Existing high blood pressure drugs may prevent epilepsy, study finds (ARBs)

Medical Xpress / Stanford University Medical Center / JAMA Neurology ^ | June 18, 2024 | Sarah C.P. Williams / Xuerong Wen et al

[ConservativeMind]

A class of drugs already on the market to lower blood pressure appears to reduce adults' risk of developing epilepsy, researchers have discovered. The finding comes out of an analysis of the medical records of more than 2 million Americans taking blood pressure medications.

The study suggests that the drugs, called angiotensin receptor blockers, could prevent epilepsy in people at highest risk of the disease, including older adults who have had strokes.

"This is incredibly exciting because we don't currently have any medicines that prevent epilepsy," said Kimford Meador, MD.

In older adults, the most common risk factor for developing epilepsy is stroke; about 10% of stroke survivors experience seizures within five years. Vascular disease and chronic high blood pressure, even in the absence of stroke, also boost epilepsy risk.

In 2022, a study of more than 160,000 people in Germany found that people taking angiotensin receptor blockers—one of multiple classes of drugs prescribed to treat high blood pressure—had a diminished risk of developing epilepsy. The drugs block certain hormone receptors, leading to lower blood pressure and decreased inflammation in blood vessels and other organs—including the brain.

For the new study, they focused their analysis on 2.2 million adults who had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, were prescribed at least one high blood pressure medication and did not already have epilepsy.

Overall, people taking angiotensin receptor blockers had a 20% to 30% lower risk of developing epilepsy between 2010 and 2017 compared with people taking other blood pressure drugs. This difference held true even when patients with strokes were removed from the analysis, suggesting that the lower rates of epilepsy were not a result solely of a decreased risk of stroke.

The data also indicated that one particular angiotensin receptor blocker—losartan—had the most powerful effect on lowering epilepsy risk.

[ConservativeMind]

Of all blood pressure medicines, angiotensin receptor blockers, specifically losartan, appears to best prevent getting epilepsy, in people more likely to become epileptic.

[ConservativeMind]

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[WarriorPoet]

A keto diet can also help with controlling epilepsy.

[Grampa Dave]

After, I had received 2 stents, my cardio doc added 1/2 of a
Losartan 25 mg tablet an hour before bedtime.

Besides the cardiac protection, I sleep better most nights with my CPap machine.

I have not had any new side effects after adding the Losartan at night.

Also, I take a low dose aspirin tab with the Losartan and my evening Eliquis.

[Sir_Ed]

You take baby aspirin with Eliquis?

My doctor put me on Eliquis because of afib and he said to stop taking baby aspirin because it’s also an anticoagulant.