Common drugs could cause memory loss in elderly

Drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and depression can have side effects which doctors may mistake for dementia, a study has suggested.

British Medical Journal (BMJ) researchers said doctors should be aware that the drugs, known as anticholinergics, could cause memory loss and disorientation.

They said doctors should question patients about the medication they are currently taking before prescribing drugs for dementia.

Researcher Karen Ritchie from the Hopital La Colombiere in Montpellier, France, said that patients could be mistaken as having early dementia because of the effect the drugs can have on the brain.

She said people could find themselves in the position of receiving drugs to treat the side effects of anticholinergic drugs, which are mimicking dementia.

The team questioned 372 elderly people without dementia about the drugs they had taken and their past illnesses. Of the total group, ten per cent had used anticholinergic drugs for a long period of time.

After monitoring the group for eight years the researchers found 85 per cent of those who used the anticholingeric drugs had poorer cognitive performance than those who had not taken the drugs.

The study authors wrote: “Drug consumption in elderly people is high, and many commonly prescribed drugs have anticholingeric effects?Furthermore, such drugs are likely to have a more toxic effect in an ageing brain because of the increased permeability of the blood brain barrier, slower metabolism and drug elimination.”

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