The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7477 p520
10 November 2007

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Parkinson’s disease might occur less in regular users of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories

Regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) might protect against Parkinson’s disease (PD), a recent study suggests (Neurology 2007;69:1836).

In the US-based study, 293 people with PD and 286 matched controls completed a questionnaire on NSAID use. Participants were asked about the number of doses of aspirin or NSAID taken per day or per week, the length of treatment, and their age when the medicine was taken.

The risk of developing PD was shown to be less for people who took non-aspirin NSAIDs regularly than for those who did not (odds ratio 0.52, 95 per cent confidence interval 0.35–0.79), especially when taken for two or more years (0.44, CI 0.26–0.74). The association between aspirin use and risk of PD was not significant.

“ Given our results and the biologic plausibility of a neuroprotective function for NSAIDs there is a pressing need for further studies elucidating the protective role such drugs may play in PD,” the authors say.