Over-the-counter drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen might help protect against dementia, a new study suggests.

These NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) might help protect the brain by quelling inflammation that contributes to dementia, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

People who took NSAIDs long-term had a 12% lower risk of developing dementia, researchers found.

“Our study provides evidence on possible preventive effects of anti-inflammatory medication against the dementia process,” senior researcher Dr. M. Arfan Ikram, chair of epidemiology at Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, said in a news release.

“There is a need for more studies to further consolidate this evidence and possibly develop preventive strategies,” Ikram added.

For the study, researchers tracked nearly 12,000 healthy residents of The Netherlands taking part in an ongoing study, following them for more than 14 years on average.

Of the study participants, 9,520 (81%) had used NSAIDs at any given time, based on pharmacy dispensing records, and 2,091 developed dementia.

Long-term NSAID use was associated with a lower risk of dementia, but not short- or medium-term use, results show.

In addition, a person’s cumulative dose of NSAIDs did not seem to decrease their risk of dementia, researchers said.

“This suggests that prolonged rather than intensive exposure to anti-inflammatory medication may hold potential for dementia prevention,” researchers wrote.

However, researchers noted that the study doesn’t prove a cause-and-effect link between NSAIDs and dementia risk.

“Long-term users who tolerated NSAIDs well might have been healthier compared to short-term users and therefore less at risk to develop dementia,” researchers noted. “However, long-term users showed no consistent healthier profile compared to short-term users.”

In addition, NSAID use is linked to an increased risk of dangerous bleeding among seniors, researchers added.

“Although our results are an indication of the important role of inflammation in the treatment of dementia, they do not justify the recommendation of long-term treatment with NSAIDs for the prevention of dementia, given its potential adverse effects,” researchers concluded.