Low-dose aspirin cuts dementia risk in people with one genetic profile
Aspirin has repeatedly failed as a broad dementia prevention tool. Yet new research suggests it may work for a specific genetic subgroup, and the effect is striking.
Researchers analysed data from older adults taking low-dose aspirin and found that, among those with a specific genetic profile, the relative risk of dementia was 70 percent lower compared to people without that profile who did not take aspirin. In all other participants, no protective effect was observed. That is the finding reported in the study.
Why genetics changes the picture
Earlier large-scale aspirin trials found no benefit for dementia in the general population. This new finding suggests that is because the protective effect applies only to people with a particular gene variant. Averaging across everyone obscures a real benefit in a subset of participants. The researchers argue this illustrates why genetic variation matters when testing whether a drug or intervention works.
How aspirin might produce this effect is not established by the source text. Aspirin is known as a drug that reduces swelling and irritation in the body, and that thins the blood. Persistent, low-level irritation throughout the body is associated with dementia development. It is plausible that the genetic profile influences how that irritation unfolds, but the study does not directly demonstrate this mechanism.
Important caveats remain
A 70 percent relative risk reduction is a large number, but this study simply tracked people over time without controlling who took aspirin and who did not. Participants chose whether to take aspirin themselves, meaning those who did may differ from non-users in other health-relevant ways. We cannot say aspirin caused the lower risk. Aspirin also carries real risks, particularly bleeding risk in older adults. The findings are a signal that matching treatment to a person's genetic profile may have a role in dementia prevention. They do not yet amount to a clinical recommendation.
Search terms: aspirin dementia prevention genetic variation, chronic low-grade inflammation dementia, pharmacogenetics neurodegeneration