Blood pressure drug dementia hope
A drug used to lower blood pressure could prevent or delay thousands of Alzheimer's cases, US research has suggested.
People taking angiotensin receptor blockers were up to 40% less likely
to develop dementia than those taking other blood pressure drugs.
And patients already suffering from dementia were less likely to get worse.
The number of people in the UK with dementia is expected to soar to 1.7 million over the next two decades.
This study highlights that it is becoming increasingly important to investigate blood pressure lowering drugs as a potential treatment for dementia Professor Clive Ballard Alzheimer's Society |
This could mean an enormous extra burden for families and the taxpayer,
but the Boston University School of Medicine research, presented at a
conference in Chicago, suggests there could be ways to prevent it.
High blood pressure over long periods can lead to
damaged blood vessels, and is known to increase the risk of not only
strokes and heart disease, but dementia as well.
Some types of dementia are directly related to the
condition of the arteries supplying the brain, but blood pressure is
also thought to play a role in Alzheimer's disease, which is linked to
the appearance of protein deposits in brain tissue.
However, the reasons for this are not clear.
Symptom delay
The research looked at records of approximately six million people treated for high blood pressure between 2001 and 2006.
Those who took angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were less likely,
over that period, to be diagnosed with dementia compared with those on
other blood pressure medication such as ACE inhibitors.
If they already had dementia in 2001, they were 45%
less likely to go on to develop delirium, be admitted to a nursing
home, or die prematurely.
This evidence suggests that the drugs, which help
prevent the constriction of blood vessels, could not only prevent, or
at least delay, the arrival of dementia symptoms, but also slow down
the progress of the disease.
ARBs are normally prescribed only to patients who cannot tolerate ACE inhibitors.
Professor Clive Ballard, from the Alzheimer's Society, said that full
clinical trials, following a smaller number of patients over a longer
period, were now needed.
"High blood pressure doubles the risk of Alzheimer's
disease and increases risk of stroke - this study highlights that it is
becoming increasingly important to investigate blood pressure lowering
drugs as a potential treatment for dementia.
"These findings will be important in stimulating
further research into the relationship between anti-hypertension drugs
and the development of dementia."
