ArticleImmunity & ageing : I & A2017
Prescription database analyses indicates that the asthma medicine montelukast might protect against dementia: a hypothesis to be verified.
Article in Immunity & ageing : I & A, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuropsychiatric events associated with montelukast in patients with asthma: a systematic review.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2023Pooled it
- Immune modulation to treat Alzheimer's disease.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2025Review
- Effect of leukotriene receptor antagonist use on the future risk of Parkinson's disease in older patients with asthma.Brain communications · 2025Article
- Emulate randomized clinical trials using heterogeneous treatment effect estimation for personalized treatments: Methodology review and benchmark.Journal of biomedical informatics · 2023Review
- Leukotriene Signaling as a Target in α-Synucleinopathies.Biomolecules · 2022Review
- Leukotriene receptor antagonist use and cognitive decline in normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's dementia.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2021Observational
- A possible effect of montelukast on neurological aging examined by the use of register data.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2021Observational
- Cognitive Effects of Montelukast: A Pharmaco-EEG Study.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- The Leukotriene Receptor Antagonist Montelukast Attenuates Neuroinflammation and Affects Cognition in Transgenic 5xFAD Mice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Improved Bioavailability of Montelukast through a Novel Oral Mucoadhesive Film in Humans and Mice.Pharmaceutics · 2020Article
- Microglia depletion diminishes key elements of the leukotriene pathway in the brain of Alzheimer's Disease mice.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2020Article
- Article
- Leukotriene Receptor Antagonist Use and Dementia Risk in Patients With Asthma: A Retrospective Cohort Study.In vivo (Athens, Greece)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt has recently been shown that the leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast rejuvenates aged brains in rats. The question is whether this commonly used, systemic, anti-asthmatic medicine has a similar effect in humans?
resultsWe approached this issue by doing statistical analyses based on the Norwegian Prescription Database. The Database lists all prescription-based medications in Norway, but not drugs given to people who are in hospitals or nursing homes. The question asked was whether users of montelukast, compared to users of inhalation asthma medicine, live longer, and are less likely to develop dementia. A small, non-significant protective effect on the use of dementia medicine became significant when adjusting for other prescriptions (based on the notion that montelukast users on average are less healthy). A possible protective effect was substantiated by looking at the lack of prescriptions as a proxy for dementia-related residency in nursing homes, and the risk of death.
conclusionsThe present results suggest that montelukast may alleviate the cognitive decline associated with human aging. However, further data, preferably based on controlled clinical trials, are required.
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Registered trials
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.