Centrally Active ACE Inhibitors May Help Reduce Risk of Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

Filed in archive Studies , Treatment on May 8, 2007

Some high blood pressure medicine - especially the types of ACE inhibitors that can reach the brain and may help reduce the inflammation that might contribute to Alzheimer's disease (centrally active) - may help protect older adults from decline in memory and cognitive function.

These were the findings of a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine recently reported at the annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society in Seattle.

The kind of ACE inhibitors that are centrally active: captropril (Capoten®), fosinopril (Monopril®), lisinopril (Prinivil® or Zestri®), perindopril (Aceon®), ramipril (Altace®) and trandolapril (Mavik®).

Intake of these centrally active ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors have been found to lower rates of mental decline as measured by the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam - a test that evaluates memory, language, abstract reasoning and other cognitive functions.

Also, these benefits were clearly due to direct intake of centrally active ACE inhibitors and not just by exposure to this particular class of hypertension drugs.

According to Kaycee Sink, M.D., M.A.S., lead researcher and an assistant professor of internal medicine - gerontology:

"For older adults who are going to take an ACE inhibitor drug for blood pressure control, it makes sense for their doctors to prescribe one that goes into the brain.

These results suggest that there is more to treating blood pressure than achieving a goal of 140/80. Which drug you choose for blood pressure control can have broader implications.

We know that ACE inhibitors protect against heart failure and kidney failure, and now there is evidence that some of them may also protect against dementia."

While these results are truly promising, still confirmation is needed in a more randomly selected patient population.

Find more details from the full report.