People taking beta blockers may be less likely to show changes in the brain, which can be signs of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, according to the findings of a study of 774 elderly Japanese-American men.
Men who had received beta blockers as their only blood pressure medication had fewer abnormalities in their brains, compared to those who had not been treated for their hypertension, or who had received other blood pressure medications. The brains of participants who had received beta blockers, plus other medications, showed an intermediate reduction in numbers of brain abnormalities. The study findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, 16-23 March 2013.
