Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in Alzheimer disease

Inflammatory basis of disease: Alzheimer disease is characterized by deposits of amyloid substance and several other inflammatory proteins in the brain. Cerebral inflammation could contribute to neuron damage. it has thus been hypothesized that anti-inflammatory drugs could be useful in Alzheimer disease. I Protective role of anti-inflammatory drugs: Epidemiology studies in patients with degenerative joint disease or rheumatoid arthritis, and who consequently have had chronic treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, have been conducted in 9 different countries. Data would favor the inflammatory hypothesis. The prevalence of Alzheimer disease appears to be lower in populations taking anti-inflammatory drugs than in control populations. New avenues for research: There have been few controlled studies and those which have been reported have included only small numbers of subjects. Such studies must be continued in the future in larger populations in order to determine the efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in Alzheimer disease. (C) 1998, Masson, Paris.