Could Blood Pressure Medications Slow Dementia?

A new group of drugs commonly used to help lower blood pressure may also be used to help slow the start of dementia.

According to a recent study, patients taking centrally active ACE inhibitors experienced marginally slower rates of cognitive decline compared to those who were not on the same drugs.

Patients on the drugs also showed better functioning and brain power with the prescriptions and even gradually improved over a 6-month period.

Researchers from Ireland analyzed the cognitive decline and brain power of approximately 361 individuals around the age of 77. They all had been diagnosed with either Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia or a mixture of both.

Eighty-five of the patients had already been using the ACE inhibitors.

From 1999 and 2010, the researchers used the Standardized Mini Mental State Examination or the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment to test the cognitive decline of each patient, which was completed on two separate occasions, six months apart.

The study found that individuals taking ACE inhibitors had slower rates of cognitive decline compared to those not taking the drugs. Study results also showed that patients who had been newly prescribed the ACE inhibitors over the six-month period had improved brain power compared to those who had not taken the medication.

"This supports the growing body of evidence for the use of ACE inhibitors and other (blood pressure-lowering) agents in the management of dementia," researchers note, via the study. "Although the differences were small and of uncertain clinical significant, if sustained over years, the compounding effects may well have significant clinical benefits."

However, previous studies note that ACE inhibitors have been linked to other dangers, including severe swelling of the tongue and throat, known as angioedema. This can possibly prevent patients from being able to breath, in some cases. Knowing this, researchers may want to weigh the pros and cons when determing if the inhibitors should be used.

More information regarding the study can be found in the journal BMJ Open.