Dementia Slowed in Patients on Blood-Pressure Drugs
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Patients taking drugs known as ACE inhibitors that are used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure had lower rates of deterioration caused by certain types of dementia, according to researchers who reviewed Canadian hospital records.
The researchers led by William Molloy of University College Cork in Ireland conducted what is known as an observational study, by looking at records of past treatment of 361 dementia patients at two memory clinics in Ontario, Canada. Those who were taking ACE inhibitors showed a smaller drop in their score on a test measuring cognitive ability than those who weren’t on the drugs, according to the study published today in BMJ Open, an online journal.