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Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
High Blood Pressure Drugs May Prevent Alzheimer’s
Disease Says Study
'Significantly' effective in preventing
beta-amyloid development
Oct. 26, 2007 - A new study published in the
Journal of Clinical Investigation reports several drugs used to treat
hypertension appear to be capable of preventing Alzheimer’s disease and
cognitive deterioration. The study found these drugs “significantly”
effective in preventing beta-amyloid development in the brain, a key
element in Alzheimer's disease.
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This research published in the November 2007
issue was conducted by Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D. He reports that a large
number of geriatric patients currently under pharmacological treatment
for high-blood pressure with certain anti-hypertensive drugs might reap
the additional benefits of the drug's cognitive effects.
"If we can deliver certain anti-hypertensive drugs
to patients at high risk to develop Alzheimer’s disease, at doses that
do not affect blood pressure, these drugs could be made available for
all members of the geriatric population identified as being at high risk
for developing Alzheimer's disease," said researcher Pasinetti.
Pasinetti is Professor of Psychiatry and
Neuroscience, Geriatrics and Adult Development and Director of the
Center of Excellence for Research in Complementary and Alternative
Medicine in Alzheimer's disease at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Over the past two years, investigators directed by
Dr. Pasinetti at Mount Sinai have been screening more than 1,500 drugs
that are already commercially available for treatment of other
disorders, to determine their potential value in treating Alzheimer's
disease and cognitive impairment.
Based on the initial drug screening, Dr. Pasinetti
and his collaborators identified 7out of 55 drugs commonly prescribed
for the treatment of hypertension, which are capable of significantly
preventing beta-amyloid production.
The report says that mice genetically determined to
develop Alzheimer’s disease beta-amyloid production and subsequent
cognitive deterioration, significantly benefit from the treatment with
the anti-hypertensive agent Valsartan.
The drug was found to pharmacologically prevent
beta-amyloid production in the brain even when delivered to Alzheimer’
disease mice at doses 3-4 fold lower than the minimal equivalent dose
prescribed for the treatment of hypertension in humans.
Other anti-hypertension drugs with beneficial
results included Propranolol HCI, Carvedilol, Losartan, Nicardipine HCI,
Amiloride HCI and Hydralazine HCI.
Showing the use of anti-hypertensive drugs with
anti- beta-amyloid production activities in the brain of Alzheimer’
disease mice, will help in the identification of future treatments for
the prevention of cognitive deterioration and eventually dementia in
Alzheimer's disease.
Future Research
Dr. Pasinetti noted he recognizes the limitations
of the research, noting that studies must be immediately verified in
human subjects to verify the effect of the drugs on cognitive
deterioration and memory functions independent of their role as an
anti-hypertensive agent.
"The use of these drugs for their potential
anti-Alzheimer’s disease role is still highly experimental, and at this
stage we have no clinical data beyond phenomenological observation in
humans" said Dr. Pasinetti.
"We need to complete preventive and therapeutic
clinical trials in the near future if we are to identify certain
anti-hypertensive drugs with anti beta-amyloid antioligomeric
activities, which will need to be prescribed at dosages that do not
interfere with blood pressure in normotensive Alzheimer’s disease
patients."
Editor’s Notes:
About The Mount Sinai Medical Center
The Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses The Mount Sinai Hospital and
Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the
nation’s oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. Founded
in 1852, Mount Sinai today is a 1,171-bed tertiary-care teaching
facility that is internationally acclaimed for excellence in clinical
care. Last year, nearly 50,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as
inpatients, and there were nearly 450,000 outpatient visits to the
Medical Center.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally
recognized as a leader in groundbreaking clinical and basic-science
research, as well as having an innovative approach to medical education.
With a faculty of more than 3,400 in 38 clinical and basic science
departments and centers, Mount Sinai ranks among the top 20 medical
schools in receipt of National Institute of Health (NIH) grants.
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