Risk of Multiple System Atrophy and the Use of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs: A Danish Register-Based Case-Control Study

INTRODUCTION: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare rapidly progressive atypical Parkinson disorder presenting clinically with parkinsonism and/or a cerebellar syndrome in combination with dysautonomia. Severe neuroinflammation develops along with hallmark neuropathological changes, and as in Parkinson's disease, intake of anti-inflammatory medication has been hypothesized to be protective for development of disease. We aimed to investigate if use of non-aspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), low-dose aspirin, or statins were associated with a reduced risk of MSA.

METHODS: We performed a register-based case-control study in MSA (n = 155) cases and population controls (n= 7,750) matched on age, gender, and place of residency by risk-set sampling. Pharmacological exposure prior to diagnosis was assessed in 2 categories (user vs. nonuser, cumulated dose in tertiles [T1-T3]). In an unconditional logistic regression model, adjusted for age, gender, residency, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), we estimated ORs and 95% CIs.

RESULTS: Data suggested a trend towards non-aspirin NSAID use to be associated with a decreased risk of MSA (OR 0.72 [95% CI 0.49-1.06]) compared to nonusers, decreasing dose-dependently (T2 OR 0.77 [95% CI 0.43-1.38]; T3 OR 0.55 [95% CI 0.29-1.06]). However, data were based on small numbers. Use of statins and low-dose aspirin was not associated with a decreased risk of MSA. Results were lagged 5 years from index date to address reverse causation.

CONCLUSION: A trend toward use of non-aspirin NSAID and an associated reduced risk of MSA was observed in this study. However, our analyses had limited statistical precision, and further studies including larger sample sizes and longer exposure periods are needed.