Common painkillers may prevent Parkinson's disease

Researchers in the U.S. are suggesting that painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen can cut the risk of Parkinson's disease by as much as 60%.

The researchers at UCLA say over-the-counter painkillers such as aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) like ibuprofen appear to significantly reduce the chances of developing Parkinson's disease.

The scientists asked 579 men and women, half of whom had Parkinson's, how often they had taken aspirin or other NSAID painkillers during their lives.

The researchers say they found that taking non-aspirin NSAIDs on a regular basis appeared to dramatically reduce the chances of developing Parkinson's and aspirin in particular appeared to protect women but the researchers do not know why.

Parkinson's is a degenerative brain disease that interferes with the control of movement, and affects more than 1 million in the U.S., about 120,000 people in the UK and 40,000 in Australia.

Experts believe there are several factors involved in the development of Parkinson's.

They suspect inflammation occurs in the brain as a response to the injury of nerve cells and this results in the release of harmful factors which may contribute to nerve cell death; inflammation is one of the body's most basic and most powerful immune responses.

But they say it remains unclear whether inflammation is a cause or rather a consequence of the loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells.

The finding supports earlier studies suggesting that inflammation-fighting drugs prevent Parkinson's disease as well as other neurodegenerative diseases.

The researchers say people should not start taking NSAIDs in order to prevent possible Parkinson's disease as regular use of these drugs can have serious side effects, including life-threatening internal bleeding.

The research is published in the journal Neurology.