Common class of drugs may impair thinking in seniors

(NaturalNews.com) UPDATED 2008-10-20

Wake Forest University researchers say that a commonly used class of drugs may slow down mental and physical function in seniors. Anticholingeric drugs are often used to treat incontinence, acid reflux, Parkinson's disease, and high blood pressure. But drugs in this class interfere with a chemical in the brain that helps the cells communicate with each other. In a recent study, scientists found that nursing home residents who were taking both dementia medication and an anticholingeric incontinence drug lost mental function 50 percent faster than patients taking only the dementia meds. And a second study showed that seniors who took anticholinergics were more likely to have trouble walking and to walk slowly than seniors who were not taking the drugs. Read full story >

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