Pain pills may dissolve Alzheimer's lesions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Common pain pills such as ibuprofen and naproxen may actually dissolve the brain lesions that clog the brains of Alzheimer's patient, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.
The findings may help explain studies that suggest people who frequently take the aspirin-like pills seem to have a lower risk of Alzheimer's, which affects an estimated 4 million Americans.
Writing in the journal Neuroscience, the team at the University of California Los Angeles said they made the discovery using a new chemical marker called FDDNP.
It attaches to the amyloid plaques that mark Alzheimer's, allowing scientists to watch their progression. These plaques eventually kill brain cells, leading to the progressive loss of memory and brain function that debilitates and kills Alzheimer's patients.
Using brain tissue in laboratory dishes, the team showed that FDDNP goes straight for the damaging protein plaques. When they added ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, the plaques seemed to break up.
Dr. Jorge Barrio, a professor of molecular and medical pharmacology who led the study, said the finding offers a way to diagnose Alzheimer's early, before too much damage has been done, and perhaps to treat the disease.
There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's and treatments only improve symptoms for a short time.
"This would provide hope to patients and families by modifying outcomes," Barrio said in a statement.
"This new technology will likely help us monitor new vaccines and drugs designed to prevent and treat the brain damage caused by Alzheimer's disease," added Dr. Gary Small, a professor of psychiatry who worked on the study.
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
