Taking NSAIDs into Alzheimer's

There is a growing body of epidemiological evidence that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease. A paper in last week's Nature supports those data, but also concludes that while existing NSAIDs may lower risk, the doses required for therapeutic use were too high to provide a satisfactory safety and efficacy profile.

In addition, the mechanism by which NSAIDs work in AD remains a mystery. It now appears that while the anti-inflammatory properties of NSAIDs may play a role, the primary effect is through processing of amyloid plaque precursors...