Beta Blockers may Reduce Dementia Risk

Drugs that people take medications to lower their blood pressure can decrease their risk of dementia, stated a recent study released by the American Academy of Neurology.

As per the study, people, who took beta-blockers that are used to treat high blood pressure and other certain conditions such as glaucoma and migraine, have lower chances of cognitive impairment than those who do not take beta blockers. Beta blockers slow the rate of heart beat and facilitate increase in blood flow by opening more clogged blood vessels.  

[Read: How to Control High Blood Pressure]

The study has been analyzing 774 Japanese-American men aged between 71 to 93.  Out of those, 610 participants had hypertension and were taking its medications. Among the treated participants, 15 per cent were prescribed beta blockers and other were taking beta blockers in conjunction with other medication/s. The remaining participants didn't take any beta blocker in their treatment course.

After the death of the participants, their autopsies were performed and it was found that the participants who took only beta blockers had significantly lesser brain abnormalities like microinfarcts, dead brain cells, Alzheimer’s brain lesions and brain atrophy than other participants who took beta blockers along with other drugs or who didn’t take it at all.

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