Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer's I've got some Alzheimer's news. So…do you want to start with the good news, or the bad news? Let's start with the good news: According to a new study, a combination of two vitamins may help many people reduce their risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). And now for the bad news: The study also found that to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's in people who are at high risk of developing the disease, the two vitamins need to be combined with ibuprofen. Four words come to mind: Not a good idea. Research shows that people with a gene variant known as APOE-4 are more likely to develop clumps of protein called amyloid plaques. These plaques are believed to be responsible for an inflammatory response that plays a key role in the brain cell death that causes Alzheimer's disease. In a new study led by Dr. Majid Fotuhi of Johns Hopkins University, researchers monitored a cohort of 5,000 elderly subjects for eight years, taking special note of their intake of ibuprofen (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and vitamins C and E. Fotuhi's team found that subjects at low risk of AD (those who did not have the APOE-4 variant) reduced their risk even further with a high intake of the two vitamins. Subjects with the APOE-4 variant who took ibuprofen on a regular basis and had a high intake of C and E showed no decline in cognitive function over eight years. Memory decline was more likely among the APOE subjects who had a high intake of only one of the agents tested. Dr. Fotuhi's study was presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The study hasn't been published yet, but Dr. Fotuhi explained to Reuters Health that the vitamins reduced inflammation while ibuprofen reduced the amyloid that causes inflammation. With no published study to review, we can't know exactly how Dr. Fotuhi arrived at this conclusion about ibuprofen. But in his Reuters Health interview, Dr. Fotuhi also noted that consumers should be cautious with their ibuprofen intake, and I agree completely, given the drug's potential for contributing to liver and kidney impairment, and gastrointestinal conditions such as bleeding and ulcers. But the Reuters article notes that Dr. Fotuhi is "so encouraged" by his findings that he's patented a supplement that contains vitamins C and E, a small amount of omega-3 fatty acids, and…ibuprofen. Dr. Fotuhi told Reuters that he recommends an ibuprofen dose "no higher than 100 milligrams per day." So I suppose we can assume that his C/E/omega-3/ibuprofen combo contains about 100 mg of the drug? The question is: Should even a small amount of ibuprofen be taken every day to prevent Alzheimer's? I'll let another Johns Hopkins researcher answer that question. In 1997, a Hopkins team conducted a 15-year study of more than 1,600 elderly subjects and found that frequent ibuprofen use may reduce AD risk by as much as 60 percent. But in an article published by the LA Times-Washington Post News Service, researchers stressed the damage that can be caused by constant use of the drug. Dr. Claudia Kawas (lead author of the Hopkins study) told the New Service, "Ibuprofen can shut down your kidneys. That would be a terrible thing to do while trying to prevent something you might not get." It's good to know that vitamins C and E may offer protection against one of the most dreaded diseases associated with aging. We'll thank Dr. Fotuhi for that welcome information…and leave it at that. Sources:
"Vitamins Plus Ibuprofen May Ward Off Alzheimer's" Karla Gale, Reuters Health, 4/7/06, reutershealth.com
"Ibuprofen Sharply Reduces Alzheimer's but endangers Kidneys, Study Shows" LA Times-Washington Post News Service, 3/9/97, lubbockonline.com | 
