Bristol University have found that the drugs target a biochemical pathway, the renin angiotensin system, which us thought to be linked to the onset of Alzheimer's. When looking at 40 000 patients over 60 who were treated for hypertension, there was a decrease in risk by 53% from ARBs and 24% ACE inhibitors. This was compared to those with older hypertension treatments such as calcium channel blockers and beta blockers.
The drugs work by blocking the effects of the hormone angiotensin II; this results in the destruction of the amyloid plaques which build up in the brain of someone suffering from Alzheimer's.
The next step is to conduct clinical trials to see how ARBs and ACE inhibitors can prevent cognitive decline. They will be looking to see if they can stop mild cognitive impairment from progressing to dementia and if they can delay the progression of this degenerative disease.
After doing my pathology project on Alzheimer's disease and then my year 12 Biology coursework, I find articles on dementia of particular interest. I understand the pathology well enough to understand the effects of the medication and with my job at the nursing home can see the day to day application of the disease.
Article cited from The Daily Mail
Has anyone ever mentioned CerefolinNAC?
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of this until you mentioned it a couple of days ago and I still no little about the effectiveness in clinical trials. This article can be found on NHS choices website and in The Daily Mail, feel free to follow this story online :)
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