New research has found that long-term use of the anti-inflammatory drug Ibuprofen may help lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

The study of 49,349 patients age 55 and older who developed Alzheimer's disease and 196,850 patients without dementia found that people who specifically used ibuprofen for more than five years were more than 40 per cent less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.

The results of the study, published in the May 6, 2008, issue of Neurology, also show that that the longer ibuprofen was used, the lower the risk for dementia.

Additionally, it was found that people who used certain types of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) for more than five years were 25 per cent less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than non-users.

"Some of these medications taken long term decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but it's very dependent on the exact drugs used," explained study author Steven Vlad of the Boston University School of Medicine.

"It doesn't appear that all NSAIDs decrease the risk at the same rate."

He added that ibuprofen may have come out so far ahead as it is by far the most commonly used.

Despite the interesting findings the authors stressed that this was an observational study and as such it must be interpreted with the understanding that they do not prove that an NSAID has a therapeutic effect.

"These findings should not be taken to mean that NSAIDs should be administered to prevent dementia," the report stated.

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