Alzheimer's disease is a progressive an incurable form of dementia that is ultimately fatal. Although what causes the disease's symptoms is not entirely understood, certain factors have been identified as potentially "protecting" people from this disease. One of the factors that has been identified is the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), instead of acetaminophen, to relieve minor pain.
Identification
Several years ago researchers noticed that people suffering from severe arthritis were much less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Similarly, patients who are being treated for leprosy are also far less likely to contract Alzheimer's. Both of these conditions are commonly treated with high levels of NSAIDs, which include ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin (notably, acetaminophen is not an NSAID). Based on these findings, researchers began to explore the effect, if any, of NSAIDs on Alzheimer's and dementia.
NSAIDs and Alzheimer's
In 1995, Dr. Rich and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University published an article in the Journal of Neurology detailing a project in which they studied the effects of NSAIDs on Alzheimer's by reviewing patient records. This study discovered that patients who were taking NSAIDs showed slower cognitive decline and progression of Alzheimer's than patients who were not taking NSAIDs. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1996 found that patients who took NSAIDs "more than occasionally" were less likely to get Alzheimer's. Notably, no link to acetaminophen use and Alzheimer's prevention was found.
Mechanisms and Acetaminophen
One of the ways in which NSAIDs and acetaminophen differ is in how they relieve pain. NSAIDs work by lowering the body's immune system response to certain stimuli, whereas acetaminophen has no effect on inflammation. It could be this anti-inflammatory ability of NSAIDs that allows them (and not acetaminophen) to protect against Alzheimer's. In Alzheimer's, one of the causes of cell death is the inflammatory response that a type of brain cell (called glial cells) generates in response to neuron damage. When this response is too strong (as can be the case in Alzheimer's), the inflammatory response can inadvertently kill neurons, resulting in a loss of brain cells, which can contribute to Alzheimer's. As a result, people looking to prevent Alzheimer's should avoid using acetaminophen and instead use medications such as ibuprofen.
