Does daily aspirin use affect memory loss in aging? Research shows mixed results, with some animal studies suggesting benefits for memory through brain plasticity, while large human trials find no protection against cognitive decline or dementia.
Aspirin is a common drug people take every day for heart health or pain relief. As we age, worries about memory loss and conditions like Alzheimer’s disease grow. Could a daily low dose of aspirin help protect the brain? Scientists have studied this question in different ways.
One key lab study looked at how aspirin works in the brain. It found that aspirin binds to a protein called PPARα in the hippocampus, a brain area vital for memory and learning. This binding boosts hippocampal plasticity, which means it helps brain cells form new connections. In mice with an Alzheimer’s-like condition, low-dose aspirin improved memory tasks and increased calcium signals in brain slices, key for learning. These effects depended on PPARα, as they did not happen in mice without that protein. The study also noted that high-dose aspirin users in humans had lower Alzheimer’s rates and better cognition in past observations.https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1802021115
However, results from human trials paint a different picture. The large ASPREE study followed over 19,000 healthy older adults, mostly aged 70 and up, who took daily low-dose aspirin or a placebo. After several years, those on aspirin showed no lower risk of mild cognitive impairment, dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease compared to the placebo group. This came from the National Institute on Aging’s Alzheimer’s prevention efforts.https://www.alzdiscovery.org/news-room/announcements Follow-up ASPREE data on nearly 11,000 participants linked other habits, like frequent music listening, to brain health, but aspirin itself did not stand out for memory protection.https://www.aol.com/articles/top-brain-health-discoveries-2025-145121710.html
Another ASPREE analysis checked blood markers for Alzheimer’s and related dementias alongside mood symptoms, but it did not directly test aspirin’s impact on memory loss.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12756043/
Animal findings hint at possible brain benefits from aspirin’s effects on plasticity, but human evidence from major trials like ASPREE shows daily use does not prevent memory loss or dementia in healthy older people. Doctors often weigh aspirin’s heart benefits against bleeding risks when advising on daily use.
Sources
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1802021115
https://www.alzdiscovery.org/news-room/announcements
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12756043/
https://www.aol.com/articles/top-brain-health-discoveries-2025-145121710.html
