Antibiotics, antivirals, vaccines and anti-inflammatories are associated with a lower risk of dementia, according to new research that analyzed the health data of more than 130 million people and which was recently published in the journal ‘Alzheimer’s & Dementia Translational Research & Clinical Interventions‘.
In depth
The study, led by researchers from the universities of Cambridge and Exeter (United Kingdom), identified several drugs already authorized and in use that could be reused to treat dementia.
Despite the intense efforts made, progress in identifying drugs capable of slowing or even preventing dementia has been disappointing. Until recently, anti-dementia drugs were only effective for symptoms and had a modest effect.
Recently, it has been shown that the lecanemab and donanemab reduce the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain – a key characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease – and slow the progression of the disease, but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICEfor its acronym in English) concluded that the benefits were insufficient to justify approval of its use in the SNS.
“Need urgently new treatments to slow the progression of dementia, if not to prevent it. If we find drugs that are already authorized for other diseases, we will be able to test them and, more importantly, make them available to patients much faster than we would with a completely new drug,” explained the doctor Ben Underwoodfrom the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.
More details
“The fact that they are already available probably will reduce the cost and, therefore, increase the likelihood that it will be approved for use in the National Health System“Underwood added.
Thus, the researchers conducted a systematic review of the existing scientific literature to look for evidence of prescription drugs altering dementia risk. Systematic reviews allow researchers to bring together several studies where the evidence may be weak, or even contradictory, to reach stronger conclusions. solid.
In total, the team examined 14 studies that used large clinical data sets and medical records, with data from more than 130 million individuals and one million cases of dementia. Although there was no consistency between studies in identifying individual drugs that affect dementia risk, several classes of drugs were identified that were associated with a altered risk.
To take into account
An unexpected finding was the association between antibiotics, antivirals and vaccinesand a lower risk of dementia. This finding supports the hypothesis that common dementias can be triggered by viral or bacterial infections, and supports recent interest in vaccines, such as the BCG vaccine for tuberculosis, and decreasing the risk of dementia.
Anti-inflammatories, such as ibuprofenwere also associated with a reduction in risk. It is increasingly considered further that inflammation contributes significantly to a wide range of diseases, and its role in dementia is supported by the fact that some genes that increase the risk of dementia are part of inflammatory pathways.
The team found There was conflicting evidence for several classes of drugs: some antihypertensives and antidepressants and, to a lesser extent, diabetes medication were associated with a lower risk of dementia and others at a higher risk.
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