Sedative Linked to Alzheimer’s
Researchers have found a link between heavy use of a sedative, benzodiazepine, and Alzheimer’s disease. Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed for anxiety and sleeplessness.
For the study, researchers in France and Canada used a health insurance database in Quebec to identify over 1,500 Alzheimer’s patients whose health had been monitored for at least six years before they were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. They then compared their health with other healthy people of same age and gender and found that patients who had been taking benzodiazepines for at least 3 months in the past were 51% more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The risk was greater in those who had used the drug for longer periods of time.
Sleeplessness and anxiety are symptoms that also show up in people before they develop Alzheimer’s, and researchers are not sure if this explains the connection between the benzodiazepines and Alzheimer’s. They say more research is needed to understand the connection. More….
Category: News
