14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, a team of scientists made it public news that, after conducting a study that involved as many as 774 elderly Japanese-American male patients, they reached the conclusion that beta blockers have the potential to reduce an individual’s risks of developing Alzheimer's and/or other types of dementia.
For those unaware, beta blockers are a class of drugs whose main purpose is that of keeping a person's blood pressure well under control.
Up until now, advances made in the field of pharmacology have translated into the development of a rather wide variety of blood pressure drugs.
However, it looks like these beta blockers are the only ones that have the potential to protect the human brain against the physiological chances that precede Alzheimer's disease and/or other forms of dementia.
Of the 774 individuals who were taken into consideration for this study, 15% only received beta blockers, 18% were administered beta blockers and other types of drugs, and the remainder were given only blood pressure drugs other than beta blockers.
After their death, autopsies were performed and the scientists discovered that the brain structure of the patients who had taken only beta blockers for a relatively long period of time displayed fewer abnormalities than the brain structure of those who were administered other drugs either alone or in combination with the beta blockers.
“Understanding the relationships between different blood pressure drugs and Alzheimer's is not only useful for risk reduction but also Alzheimer's treatment development which Alzheimer's Society is driving forward,” members of Alzheimer's Society commented with respect to these findings.
“While drugs to manage the condition might be far off, there are things people can do now, including getting your blood pressure checked regularly. Eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, getting your cholesterol checked and not smoking can all make a difference,” they went on to add.