The findings support earlier studies which have suggested that inflammation-fighting drugs can prevent Parkinson's and, perhaps, other neurodegenerative diseases as well.
UCLA researchers enrolled 579 men and women for the study. 293 of them had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease within the last three years. The remaining 286 participants did not have the disease but matched the patients in terms of age, sex and race.
All participants were asked whether, at any point in their life for once a week or more for at least one month, they had taken aspirin and if they had taken non-aspirin non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen.
Findings showed that regular users of NSAIDS other than aspirin had a 48 percent lower risk of Parkinson's disease. There was 56 percent lower risk of the disease among those who took non-aspirin NSAIDs for two or more years.
Women who took aspirin also had 40 percent lower risk of Parkinson's disease although the same wasn't true for men who regularly took aspirin.
Earth Times quotes study author Angelika Wahner of the UCLA School of Public Health as saying, "Our findings suggest NSAIDs are protective against Parkinson's disease, with a particularly strong protective effect among regular users of non-aspirin NSAIDs, especially those who reported two or more years of use."
"Interestingly, aspirin only benefited women. It may be that men are taking lower doses of aspirin for heart problems, while women may be using higher doses for arthritis or headaches."
However, WebMD cautions that further clinical trials need to be undertaken in order to determine whether the drugs really do prevent the disease.
It warns that it does not make sense "for anyone to start taking NSAIDs just to prevent possible Parkinson's disease. Steady use of these drugs can have serious side effects, including life-threatening internal bleeding."
The study findings are reported in the journal Neurology.
