Aspirin use does not slow cognitive decline
Ramona Heim/iStockPhoto.com
Elderly women took low-dose aspirin |
Long-term aspirin use does not slow cognitive decline in women aged
65 years and over, a study published in BMJ Online First suggests (27
April 2007).
Researchers in the US conducted a trial involving 6,377 women participating
in the Women’s Health Study (a trial of low-dose aspirin for the
primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer). The women received
either low-dose aspirin (100mg on alternate days) or placebo for a mean
of 9.6 years. Their cognitive function was tested via three telephone
assessments at two-year intervals, beginning 5.6 years after randomisation.
Five tests were used to measure general cognition, verbal memory and
category fluency (naming as many animals as possible in one minute).
Cognitive performance at the initial assessment was similar between the
aspirin and placebo groups, say the researchers. In addition, no mean
difference in global score (composite of five tests) was observed between
the groups at each follow-up.
The researchers note that women in the aspirin group were 20 per cent
less likely to develop substantial decline in performance on category
fluency than those in the placebo group (relative risk 0.80, 95 per cent
confidence interval 0.67–0.97; P=0.02). They say that, because
category fluency partially assesses executive function (a cognitive system
that is influenced by vascular disease), it is plausible that low-dose
aspirin may specifically help preserve executive function. More studies
are needed to confirm this, they caution.
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader