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Blood Pressure Lowering Drugs Linked To Reduced Risk
of Alzheimer's
Diuretics most effective in lowering incidence of
Alzheimer's in senior citizens
March 17, 2006 - Taking medications to lower blood
pressure, particularly those known as diuretics, may be associated with
a lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study of senior
citizens. Beta blockers and anti-hypertensives also were linked to a
slightly protective effect against AD, but ACE inhibitors did not.
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The study will appear in the May 2006 print issue
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Hypertension (high blood pressure) may increase the
risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to background information in
the article. Researchers have therefore begun to examine whether
antihypertensive agents, medications prescribed to treat high blood
pressure, could reduce the risk of AD.
These drugs include diuretics, which cause the
kidneys to excrete water and salt, and beta blockers, which results in
slowing the heart rate, reducing the heart's pumping action and widening
blood vessels.
Ara S. Khachaturian, Ph.D., of Khachaturian and
Associates, Inc., Potomac, Md., and colleagues examined the association
between antihypertensive medications and the incidence of AD in 3,297
elderly residents of Cache County, Utah. Between 1995 and 1997,
participants age 65 years and older were given an initial interview and
assessment that included screening for dementia and a detailed inventory
of all prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Residents who had AD at the first interview were
not included in the study. Follow-up assessments were done three years
later, beginning in 1998.
Of the participants, 1,507 (944 women and 563 men)
used antihypertensive medications and 1,790 (975 women, 815 men) did
not.
At the second assessment, 104 participants had
developed AD.
Elderly individuals who were using antihypertensive
medications at the beginning of the study were significantly less likely
to have developed AD than those who were not.
This relationship persisted when the researchers
controlled for other factors, including gender, age, high cholesterol,
diabetes and genetic risk. When antihypertensives were broken down by
type, diuretics were most strongly associated with a lower incidence of
AD.
More specifically, potassium-sparing diuretics,
which contain additional components to preserve levels of the mineral in
the body, were related to a more than 70 percent reduction in the risk
of AD.
Beta blockers and antihypertensives known as
dihydropyridine agents also were linked to a slightly protective effect
against AD, while those called ACE inhibitors did not appear to be
associated with the risk of developing the condition.
Although the exact reasons for the link between
potassium-sparing diuretics and reduced risk of AD is unclear, the
authors suggest that the increased blood potassium levels associated
with the medications may be a factor. "As yet unpublished findings
...also suggest that increased potassium levels may be associated with a
reduced risk of dementia," they write.
"Consistent with this idea are observations that
low potassium concentrations are associated with oxidative stress,
inflammation, platelet aggregation and vasoconstriction, all of which
are possible contributors to AD pathogenesis."
"We suggest these findings should prompt further
epidemiologic and basic science studies into the possible
neuroprotective effects of these drugs," they conclude.
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