A study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation has found that geriatric patients who are being treated for high blood pressure with hypertension drug might be cutting their risk of delveloping Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine studied over 1,500 drugs, used to treat other illnesses, to determine their effectiveness in prevent Alzheimer's and found that 7 of those used to treat hypertension were the most effective. They found that the drugs prevented beta-amyloid, the fragment of protein that forms a blockage in the brain of Alzheimer patients, from being produced.
Researchers also found that the drugs may also prevent further deterioration in patients who are already affected by the illness. When Valsartan was given to mice with Alzheimer's, it prevent further production of the plaques.
"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, director of the Center of Excellence for Research in Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Alzheimer's disease at Mount Sinai. "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."
While the study poses interesting possibilities for treating and preventing the cognitive deterioration and dementia in people with Alzheimer's, further study is necessary, on people, is necessary.
[Source: Fox News]
Comment Preview