite and depression.
The greatest number of Parkinson’s cases is found after the age of 60; men get sick more often.
Previous studies have already indicated that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, may protect against this serious disease.
To verify these reports, scientists from Harvard University in Boston analyzed data collected from a group of over 136 people. people who did not have parkinson’s symptoms at the time of study start. Participants provided information on the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, and other painkillers such as paracetamol (acetaminophen). After 6 years, 293 of them were diagnosed with the disease.
It found that people who regularly took ibuprofen were about 40 percent. less likely to get parkinson’s than people not taking this drug. Likewise, those who took it in greater amounts had a lower risk of developing the disease than those who took less.
These relationships were maintained even after taking into account various factors influencing the development of this serious disease in the analysis, such as age, coffee drinking or smoking (the latter two reduce the risk of developing the disease).
Ibuprofen was the only non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that lowered the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Other drugs in this group, such as aspirin, or other painkillers, such as paracetamol, had no effect on this, comments Xiang Gao, who participated in the study.
In his opinion, more research is needed to help explain how ibuprofen may protect against parkinson’s.
The researchers plan to present their findings at the 62nd annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, which will be held in Toronto on April 10-17. (PAP)