Method for the prevention and treatment of alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Oral non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are not an effective treatment of Alzheimer's disease, because the brain dose is too low. Nasal delivery of NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, flurbiprofen, indomethacin, diclofenac, or naproxen, which inhibit the enzymes cyclooxygenase-1 (cox-1) and cox-2, are used to prevent and/or treat Alzheimer's disease, a low grade brain inflammation. The large amount of nasal NSAIDs (e.g., ibuprofen, flurbiprofen, indomethacin, diclofenac, or naproxen) that reaches the brain far exceeds that from an oral dose. Low-molecular-weight lipophilic drugs, such as ibuprofen, naproxen, indomethacin, diclofenac, and flurbiprofen, are readily absorbed into the brain by the intranasal route. Alzheimer's starts in the entorhinal cortex, which is closely connected to the olfactory nerves, and spreads anatomically in a defined pattern. Therefore, a nasal NSAID would readily reach the region of the brain where it acts therapeutically.

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