Blood Pressure Meds Could Stave Off Alzheimer’s Onset
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Some medications might not only lower your blood pressure but also lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease-related dementia.
In a study of about 3,000 people ages 75 and up, researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine learned that their use of commonly-used BP drugs such as diuretics appeared to cut the risk of dementia by at least half in people without prior signs of cognitive problems.
However, beta blockers and calcium channel blockers did not produce the same effect, according to lead researcher Dr. Sevil Yasar.
Nonetheless, Yasar said the Johns Hopkins team was encouraged by the finding since they aid “clinicians in selecting an anti-hypertensive medication based not only on blood pressure control, but also on additional benefits.”
He added that similar discoveries would prove important because scientists are still having a difficult time developing effective drugs specifically to stop the onset of Alzheimer’s, a debilitating, memory-robbing disease.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio