American researchers investigated the incidence of dementia in 800,000 people aged 65 or over with cardiovascular disease, mostly male. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the type of blood pressure drugs they were taking : ARBs, lisinopril or other cardiovascular drugs.
The researchers found that ARBs were associated with reduced risk of developing dementia when compared with the other 2 types of drugs. ARBs had additional effects when combined with another type of high BP drug. Those with existing dementia who took both drugs were less likely to die early or be admitted to a nursing home. The study concluded that ARBs could reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia.
Citics say that there are limitations which may have affected the results: the subjects were not randomly assigned a treatment, each group of people might have different diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease and the follow-up period was too short for a condition such as dementia. Further work is needed to include both male and female.
Source: N-C Li, Lee A, Whitmer RA, et al. "Use of angiotensin receptor blockers and risk of dementia in a predominantly male population: prospective cohort analysis". BMJ 2010; 340: b5465
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