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Part of the reluctance to use ibuprofen is the fear on the part of doctors of increased gastrointestinal bleeding, a common side effect with ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory drugs, Konstan explained.

But he added that this problem "happens in about one in 500 treated patients. That's an awfully small risk considering the strong benefit."

In the new study, which appears in the December issue of American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Konstan's team was able to show that the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding was small while the benefit was significant.

Konstan's group looked at 1,365 children who took ibuprofen and 8,960 who did not. Patients ranged from 6 to 17 years of age. Doses ranged from 20 milligrams to 30 milligrams per kilogram of the patient's weight. Some patients took up to 1,600 milligrams per dose -- typical, over-the-counter doses of ibuprofen recommend a maximum dose of 1,200 milligrams for people over 12 years of age.

The researchers found that for patients taking ibuprofen, the progression of the disease was cut by almost one-third compared with those not taking the drug. Moreover, gastrointestinal bleeding was rare, with an incidence of 0.37 percent in children taking ibuprofen, compared with 0.14 percent in those not taking the drug.

"Based on these findings, we should reconsider the use of ibuprofen as a treatment option," Konstan said. Whether ibuprofen actually increases survival isn't known, but based on the slowing of the disease, Konstan thinks that it probably does.

The researcher noted that his team has been looking for an anti-inflammatory alternative to ibuprofen for 10 years, but they have yet to find one that is as effective and safe as the common drug. "We continue to search for alter
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