A new study suggests a link between certain medications and a reduced risk of dementia. Researchers analyzed data from over a million cases and identified antibiotics, antiviral medications, and vaccines as potentially protective. While further research is needed, these findings offer hope for developing new dementia treatments and repurposing existing drugs.
A comprehensive analysis of existing medications has revealed a potential link between certain drugs and a reduced risk of dementia. The review, the largest of its kind, encompassed over a million dementia cases and spanned fourteen studies, primarily originating from the United States. Researchers identified numerous medications associated with dementia risk, both positive and negative.
While the associations between specific drugs and dementia risk varied across studies, antibiotics, antiviral medications, and vaccines consistently emerged as linked to a lower risk of developing dementia. Notably, four vaccines, including those for diphtheria, hepatitis A, typhoid, and combined hep A and typhoid, demonstrated a reduction in dementia risk ranging from 8 to 32 percent. The research team emphasizes that their findings establish associations, not definitive causal relationships. They acknowledge that further investigation is needed to elucidate the mechanisms behind these associations and determine if these medications can effectively prevent or treat dementia. However, these results provide valuable insights for scientists seeking to develop new dementia therapies. Some researchers are now exploring the potential of repurposing already approved drugs for cognitive decline prevention. This review offers a valuable starting point by identifying promising drug candidates for further investigation. The sheer volume of available medications makes it challenging to pinpoint potential therapies. This comprehensive data analysis allows researchers to focus on specific drugs that warrant more in-depth study. Benjamin Underwood, an old-age psychiatrist from the University of Cambridge who led the review with dementia researcher Ilianna Lourida from the University of Exeter, highlights the importance of pooling vast health datasets. Such datasets provide crucial evidence to guide research efforts and narrow down the search for effective dementia treatments. The review also uncovered potential links between anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, and a reduced risk of dementia. Antihypertensive and antidepressant medications, on the other hand, exhibited conflicting results, requiring additional research to determine their precise role in cognitive decline and dementia risk. The researchers remain optimistic that this research will pave the way for new dementia treatments and expedite their availability to patients. The prospect of repurposing existing drugs offers a faster route to clinical trials and potentially quicker access to patients compared to developing entirely novel medications
DEMERTIA MEDICATIONS ANTIBIOTICS VACCINES DRUG REPURPOSING
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