Study links ibuprofen to lower Alzheimer's risk

A new study has found that the long-term use of ibuprofen is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Details from a large US study of almost 250,000 veterans showed that those took the painkiller for more than five years were 40 per cent less likely to develop dementia. Over five years of data were studied the use of several non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs carefully monitored.

The study, published in the American Academy of Neurology medical journal, also showed that other commonly used drugs for aches and pains could have similar positive effects on the onset of Alzheimer's.

Steven Vlad, from the Boston University School of Medicine and author of the study, said: "Some of these medications taken long term decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but it's very dependent on the exact drugs used.

"One reason ibuprofen may have come out so far ahead is that it is by far the most commonly used."

The Alzheimer's Society estimates that the financial cost of dementia to the UK is over £17 billion a year and by 2025 the number of people afflicted in the country will be over a million.


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