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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and Alzheimer-type pathology in aging
Mackenzie IR, Munoz DG.. Neurology, 1998-04-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Anti-inflammatory drugs have been suggested as a possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The association of immune proteins and immune-competent microglial cells with senile plaques (SP) in both AD and normal aging suggests that these drugs may be able to modify the course of AD, either by interfering with SP formation or by suppressing the inflammation associated with SP. We compared postmortem brain tissue from elderly, nondemented, arthritic patients with a history of chronic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use (n = 32, aged 77 +/- 7 years) and nondemented control subjects with no history of arthritis or other condition that might promote the regular use of NSAIDs (n = 34, aged 77 +/- 6 years).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Mackenzie, I. R., & Munoz, D. G. (1998). Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and Alzheimer-type pathology in aging. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.50.4.986
Vancouver
Mackenzie IR, Munoz DG. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and Alzheimer-type pathology in aging. Neurology. 1998. doi:10.1212/wnl.50.4.986. PMID: 9566383.
BibTeX
@article{mackenzie1998-9566383,
author = {Mackenzie, I. R. and Munoz, D. G.},
title = {{Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and Alzheimer-type pathology in aging}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.50.4.986},
pmid = {9566383},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.50.4.986}
}
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Key findings
- The association of immune proteins and immune-competent microglial cells with senile plaques (SP) in both AD and normal aging suggests that these drugs may be able to modify the course of AD, either by interfering with SP formation or by suppressing the inflammation associated with SP.
- We compared postmortem brain tissue from elderly, nondemented, arthritic patients with a history of chronic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use (n = 32, aged 77 +/- 7 years) and nondemented control subjects with no history of arthritis or other condition that might promote the regular use of NSAIDs (n = 34, aged 77 +/- 6 years).
- In both the NSAID-treated group and control subjects, 59% of patients had some SP.
- There was no difference between the two groups in the mean number of plaques or in the number of specific SP subtypes (diffuse or neuritic).
Why it matters
This postmortem comparison of nondemented arthritic patients with chronic NSAID use and nondemented controls examined whether NSAIDs modify Alzheimer-type pathology. It reports no treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Participants32
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1998 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 32 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 243 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 8.1 citations a year over 30 year(s) since 1998 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 14.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 10 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 3 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author David G. Muñoz: h-index 74 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Vancouver General Hospital: institution h-index 364 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 9566383) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
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