NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters Health) - Even at low doses, aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs may stave off Alzheimer's disease in the elderly, Australian researchers have found.
　　Mounting evidence suggests that common anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen may cut Alzheimer's risk, but the necessary dose has been unclear. Now, results of a study of more than 600 men and women age 75 and older suggest even low doses of the drugs can ward off Alzheimer's.

Dr. G. Anthony Broe and his colleagues at the University of Sydney report their findings in the November issue of Archives of Neurology.

There has been little data on whether only high doses of anti-inflammatory drugs cut Alzheimer's risk, according to Broe's team. Using high doses is dangerous since the drugs can trigger gastrointestinal bleeding or damage the liver.

But high doses do not appear necessary to combat Alzheimer's, the current findings suggest. Most study participants were taking anti-inflammatories only at the low doses necessary to protect their hearts. Still, anti-inflammatory use was linked to a lower prevalence of Alzheimer's, but not other forms of dementia.

Exactly why aspirin and similar drugs might protect against Alzheimer's is unclear. Although the natural assumption might be that they reduce inflammation in the brain, research has not borne this idea out, Broe's team writes. Instead, the authors add, the drugs' heart benefits may offer an explanation.

Aspirin and similar drugs improve blood flow to the heart by reducing the 'stickiness' of platelets, cells that help the blood clot. And the drugs may improve the function of cells lining blood vessels, Broe and his colleagues speculate.

(From Reuters)