Ibuprofen may prevent Alzheimer’s

Toronto: Taking over- thecounter medication ibuprofen daily may prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, a study claims. A team led by Canadian neuroscientist Patrick McGeer has successfully carried out studies suggesting that, if started early enough, a daily regimen of the nonprescription NSAID ( nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drug) ibuprofen can ward off Alzheimer’s. In most people, the rate of production of peptide amyloid beta protein 42 ( Abeta42) is almost exactly the same regardless of sex or age, said McGeer, CEO of Vancouver- based Aurin Biotech. However, if that rate of production is two to three times higher, those individuals are destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Contrary to the widely held belief that Abeta 42 is made only in the brain, the team demonstrated that the peptide is made in all organs of the body and is secreted in saliva from the submandibular gland. As a result, with as little as one teaspoon of saliva, it is possible to predict whether an individual is destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease. This gives them an opportunity to begin taking early preventive measures such as consuming non- prescription nonsteroidal drugs ( NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, researchers said. “Knowing that the prevalence of clinical Alzheimer’s Disease commences at age 65, we recommend that people get tested ten years before, at age 55, when the onset of Alzheimer’s would typically begin,” McGeer said. According to the 2016 report of Alzheimer’s Disease International, the disease affects an 47 million people worldwide, costing health care USD 818 billion per year.