Common drugs may lead to cognitive impairment in older adults.Byline: ANI Washington, June 2 (ANI): Drugs commonly prescribed for allergies, hypertension, asthma, and cardiovascular might lead to cognitive impairment in older adults, say researchers. Drugs, such as diphenhydramine diphenhydramine /di·phen·hy·dra·mine/ (di?fen-hi´drah-men) a potent antihistamine, used as the hydrochloride salt in the treatment of allergic symptoms and for its anticholinergic, antitussive, antiemetic, antivertigo, and antidyskinetic , which have an anticholinergic anticholinergic /an·ti·cho·lin·er·gic/ (-ko?lin-er´jik) parasympatholytic; blocking the passage of impulses through the parasympathetic nerves; also, an agent that so acts. an·ti·cho·lin·er·gic n. effect, are important medical therapies available by prescription and also are sold over the counter. Older adults most commonly use drugs with anticholinergic effects as sleep aids. "The public, physicians, and even the Food and Drug Administration, need to be made aware of the role of these common medications, and others with anticholinergic effects, in causing cognitive impairment," said senior study author Dr Malaz Boustani, Indiana University School of Medicine The Indiana University School of Medicine is the medical school of Indiana University, part of the Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Established in 1903, the school had an initial class of 25 students. associate professor of medicine. "Patients should write down and tell their doctor which over-the-counter drugs they are taking. "Doctors, who often think of these medications simply as antihistamines Antihistamines Definition Antihistamines are drugs that block the action of histamine (a compound released in allergic inflammatory reactions) at the H1 , antidepressants Antidepressants Medications prescribed to relieve major depression. Classes of antidepressants include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (fluoxetine/Prozac, sertraline/Zoloft), tricyclics (amitriptyline/ Elavil), MAOIs (phenelzine/Nardil), and heterocyclics , antihypertensives, sleep aids or even itching remedies, need to recognize their systemic anticholinergic properties and the fact that they appear to impact brain health negatively," Boustani added. The researchers analysed 27 studies of the relationship of anticholinergic effect and brain function as well as investigating anecdotal information and found a strong link between anticholinergic effect and cognitive impairment in older adults. "Many medications used for several common disease states have anticholinergic effects that are often unrecognized by prescribers" said Wishard Health Services health services Managed care The benefits covered under a health contract pharmacist, Noll Campbell, Pharm.D., first author of the study, noting that these drugs are among the most frequently purchased over the counter products. "In fact, 50 percent of the older adult population use a medication with some degree of anticholinergic effect each day," Campbell added. "Our main message is that older adults and their physicians should have conversations about the benefits and harms of these drugs in relation to brain health," said Dr. Boustani. The study appears in Journal of Clinical Interventions in Aging. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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