NSAIDs do not slow progression of Alzheimer's

The drug industry has for years tried to convince the public that various products originally designed for one problem will help prevent or treat another. But the facts show that this often isn’t true.

A new story in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), for instance, has shown that the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) rofecoxib or naproxen do not slow the cognitive decline of patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Alzheimer’s disease affects more than four million people in the United States.

Previous laboratory evidence had hinted that the body’s inflammation reaction might contribute to neural injury in people with AD. The theory was proposed that anti-inflammatory drugs might be able to prevent or lessen such injury.

The study – conducted by Paul S. Aisen, M.D., of the Department of Neurology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C., and colleagues -- tested that hypothesis.

For one year, the researchers studied 351 patients who suffered from mild-to-moderate AD. Participants were randomly selected to receive either a placebo or one of the two anti-inflammatory drugs, rofecoxib or naproxen.

The researchers found that there was no significant difference in the results among the three groups. However, those taking the drugs did suffer from side effects such as fatigue, dizziness, and hypertension, as well as more serious adverse events.

"The results of the current study do not support the hypothesis that rofecoxib or naproxen can slow the progression of AD. Considering the risk of serious toxicity, such treatment should not be recommended," the authors wrote.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, June 4, 2003.