SCIENCE ALERT – Dementia is typically associated with severe loss of memory and cognitive function.
It’s often accompanied by a variety of other psychiatric symptoms, such as anxiety, sleep loss, and depression.
A new population-based study led by researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden has found a common first-line class of medications prescribed to dementia patients for depression could be hastening their cognitive decline, while also putting individuals at greater risk of fractures and an earlier death.
Though other factors can’t be conclusively ruled out, the possibility that some antidepressants might worsen an underlying condition may be important for medical specialists treating dementia patients to consider.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are considered the first choice in antidepressants thanks to having relatively few side effects.
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Yet recent research has identified an association between the inhibitors and an increased risk of dementia in older adults, compared with psychotherapy.
It’s unsurprising that some classes of antidepressants risk interfering with processes responsible for our ability to think and recall our past.
However, SSRIs have been considered to be largely helpful in protecting brains from neurodegeneration, even linked to reducing plaques thought to play a role in damaging brain cells.
Reconciling these seemingly contradictory findings in the population has itself failed to reveal a definitive answer, potentially because of the type of data collected and limitations in the way results were gathered.
The team found a clear relationship between that medication and severe dementia, with anything more than a standard daily dose predicting an increase of nearly half a point in dementia assessment scores per year …
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