Allergy Medicines and Dementia

Are your allergy medicines increasing your risk of dementia?

A recent study showed some allergy medicines can increase your risk for dementia.  Anticholinergic drugs are drugs that block the action of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain.  They are found in several medicines taken for asthma and allergies.  Researchers at Indiana University found that people taking medicines that contained anticholinergic drugs did worse on cognitive tests and had smaller sized brains than those who didn't take the drug.

This is not the first time a link has been established, but it is the first time that anticholinergic drugs and their ability to block the brain chemical called acetylcholine has been suspected.
 

See a list of drugs the researchers studied. (1)

Scientists are hoping the findings will lead to a better understanding of how this type of drug affects the brain and if it can raise the risk of dementia and/or impair thinking. 

The newest study that was published in JAMA Neurology engaged over 450 people who were all over the age of 70.  60 of them were taking at least one of the medicines listed as an anticholinergic drug.

The thinking based tests disclosed that those taking this type of drug did not test as high as those who were not taking the drugs. 

The study also revealed that anticholinergic drugs led to users' brains processing blood sugar differently in both the region of the brain that is tied to memory and Alzheimer’s and the overall brain.

Further tests showed the people who were using the drugs had larger brain cavities or ventricles and smaller brains. 

Even though the tests are not conclusive scientists are working on finding another drug to administer to elderly patience that do not have anticholinergic properties.

And though I am not elderly, I do not want to increase my risk of Alzheimer’s or dementia.  I lost my father to dementia.  It is a mean and terrible way to die.  There is no one who is left untouched when a family member suffers from a debilitating disease like that. 

If you suffer from allergies, there are several natural andhomeopathic remedies on the market.   Our moto, if it wasn’t around 500 years ago or if it is synthetic you don’t need it.