Common Meds Tied to Faster Mental Decline in Seniors

A study in Neurology suggests that a group of widely used medications might accelerate mental decline in older adults, especially if they are at increased risk of dementia, according to U.S. News & World Report . Anticholinergic drugs are used to treat a broad range of conditions, including allergies, motion sickness, overactive bladder, high blood pressure, depression, and Parkinson's disease. Healthy older adults on anticholinergics had a higher risk of mild cognitive impairment, with the association strongest among two groups of people already at elevated risk of Alzheimer's disease: those with a gene variant that raises the odds of the disease, and people with certain biological "markers" of the disease in spinal fluid. Professor Allison Reiss at New York University Long Island School of Medicine said the medications block a chemical called acetylcholine, which transmits messages among neurons, and is typically low in people with Alzheimer's. "The preponderance of evidence suggests it's better to avoid these medications in older adults," she explained.