Aspirin May Protect Against Parkinson's Disease: Presented at AAN

By Charlene Laino

HONOLULU, HI -- April 4, 2003 -- Aspirin, already taken by millions for its cardioprotective properties, may also lower the risk of Parkinson's disease, especially for people who don't smoke, a prospective study shows.

George W. Ross, MD, a neurologist at the Honolulu Department of Veterans Affairs in Hawaii, United States, presented the findings here on April 3rd at the 55th Annual Meeting of American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Ross hypothesized that since inflammation is thought to play a role in the neurodegenerative process leading to Parkinson's disease, anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin may help slow the progression of the disease.

Additionally, he pointed out, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) lowered levels of dopaminergic neurotoxins in animal studies.

To test the hypothesis in humans, Dr. Ross' team enlisted the aid of the cohort of Japanese-American men living in Hawaii and born between 1900 and 1919 participating in the longitudinal Honolulu-Asia Aging Study.

The incidence of Parkinson's was determined in participants who responded to questions regarding the use of aspirin on two separate assessments in 1988 and 1999, and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs other than aspirin in 1991. The participants were then divided into two groups: Those who reported taking aspirin on both assessments, and those who said they never took aspirin or reported use on only one occasion.

The study showed that there were 17.7 cases of Parkinson's per 10,000 person-years in the patients who never took aspirin or were taking it on one occasion, compared with 6.8 cases per 10,000 person-years in the men who were taking aspirin on both assessments, Dr. Ross said.

Among non-smokers, the association was even stronger, he said, with 21 cases per 10,000 person-years in the group who never took aspirin or took it only once, and no cases in the group who were taking aspirin on both assessments (p< 0.05).

No conclusion could be drawn regarding the use of other NSAIDs and Parkinson's, he said, because too few of the men reported taking the drugs.

Cynthia Comella, MD, who moderated the session, called the work "fascinating."

"If the findings are confirmed and further research supports a role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's, there are all sorts of protective interventions we could take," said Dr. Comella, an associate professor of neurology at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago.