Posted on 04/26/2018 8:32:10 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Many older adults know that long-term use of certain medications can negatively affect cognition and increase one's risk of dementia.
But a new study suggests that some classes of anticholinergic drugs -- particularly those used to treat depression, Parkinson's and urinary incontinence -- carry a higher risk than others.
Anticholinergic drugs function by blocking the effects of acetylcholine, a chemical released by nerve cells to send signals to other nerves and muscles. They are prescribed to 20% to 50% of older adults in the United States to treat a variety of neurological, psychiatric, gastrointestinal, respiratory and muscular conditions, according to a 2009 study. In the UK, 34% to 48% of older adults take them, another study found.
The new study, published Wednesday in the British Medical Journal, looked at the risk of new-onset dementia among nearly 350,000 older adults in the United Kingdom. The researchers found that people who used certain types of anticholinergics, such as those used to treat depression, Parkinson's and urinary incontinence, for a year or more had about a 30% increased risk of developing dementia down the road.
But those individuals taking other classes of anticholinergics -- including those used for asthma and gastrointestinal issues -- were not at an increased risk of developing dementia compared with matched controls, the study found.
"Previous studies had really only said that anticholinergics were associated with dementia incidence," said George Savva, researcher of health sciences at the University of East Anglia and a lead author on the study, in a news briefing. "But we broke it down by class, which is where our study really has its novelty and power."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Benadryl - is Benadryl in this class? It seems unclear to me.
I don’t feel so bad now as from time to time I forget to zip it up.
That's great! Alcoholics have to go to meetings. Lushes . . . not so much.
>> Benadryl - is Benadryl in this class? It seems unclear to me <<
Benadryl is an anticholonergic.
But the novelty of this study is that it separated out those anticholonergics that seem to encourage dementia, versus those anticholonergics that seem safe. Benadryl — as an antihistimine — is in the latter category.
(Note: Please pardon me for reading the article. I know this practice is seriously frowned upon in these precincts. Still, I did it anyway.)
Thanks - I read the article, sort of, while watching TV. It’s more fun to ask you.
Later
Thanks.
Well stated. ...Chicken or egg?
I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a drunk. Alcoholics have to go to meetings.
Meetings might be fun. Do they have an open or cash bar?
My spouse and I decided to stop drinking altogether last summer, after years of indulging in a "happy hour" at home that often lasted until bedtime.
Neither if us had any health or legal issues as a result of the drinking, but our decision was based on the likelihood that it would catch up with us eventually, and also that the nightly alcohol ritual was pretty much taking us out of other more positive activities, such as spending more quality time with our grandkids.
We have since dealt with someone very close to us who has a true alcohol addiction.
Their drinking will literally kill them if they don't stop; it has negatively affected their personal relationships and their job, and we have come to realize there are millions more out there in the same boat.
My spouse and I used to think we might be alcoholics, but we didn't have a clue.
We now know we just liked our booze. A lot. We had no trouble just quitting, and we have no interest in going back to it.
We were "lushes", as you put it.
There really is a difference.
Semi-facetious. I have a new-found passion for pre-prohibition tiki craft cocktails, like Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic were serving in the 40s.
I have put in a LOT of practice over the last year and a half.
There is some true art in these cocktails.
Yes Benadryl and Visteril are both strong anticholinergic drugs
However, Benadryl is not included in the "some classes".
but I have been hearing that it should not be an everyday thing, as some people use it.
I like to think of it as liver CrossFit.
That’s why I was asking. The article wasn’t helpful. Benadryl is so useful, now I’m worried.
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