Pressure-reducing drugs may prevent dementia among older people

Health and Medical

The study found a link between the treatment of different types of drugs to lower blood pressure and reduced risk of dementia among the elderly .. Many recent studies have linked high blood pressure with increased risk of dementia.

The study, published in the Journal of Neurology last year, used data from the Disease Analyzer database – a large German database that collects and stores health information for millions of people – that among older adults who follow stress reduction therapies, there is a reduction in dementia.

In their study – now appearing in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease – the researchers analyzed data from 12405 people, aged 60 years or older, with dementia who participated in one of 739 general practices in Germany as patients in 2013-2013. Access to all blood pressure values ​​of these participants, as well as their drug records.

The researchers studied three models in their analysis of the data: people who took antihypertensive drugs at some point in their lives compared to people who did not take antihypertensive drugs .. people who followed the 3-year-old antihypertensive therapy compared to people who did this for less than 3 years. "People who followed this treatment for 5 years compared to people who took antihypertensive drugs for less than 5 years, the team found that those who took some antihypertensive drugs – including beta blockers, calcium channel inhibitors, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, And angiotensin-2 receptors were less likely to develop dementia.

In addition, among those who took calcium channel blockers – another type of blood pressure medication – for a longer period of time, the rate of dementia also declined. Despite these results, Professor Karel Kostev, co-author of the study, That "hypertension therapy alone does not guarantee that dementia will never occur." However, these results highlight the importance of prescription antihypertensive drugs in the context of prevention of cognitive decline associated with high blood pressure"He said.

The study authors explain that additional studies should aim to look more closely at the relationship between the risk of dementia and antihypertensive drugs. They also noted that they "plan to study the role of drugs that reduce the proportion of fat, antidepressants and other drugs in the future"He said.

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