Commonly-prescribed drugs and dementia: should we be worried?

The reviewers can only say that there may be a link. The evidence from this review is ‘low certainty’, which means that conclusions could not be confidently made. Some reasons for this are that it is difficult to definitively say whether anticholinergic medications caused cognitive decline, or if other factors were responsible.

A List of Anticholinergics and How They Work

Anticholinergics are substances that block the actions of acetylcholine, a compound that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain. Acetylcholine plays a number of important functions in the body, including communicating between the neurons of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS).

A Cohort Study of Anticholinergic Medication Burden and Incident Dementia and Stroke in Older Adults

High anticholinergic burden in initially healthy older people was associated with increased risk of incident dementia and ischemic stroke. A vascular effect may underlie this association. These findings highlight the importance of minimizing anticholinergic exposure in healthy older people.

Anticholinergic drugs and risk of dementia: Time for action?

Anticholinergic drugs have long played an important role in the management of bladder symptoms, which reduce incontinence and urgency1 while improving quality of life. However, these benefits need to be considered in relation to potential adverse effects. In particular, there is now a need to review the evidence for anticholinergics as a risk factor for the development of dementia.

Are Anticholinergic Medications Associated With Increased Risk of Dementia and Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia?

In this study, the usage of anticholinergics was not associated with the risk of dementia or BPSD in a 15-year follow-up study. However, patients with the male sex, patients with ages of 65–79 and ≧80, patients with some comorbidities, high ACB scores, and long anticholinergic treatment duration were associated with the risk of dementia.

Common anticholinergic drugs like Benadryl linked to increased dementia risk

A report published in JAMA Internal Medicine several years ago highlighted a link between long-term use of anticholinergic medications like Benadryl and dementia. While this study and other observational studies have also found this association, it doesn't prove that these drugs cause dementia. But we do know that anticholinergic drugs can cause confusion and increase fall risk in older people.

Despite the Headlines, We Don't Yet Know If Anticholinergic Drugs Contribute to Dementia Risk

While the results are intriguing, they do not suggest that the medications are a definite risk factor for dementia. For one, the study was designed to detect only an association, and not a cause-and-effect relationship, between the drugs and dementia.

Do hay fever tablets shrink your brain?

It’s the latest study to question the side effects of anticholinergics, a class of drugs widely used to treat conditions including asthma, incontinence, gastrointestinal cramps, depression, muscle spasms and sleep disorders. They work by blocking the action of the neurotransmitting chemical acetylcholine. Research published last year suggested those on anticholinergics were at a 50% greater risk of dementia.

Study suggests sleeping drugs can increase risk of Alzheimer’s

Nytol, Benadryl, Ditropan and Piriton among the medications identified by scientists as raising likelihood of dementia.

Two types of drugs you may want to avoid for the sake of your brain

Two common classes of drugs have been linked to dementia. Fortunately, there are alternatives to both. Both anticholinergics and benzodiazepines affect the activity of neurotransmitters—chemical messengers that work in the central nervous system—but the drugs work in slightly different ways. Anticholinergic drugs block the action of acetylcholine. In the brain, acetylcholine is involved in learning and memory. In the rest of the body, it stimulates the autonomic nerves—those that regulate contractions of blood vessels, airways, and our cardiovascular and digestive systems. The strongest anticholinergic drugs include some antihistamines, tricyclic antidepressants, medications to control overactive bladder, and sleeping pills.