This everyday painkiller could lower your dementia risk
A new study suggests that drugs like ibuprofen and antibiotics could be used to reduce the risk of dementia. The study, from the University of Cambridge, comes as experts are increasingly spotting links between inflammation and a wide variety of diseases, including dementia.
Their research suggests that some drugs that are already licensed and commonly used could be repurposed to treat dementia – saving millions of pounds and decades spent developing drugs from scratch.
Dementia is on the rise, with predictions that one in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime and around 1.4 million people will suffer from the disease by 2040.
With increasing numbers of families affected by the disease, many people will need to provide or receive dementia care in their lifetime, which can be economically, as well as emotionally, demanding.
Although several drugs are being trialled and millions spent on research, there is currently no cure for dementia.
Developing new drugs takes a lot of time and money, with red tape, clinical trials and funding bids to overcome, but the beauty of this new research, and why the doctors at Cambridge are so excited, is that these drugs are already in use – and most of them can be found at Boots.
‘If we can find drugs that are already licensed for other conditions, then we can get them into trials and – crucially – may be able to make them available to patients much, much faster than we could do for an entirely new drug,’ says Dr Ben Underwood from the University of Cambridge.
Of course, it’s not a perfect science yet and not all drugs are created equal. While some of the drugs the researchers looked at, such as blood pressure medications and antidepressants, were associated with a reduced risk , others were associated with increased risk.
Dr Julia Dudley, head of research strategy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, advises caution. She wants to manage our expectations, saying it’s still too early to tell if any of these drugs could be used to reduce the risk of dementia. She explains that researchers will need to confirm their findings in clinical trials before they can be used to treat dementia.
Though it might be a while before you can head to your local pharmacy for an over-the-counter dementia treatment, it’s a welcome and hopeful first step on the long road to a cure.
Disclaimer: Ibuprofen has not been approved for reducing dementia risk or other off-label use; please always read the label before taking over-the-counter drugs.
You Might Also Like
