Ibuprofen Doesn't Add Benefit To Alzheimer's Patients

Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) adds no benefit for Alzheimer's disease prevention compared to other drugs, as previously thought.

It is known that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduces Alzheimer's disease risk by 23% if taken early. Previous clinical trials have shown that Ibuprofen shows twice as better results as other NSAIDs, such as Naproxen (Aleve) and Celecoxib (Celebrex).

This new research comes with an idea that Ibuprofen doesn't really doubles benefits. It's just as effective as other NSAIDs.

A team of Maryland and California researchers examined data from previous 6 major clinical trials on NSAIDs. The study involved 13499 patients with no dementia in the beginning of the study. 29.6% of participants were using NSAIDs to prevent Alzheimer's disease and they reported detailed data of type, time and dosage of drugs used. Ibuprofen was reported as the most commonly used drugs - 52.9% of all drugs used, Naproxen accounted for 20.4%.

By the end of trials 820 participants developed dementia. The study found that there is no significant difference between NSAIDs. Naproxen, Celecoxib, and Ibuprofen showed the same effectiveness in cutting Alzheimer's risk. Aspirin also showed to cut the risk even when taken alone without any NSAIDs.

Ibuprofen works by reducing 42-residue form of amyloid beta (AB42), which is found to target brain in Alzheimer's patients. Researchers suggest that NSAIDs are not that successful in stopping Alzheimer's disease development, because NSAIDs involve wrong AB4 lowering elements. However, this new research suggests that it could be because of wrong timing and dosage o drug intake.