Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21368281›Full record

SynthesisNeurology2011

Use of ibuprofen and risk of Parkinson disease.

Xiang Gao, Honglei Chen, Michael A Schwarzschild, Alberto Ascherio

Open access · bronzeAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Neurology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 164 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
164citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
16.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

164 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 320 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Effect of Ibuprofen on BrainAGE: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Response Exploratory Study.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2018
    Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Article
  10. The Emerging Parkinson's Disease Oxylipin-Ome.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Neuroprotection in Parkinson Disease.Neurology and therapy · 2025
    Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

104 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Xiang GaoChanning Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, 181 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA. xiang.gao@channing.harvard.edu
Honglei Chen
Michael A Schwarzschild
Alberto Ascherio
Brigham and Women's Hospital · US

Funding

NSAIDs, inflammation and Parkinson's diseaseR01NS048517 · NINDS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI ASCHERIO, ALBERTO · 2005 to 2009
$2.1M
Pursuing purinergic pathways to clinical trials for Parkinson's diseaseK24NS060991 · NINDS · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI SCHWARZSCHILD, MICHAEL A · 2008 to 2012
$954k
Intramural NIH HHSNINDS NIH HHS K24 NS060991NINDS NIH HHS K24NS060991NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS048517
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNeuroinflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease (PD). Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) in general, and possibly ibuprofen in particular, has been shown to be related to lower PD risk in previous epidemiologic studies.

methodsWe prospectively examined whether use of ibuprofen or other NSAIDs is associated with lower PD risk among 136,197 participants in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS) free of PD at baseline (1998 for NHS and 2000 for HPFS). NSAIDs use was assessed via questionnaire. Results were combined in a meta-analysis with those of published prospective investigations.

resultsWe identified 291 incident PD cases during 6 years of follow-up. Users of ibuprofen had a significantly lower PD risk than nonusers (relative risk [RR], adjusted for age, smoking, caffeine, and other covariates = 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42-0.93; p = 0.02). There was a dose-response relationship between tablets of ibuprofen taken per week and PD risk (p trend = 0.01). In contrast, PD risk was not significantly related to use of aspirin (RR = 0.99; 95% CI 0.78-1.26), other NSAIDs (RR = 1.26; 95% CI 0.86-1.84), or acetaminophen (RR = 0.86; 95% CI 0.62-1.18). Similar results were obtained in the meta-analyses: the pooled RR was 0.73 (95% CI 0.63-0.85; p < 0.0001) for ibuprofen use, whereas use of other types of analgesics was not associated with lower PD risk.

conclusionsThe association between use of ibuprofen and lower PD risks, not shared by other NSAIDs or acetaminophen, suggests ibuprofen should be further investigated as a potential neuroprotective agent against PD.

Indexed as

AcetaminophenAdultAgedAnti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-SteroidalAntipyreticsConfidence IntervalsFemaleHumansIbuprofenMaleMiddle AgedParkinson DiseaseRisk FactorsSurveys and QuestionnairesTreatment OutcomeAcetaminophenAnti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-SteroidalAntipyreticsIbuprofen

Identifiers

PMID21368281
PMCPMC3059148
OpenAlexW2037752501

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.