Taking Beta Blocker Blood Pressure Drugs May Reduce Risk of Dementia

Patients taking blood pressure drugs called beta blockers may be less likely to experience changes in the brain that can be signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia — that’s according to a new study will be presented March 16-23, 2013, at the American Academy of Neurology’s 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego.

The Honolulu-Asia Aging Study involved 774 elderly Japanese-American men who underwent autoposies after their deaths. Of the participants, 610 had high blood pressure or were being treated with medication for high blood pressure. Among those who had been treated (about 350), 15 percent received only a beta blocker medication, 18 percent received a beta blocker plus one or more other medications, and the rest took other blood pressure drugs. For more information, click here to read the full release.