Blood pressure drugs may slash Alzheimer's risk

[RedOnce]

14 March 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Roxanne Khamsi

Elderly patients taking certain drugs to lower their blood pressure appear to have a markedly reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report. Results from their short-term study suggest that some of these medications could slash this risk by up to 70%.

Previous research has shown that high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can increase a person’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Doctors commonly prescribe patients medications such as diuretics, which cause the kidneys to excrete water and salt, to lower blood pressure. Beta-blockers, which slow the heart rate and widen blood vessels, also work against hypertension.

Potassium levels

Overall, antihypertensive drugs appeared to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 40%. But the figure jumped even higher – to 70% – when they looked at a specific class of diuretics that have the desired effect on the kidney while maintaining higher bodily levels of the nutrient potassium.

“We would not want people to interpret these findings as a recommendation to go out and start taking antihypertensive drugs,” Zandi says, adding that further studies are necessary to back up the results.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn8844.html

[trotsky]

1. Let's get those further studies going!

This is a fascinating find - there's so many factors to study. Is it just the medications that help, or can we prevent/fight Alzheimer's by simply eating more potassium and less sodium?

[RedOnce]

2. Good question!