Blood pressure drug may help Alzheimer's

New York -- U.S. researchers have identified drugs prescribed for hypertension that may help in preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, screened 1,500 currently prescribed drugs and named seven out of 55 drugs prescribed for hypertension capable of preventing beta-amyloid production -- the major mechanism identified as playing a key role in causing the cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s disease.

"If we can deliver certain drugs to patients at high risk to develop Alzheimer’s disease, at doses that do not affect blood pressure, these drugs could be made available for all members of the geriatric population identified as being at high risk for developing Alzheimer's disease," lead study author Dr.Giulio Maria Pasinetti of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York said in a statement.

In the study, mice were treated with the anti-hypertensive agent Valsartan. The other six drugs with possibly beneficial cognitive results included Propranolol HCI, Carvedilol, Losartan, Nicardipine HCI, Amiloride HCI and Hydralazine HCI.

© 2007 United Press International.