Alzheimer's

Study: Antipsychotics hike stroke risk for all

Tracy Staton — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:02:55 -0400

The risk of stroke among patients taking antipsychotics may be more widespread than we thought. British researchers are saying that the risk accompanies all antipsychotics--not just the newer "atypicals" like Abilify and Zyprexa, as once thought. And all patients on these drugs have a greater risk--not just those with dementia, the researchers found.

The study looked at 6,790 patients with an average age of 80. It's true that the stroke risk was slightly higher for people taking atypicals versus the older antipsychotics such as Thorazine and Haldol. And the risk of stroke was also much greater in dementia patients (their risk actually tripled). But even patients without dementia saw their stroke risk magnified by 40 percent.

Echoing an FDA warning on the atypical meds, researchers said that patients with dementia shouldn't be taking these drugs--or their older brethren, either. Alzheimer's expert Dr. Sam Gandy said the new study "elevates the concern about risks of antipsychotics to a whole new level." The FDA might want to investigate, he said.

- read the story in the Washington Post
- check out the BBC article

ARBs might prevent, treat Alzheimer's

Tracy Staton — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:08:54 -0400

Help for Alzheimer's may already be in thousands of medicine cabinets. Researchers found that patients taking blood pressure drugs called agiotensin receptor blockers, or ARBs, were 35 percent to 40 percent less likely to develop the degenerative brain disease or other forms of dementia. Also, people who already had Alzheimer's and used the drugs were up to 45 percent less likely to develop delirium, to be admitted to nursing homes, or to die. Patients who'd had strokes benefited most.

Scientists theorize that the drugs might help prevent nerve cell injury that stems from blood-vessel damage, or to promote nerve recovery after blood-vessel damage. But just any old blood pressure or cardiovascular drug wouldn't do; the ARBs were more effective than other types of meds, the researchers found.

Just who makes these meds? Basically a roll call of Big Pharma: Novartis has Diovan, Merck has Cozaar, Boehringer Ingelheim has Micardis, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis have Avapro, Kos has Teveten, and AstraZeneca has Atacand. Expect to see more research on this, considering the huge impact Alzheimer's is expected to have as the U.S. population ages.

- see the Washington Post story

Painkillers little help against dementia

Tue, 13 May 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Hopes that painkillers might help stave off Alzheimer's disease were dampened by a large new study. Pfizer's Celebrex and the over-the-counter Aleve didn't benefit thinking skills as researchers had hypothesized. "These were not the results we were hoping for," one of the co-authors said. "We designed this study hoping we would see a protective effect of these drugs." They'll continue monitoring the participants to see if a delayed benefit crops up.

Previous studies had shown that people who took the drugs ran a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's, but those studies weren't designed specifically for that purpose. It's a bummer for Pfizer and Bayer (which makes Aleve), because proof of Alzheimer's prevention would translate into a big new use for those meds. "Unfortunately, as this paper demonstrates, research doesn't always translate into successful new treatments," a philosophical Dr. Gail Cawkwell of Pfizer told the LA Times.

- read the Times article

SPOTLIGHT: More good news for Alzheimer's patients

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 06:59:52 -0400

Don't plan the party yet, but there's more good news for Alzheimer's patients and statin makers alike. New research that combined cognitive monitoring before death and brain dissection afterward shows that seniors who'd taken statin drugs to lower their cholesterol had developed fewer of the protein deposits in their brains that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease. Report