EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 PM ET, February 17, 2010
An Ibuprofen a Day Could Keep Parkinson鈥檚 Disease Away
ST. PAUL, Minn. -
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010 Media Contacts: Rachel Seroka, rseroka@aan.com, (651) 695-2738 Angela Babb, ababb@aan.com, (651) 695-2789 An Ibuprofen a Day Could Keep Parkinson鈥檚 Disease Away ST. PAUL, Minn. 鈥 New research shows people who regularly take ibuprofen may reduce their risk of developing Parkinson鈥檚 disease, according to a study released today that will be presented at the 好色先生鈥檚 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010. The research involved 136,474 people who did not have Parkinson鈥檚 disease at the beginning of the research. Participants were asked about their use of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen. After six years, 293 participants had developed Parkinson鈥檚 disease. The study found regular users of ibuprofen were 40 percent less likely to develop Parkinson鈥檚 disease than people who didn鈥檛 take ibuprofen. Also, people who took higher amounts of ibuprofen were less likely to develop Parkinson鈥檚 disease than people who took smaller amounts of the drug. The results were the same regardless of age, smoking and caffeine intake. 鈥淚buprofen was the only NSAID linked to a lower risk of Parkinson鈥檚,鈥 said Xiang Gao, MD, with Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. 鈥淥ther NSAIDs and analgesics, including aspirin and acetaminophen, did not appear to have any effect on lowering a person鈥檚 risk of developing Parkinson鈥檚. More research is needed as to how and why ibuprofen appears to reduce the risk of Parkinson鈥檚 disease, which affects up to one million people in the United States.鈥 The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.