Arthritis drugs ‘could halve risk of dementia’

Study suggests that people are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s if they take anti-inflammatories

DRUGS used to treat rheumatoid arthritis could halve the risk of patients developing dementia, a study suggests.

Experts at Oxford University and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre analysed the records of more than 5,800 people living with arthritis in the UK. They compared 3,876 patients who took disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS), particularly methotrexate, with 1,938 patients who did not.

The findings, published in the journal Alzheimer’s And Dementia: Translational Research And Clinical Interventions, found those on the antiinflammatory medication had approximately half the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. There are more than 850,000 people with dementia in the UK. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form, and the number of sufferers is expected to rise to more than one million by 2025.

Prof Chris Edwards, of the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, said: “Although there is medication available that can temporarily reduce some symptoms or slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, there is currently no cure for the condition. This study shows a positive link between patients taking drugs to treat arthritis and reducing their risk of developing dementia – potentially by up to 50 per cent. The results we’ve seen make us optimistic that we are getting closer to better treating this neurological disease and supports further investigation in clinical trials to confirm if these drugs can be used to prevent or treat dementia.”

Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects around 400,000 people in the UK, is a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints.

It develops when the immune system – which usually fights infection – attacks the cells that line the joints. It can also affect other parts of the body, including the lungs, heart and eyes.

Prof Edwards said the discovery showed that one of the common drugs used to treat arthritis might protect against dementia or be used to treat the disease. He said: “As inflammation is a characteristic feature of many other conditions, including dementia, drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and reduce inflammation may also be beneficial for patients with other diseases.

“This has already been shown to be the case for treating patients with heart disease, where initial promising results are now being further investigated in large clinical trials.”

Prof Peter Passmore, Professor of Ageing and Geriatric Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, said the findings were interesting and warranted further trials being carried out. “There has always been an interest in this area since early reports of a lower incidence of dementia in people with rheumatoid arthritis and the possible role, for example, of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs,” he said.

Dr Sara Imarisio, the Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “There is increasing evidence of a key role for inflammation in diseases like Alzheimer’s and this has led researchers to investigate whether drugs used to treat inflammatory diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, could also benefit people with dementia.”