Killing pain while boosting your brain! Study finds great effects of Ibuprofen

Did you ever think that a painkiller, apart from doing its job of soothing your pain, could help boost your brain too?
Well, turns out - Ibuprofen can!
A study has found that Ibuprofen, a common painkiller, which is used by millions - could boost memory and intelligence.

The University College London conducted a study that looked into the cognitive effects of common medicines on about half a million people in the UK. The researchers found that the drugs that are used to treat pain, inflammation, osteoarthritis, heart disease, asthma, allergies, and high blood pressure may have the greatest positive effects too.
Ibuprofen, the very common anti-inflammatory taken to relieve headaches, toothache, back pain, and cold symptoms, researchers claim - may also speed up reaction times. It also has been revealed that the health benefits are so significant, that they suggest, that the pills are as good for the brain as lowering high blood pressure.
The study, funded by the charity The Health Foundation, used medical data from about 540,000 men and women, aged up to 73. It included information on what medication they were taking and how they performed in tests that measured reaction times, memory, reasoning skills, and problem-solving abilities.
The scores of those using the drugs were compared with those who did not use the medication.
The results, published in the journal Brain And Behaviour, revealed that people who were taking one of ten common drugs performed better in the tests than those who did not.


Researchers drew the attention to the point that their results only suggest a link between the drugs and these effects, and are not proof that they cause them directly. However, they mentioned that clinical trials of all new medications should look at the potential impact on the brain to allow doctors to choose the best drugs for patients to take.
As per neurologist Martin Rossor, the study's senior author, “The cognitive side-effects of commonly used drugs may have a significant impact. Medications are widely employed and many have adverse cognitive effects. Consideration should be given to a routine assessment of cognition in trials.”

There has been little research on the cognitive effects of common drugs. As many of those drugs are taken most frequently by older people and often in conjunction with other medications, it is hard to isolate what might be causing the effect. Moreover, any adverse effects on cognition may also be wrongly attributed to advancing age as well.
However, the significant positive effects of Ibuprofen don’t apply to all the common painkillers that are available in the market. Because, taking paracetamol, another common painkiller, was found to have the opposite effect and could actually worsen memory. The over-the-counter painkiller paracetamol and the prescription antidepressant fluoxetine had the most adverse effects on memory and problem-solving.


Other painkillers that had a positive effect included aspirin, codeine, and diclofenac, also known as Voltaren. Apart from these, omega 3 triglycerides, used to treat heart disease, glucosamine for osteoarthritis, atorvastatin for lowering cholesterol, omeprazole for heartburn, indigestion drug lansoprazole, and those taking a multivitamin also saw benefits. The migraine treatment amitriptyline was also linked to the biggest negative effects.