Your Rx May Be Leading You To Alzheimer’s Disease

Every day we hear about the increasing number of individuals suffering from memory loss, dementia, cognitive decline, and Alzheimer’s. As our population ages, this is one problem that won’t get any better for the foreseeable future. Researchers are confronting the problem on several fronts, but one area that has gotten very little attention is the dramatic increase in both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Thanks to a report just presented at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, maybe that will change. Dr. Jack Tsao, a professor of neurology, has found that the class of drugs called anticholinergics could be one of the culprits.

Anticholinergic drugs block or impede the action of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Among other functions, if you block acetylcholine you block muscle contractions. It’s surprising just how many commonly used drugs fall into this category. Here we briefly mention a few conditions and a few of the drugs used to treat them.
If you take any medication, ask your pharmacist if it is anticholinergic.) •
• Asthma, bronchial spasms (Atrovent, Spiriva, Elixophyllin, Theo-24)
• Bladder overactivity, spasms (Detrol, Ditropan, Enablex, Sanctura)
• Gastrointestinal or stomach cramps, spasms (Hyospaz, hyoscyamine)
• Diarrhea (Lofene, Logen, Lomotil)
• Pain, inflammation (Codeine or any of the dozens of medications that contain codeine, OxyContin, Oxydose, Roxidocone)
• Anxiety disorders, panic attacks, seizures, muscle spasm (alprazolam, diazepam)
• Fluid retention, high blood pressure, heart failure (Lasix, Capoten)
• Allergies, allergic reactions, arthritis (prednisone, Sterapred)
• Motion sickness (Scopace)
• Parkinson
• disease (Cogentin, Akineton, Norflex)
If you take any form of medication it's important to understand there are side effects.