Psychiatric care for dementia could be assisted by blood pressure medication

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are important for control of blood pressure and have made a profound impact on patients with diabetes and congestive heart failure. The ACE inhibitors, which act outside the brain, have had minimal impact on dementia of any cause. However, there is now evidence indicating that ACE Inhibitors which act inside the brain, may have the ability to reduce cognitive decline.

Recent observational data from the Cardiovascular Health Study revealed that that centrally active ACE inhibitors did diminish cognitive decline by 65% per year of exposure, an effect that is likely related to the drug’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.

READ MORE @ EMPOWER

Aging: Vitamin D Levels Tied to Dementia Risk

Low blood levels of vitamin D may be associated with an increased risk for dementia, a British study has found.

Scientists measured blood levels of the vitamin in a representative sample of 1,766 people over 65 and assessed their mental functioning with a widely used questionnaire. About 12 percent were cognitively impaired, and the lower their vitamin D level, the more likely they were to be in that group. Compared with those in the highest one-quarter for serum vitamin D, those in the lowest were 2.3 times as likely to be impaired, even after statistically adjusting for age, sex, education and ethnicity. Men showed the effect more strongly than women.

READ MORE @ NY TIMES