May 27, 2008
Study: Elderly defy conventional wisdom when it comes to predicting cardiovascular disease
Usually, people with metabolic syndrome are believed to be at heightened risk for both diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), but a recent study found that that's not the case among the elderly.
Researchers at the University of Glasgow analyzed the data from two different studies of over 7,500 non-diabetic elderly people. All were aged 60 to 82 from Scotland or England with symptoms of metabolic syndrome.
Scots with metabolic syndrome were four times as likely to develop diabetes over three years, researchers learned. But the normal rates of CVD were unaffected. The English study subjects suffered a sevenfold increase in their risk of diabetes, compared to only a 27% uptick in rates of CVD.
The results are significant because they show that metabolic syndrome is not an accurate predictor of both CVD and diabetes in all people, as originally thought, report authors say. Results of the study were published Wednesday in the online version of the UK medical journal The Lancet.
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May 16, 2008
Celebrex, naproxen do not improve cognitive function, study results
Study results published in the Archives of Neurology suggest that neither Pfizer's Celebrex (celecoxib) nor naproxen improves cognitive function in older adults with a family history of Alzheimer's disease, compared with placebo. "At this point in time, we don't suggest using anti-inflammatory drugs for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease,'' commented lead author Barbara Martin, an associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University.
The ADAPT trial involved more than 2000 men and women aged 70 years or older with a family history of Alzheimer's disease, who were randomised to receive Celebrex twice daily, naproxen twice daily or placebo. Patients underwent numerous tests of cognitive function for an average of two years. The findings demonstrated that over time, patients who received naproxen scored lower than those who received placebo. Those who received Celebrex scored lower on some but not all measures of cognitive function over time, compared with placebo.
Previous observational studies have suggested that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce the risk of dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease, but Martin noted that the ADAPT trial did not have the results "we were hoping for. We designed this study hoping we would see a protective effect of these drugs." Nonetheless, the study researchers indicated that they will continue to monitor those who participated in the trial to determine whether there may be a delayed benefit for NSAIDs.
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May 6, 2008
Commonly used drugs can quicken cognitive decline in elderly, reports say
Anticholinergics - a group of drugs commonly prescribed to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease, urinary incontinence and acid reflux - may cause a more rapid decline in cognitive function among the elderly than previously thought, according to investigators.
Two new studies from the Wake Forest University's school of medicine show that not only do the drugs diminish mental capacity, they also have an impact on physical performance.
Anticholinergics are pharmacological opposites to cholinesterase inhibitors, a group of drugs used to treat dementia, which could lead to reduced effectiveness of one or both of the drugs, lead author Kaycee M. Sink said.
Of more than 3,500 seniors studied, those who took anticholinergics functioned more slowly and needed more assistance with activities of daily living than those who did not take the drugs. Sink likened their diminished physical abilities to those of someone three to four years older.
In a separate report published recently in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Sink discovered that Alzheimer's patients who were taking some form of anticholinergics to treat incontinence had a 50% faster rate of mental decline than Alzheimer's patients who were only being treated for dementia.
Results of the first study were presented Saturday at the American Geriatrics Society annual meeting in Washington.
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