Ibuprofen 'may delay or prevent onset of Parkinson's disease'
New evidence suggests that ibuprofen - but not other NSAIDs, aspirin or paracetamol - may delay or prevent the onset of Parkinson's disease (PD).

The finding comes from a preliminary analysis of a large prospective study of 146,565 participants in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort, presented on April 14th at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Miami Beach.

Between 1992 and 2000 there were 413 new cases of PD in the cohort. Ibuprofen was associated with 35 percent lower risk of PD (relative risk, RR, 0.65; CI95% 0.48 - 0.88), with similar risk reductions for men and women and regardless of age or smoking status.

There was a significant trend for lower risk with increasing consumption of ibuprofen (from RR 0.73 with fewer than 2 tablets per week to RR 0.61 for daily use) but duration of use made little difference. No significant associations were found for aspirin, other NSAIDs (though numbers were low) or paracetamol.

The authors commented that their study confirms their earlier analysis of the Health Professional's Study and the Nurses Health Study, which showed that non-aspirin NSAIDs were associated with a 45 percent lower risk of Parkinson's disease (Arch Neurol 2003;60:1059-64).

Ibuprofen may act by reducing the inflammation in areas of the brain affected by PD, though whether such changes are contribute to, or are caused by, PD is presently unclear.

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