Aspirin shows potential as Alzheimer’s treatment

Low-dose aspirin may help cells in the brain to clear away a toxic protein molecule at the core of Alzheimer’s, early research suggests.

Scientists showed the common painkiller stimulated cellular machinery that acts as a waste disposal system to keep the brain “clean”. Genetically-engineered mice given the drug had reduced levels of a key hallmark of Alzheimer’s in their brains, sticky clumps of beta amyloid peptide.

Impaired clearance of the protein building block from the brain is thought to be a main cause of the disease.

A US team led by Professor Kalipada Pahan, from Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago, found low-dose aspirin stimulated the formation of lysosomes – tiny sacs in cells filled with digestive enzymes that help break down and clear away unwanted or harmful material.

The scientists said their work suggested promising therapeutic potential for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

British experts urged caution. Prof Tara Spires-Jones, deputy director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at Edinburgh University, said: “More work will need to be done in order to know whether low-dose aspirin could help prevent or treat Alzheimer’s.”

Rob Howard, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at University College London, said previous clinical trials had shown aspirin had no beneficial effects on Alzheimer’s.