Painkillers reduce risk of Parkinson’s disease

9 November, 2007

Consumption of over-the-counter painkillers like aspirin and ibuprofen can reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers in the United States have found that those who regularly use such drugs – usually taken to ease the pain of arthritis and headaches – are much less likely to get Parkinson’s disease than non-users or occasional users. Those who took two or more pills a week for at least one month were regarded as regular users.

These painkillers, called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are commonly used by people all over the world.

A team of researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), the United States, examined 579 men and women from California. Half of them suffered from Parkinson’s disease.

The subjects were asked if they had taken aspirin or other NSAIDs such as ibuprofen once a week or more at any point in their life for at least one month.

It was seen that acetaminophen, also called paracetamol, is not an NSAID and does not act in the same way as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and similar drugs.

Users of NSAID were less likely to get Parkinson’s disease, especially those using ibuprofen or other non-aspirin NSAIDs.

The study has been published in the November 6, 2007, issue of the journal Neurology.

Angelika Wahner, of UCLA, who was among the research team, said: “Our findings suggest that NSAIDs are protective against Parkinson’s disease, with a particularly strong protective effect among regular users of non-aspirin NSAIDs, especially those who reported two or more years of use.”

“Given these results and the growing burden of Parkinson’s disease as people age,” she added, “there is a pressing need for further studies explaining why these drugs may play a protective role.”

Women who took aspirin regularly were seen to reduce their risk of Parkinson’s disease by about 40%.

Angelika Wahner wrote in the study: “Interestingly, aspirin only benefited women. It may be that men are taking lower doses of aspirin for heart problems, while women may be using higher doses for arthritis or headache.”

Beate Ritz, an epidemiologist who worked on the study, said he believed that painkillers might prevent damaging inflammation in the brain.

In the United States alone, over 1 million people suffer from the Parkinson’s disease. The disease affects the brain, leading to the death of brain cells that produce dopamine. (Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, or a chemical that carries messages, and is associated with movement.) There is no cure for the Parkinson’s disease; medicines can only delay the symptoms of for some time.