Common medications still okay for patients with dementia
As people age, the financial burden of the rising cost of healthcare can become more palpable, but buying drugs from a Canadian internet pharmacy at a fraction of its cost in the U.S. may help save money.
As people age, the financial burden of the rising cost of healthcare can become more palpable, but buying drugs from a Canadian internet pharmacy at a fraction of its cost in the U.S. may help save money. Any individual taking medication needs to be cognizant of its potential interactions with an unrelated condition as well as other drugs. A new study clarifies the question of whether some common medicines may be harmful for people with dementia.
A research paper published in June by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggested that some common anticholinergic medications, such as antidepressants and antihistamines, could increase the risks for death and cognitive problems for senior citizens.
However, the same team published a new paper in the journal Age and Ageing that says patients who already have dementia may not necessarily experience a deterioration of their symptoms when taking low doses of these drugs. The conclusion was based on a study of more than 200 people with Alzheimer's disease.
"We hope that this will provide some reassurance to families and carers of those with dementia," said author Chris Fox. "But we remain concerned about the impact on frail older people who have no signs or mild signs of impaired cognition before they start to take the drugs and we feel more work is needed in this area. In addition, we need studies on mortality in the more advanced dementia with these medicines."
|
