The bright side

Although I have spent the majority of my time discussing the negative effects of drugs, there must be some positive effects of drugs, right? Or else nobody would take the time or money to use drugs.

Comparison between a normal brain and an Alzheimer's effected brain

Alzheimer's disease has been known to take the minds of loved ones during old age. This disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease that destroys brain cells and has no cure.  This is a very devastating disease and some research done by the Neurobiology of Aging came across some good news.

The onset of Alzheimer's disease can be delayed by the use of histamine H2 blocking drugs. This was a little too much information for me when I first read about it, so I decided to investigate a little further and find out common reasons for the use of H2 blocking drugs. What I discovered was that H2 blockers are used to prevent acid build up in the stomach and also used to treat ulcers in the stomach. How does something that controls stomach acid prevent dementia? I could not find a solid answer. However I gathered some numbers and percentages that are fairly shocking.

It is estimated that 10% of the developed world population will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease between the ages of 65 and 90. That means that if or when I finally have ten followers on my blog, one of my followers will most likely be diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease later in life.

Also, there was a study done by Duke University that determined the effects of H2 blocking agents. In a population of 156 people, 21 were exposed to H2 blockers and 135 were not exposed. After more than one month of exposure the examinations begun.
The result: there was a 10 year difference in side effects of those exposed to h2 blocker. Simpler terms: the H2 blockers delayed the effects of Alzheimer's 10 years.

Some common H2 blockers

I found this interesting. So next time you have a nice greasy piece of pizza, make sure to ask your Pharmacist for some H2 blocking drugs. This way you can control the acid and delay Alzheimer's disease all in one.



http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5643960.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8544901
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T0F-3TDHRHD-78&_user=10&_coverDate=11%2F12%2F1997&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1510875553&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=331d055bf2ee3b46ef217e1ac0e28601&searchtype=a
http://www.neurobiologyofaging.org/article/0197-4580%2895%2900049-K/abstract

HMG-CoA what?

Real quick: Aging is due to the loss of homeostasis, which leads to a change in the biochemical composition of tissues. Aging also increases the susceptibility of diseases. One "disease" that is very common in the older population is high cholesterol.

The role of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

High cholesterol is treated by HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. That is a really long name; what does that even mean? HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are the more scientific name for Statins.

Well cholesterol is a white substance that has potential to stick to the inside of blood vessels, causing a build up and could result in a heart diseases or a stroke. The HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors work to slow down the production of cholesterol particles. How could something that prevents high cholesterol be a bad thing?

As previously discussed, the average person over the age of 55 is taking a minimum of 6.5 medications a day. This comes into play when one of the drugs being taken is a statin. Statins have many side effects like the typical nausea, headache, vomiting, and so on, but the two most serious side effects of statins are liver failure and rhabdomyolysis. Rhabdo-what? Rhabdomyolysis is a side effect that results in damage to muscles and can progress to loss of muscle cells, kidney failure, and even death. Rhabdomyolysis is most commonly seen in patients that are on numerous drugs along with their statin.


That being said, this all relates back to how taking numerous prescription drugs can be very harmful.


If this interests you, check out either medicinenet.com or the Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research within the Hindawi Research Corporation.