Ibuprofen may delay or prevent Parkinson's
A large US study has suggested that ibuprofen may delay the onset of, or even prevent, Parkinson's disease (Ann Neurol 2005; published online 10.1002/ana.20682).

The investigators compared the risk of developing Parkinson's disease in people who did or did not report use of NSAIDs in a total of 147,000 participants of the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort. They identified 413 cases of Parkinson's disease. Overall, those who used ibuprofen had a significantly lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease (relative risk, RR, 0.65; CI95% 0.48 - 0.89) and a significant trend for a lower risk of Parkinson's disease with the cumulative dose of ibuprofen. This effect was confined to current use of ibuprofen: duration of use at baseline was not associated with a lower risk.

This observational study does not prove a causal link between ibuprofen consumption and reduced risk of Parkinson's disease. The finding was specific to ibuprofen - aspirin, other NSAIDs and paracetamol were not associated with a reduced risk. The reasons for this difference are unclear but the authors say laboratory evidence suggests ibuprofen may confer greater protection against oxidative neuronal damage than other NSAIDs and may restore dopamine neurones.

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