Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in Alzheimer's disease.
We reviewed the records of 210 patients in the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center to evaluate the role of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on clinical features and progression of the disease. We compared patients taking NSAIDs or aspirin on a daily basis (N = 32) to non-NSAID patients (N = 177) on clinical, cognitive, and psychiatric measures. The NSAID group had a significantly shorter duration of illness at study entry. Even after controlling for this difference, the NSAID group performed better on the Mini-Mental State Examination, Boston Naming Test, and the delayed condition of the Benton Visual Retention Test. Furthermore, analysis of longitudinal changes over 1 year revealed less decline among NSAID patients than among non-NSAID patients on measures of verbal fluency, spatial recognition, and orientation. These findings support other recent studies suggesting that NSAIDs may serve a protective role in Alzheimer's disease.
Rich
J B
JB
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287-7218.
Rasmusson
D X
DX
Folstein
M F
MF
Carson
K A
KA
Kawas
C
C
Brandt
J
J
D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008568:Memory; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal