Risky Mix – cocktail of popular drugs may clod brain

Many people are unaware that dozens of painkillers, antihistamines & psychiatric medications-from drugstore can adversely affect brain function, mostly the elderly. Regular use of multiple medications that have this effect has been linked to cognitive impairment & memory loss.

Called anticholinergics, the drugs block the action of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, sometimes as a direct action, but often as a side effect. Acetychloline is a chemical messenger with a range of functions n the body, memory production & cognitive function among them.

The difficulty for patients is that the effect of anticholinergic drugs is cumulative. Doctors are not always aware of all the medications their patients take, & they do not always think to review the anticholinergic properties of the ones they prescribe. It is a particular problem for older patients, who are more vulnerable to the effects of these drugs & who tend to take more mediations overall.

After following more than 13,000 British patients for more than 2 years, researchers found that those taking more than one anticholinergic drug scored lower on tests of cognitive function than those who were not using any such drugs & that the death rate for the heavy users during the course of the study was 68% higher.

According to one researcher, it is difficult to pinpoint the cause of these deaths, though they took utmost precaution in giving doses of the said medicine.

According to another researcher, anticholinergics take a toll on bodily organs & systems like the cardiovascular system, although there are no studies to confirm it. Anticholinergics have also been implicated in the delirium that intensive-care patients frequently develop in the hospital.

A researcher has said, if one is taking one of the drugs, anticholinergic, for 60 days, and then one doubles the odds of developing mild cognitive impairment. According to Alzheimer’s Association, studies have shown that up to 25% of the patients who seek help have reversible disorders, including those caused by polypharmacy- taking a combination of medications.

The reasons why many doctors still prescribe medications with anticholinergic activities is that some are unaware of the medicines their patients are taking, and also the list of drugs with anticholinergic properties is a long one.

The heart drug digoxin, the blood thinner warfarin, the painkiller codeine & prednisone are considered mild anticholinergic. Those with the most severe effects include Paxil, Benadryl, a drug for overactive bladder called oxybutynin & the schizophrenia drug, clozapine.

 Drug                                common name

Digoxin                         lanoxin

warfarin                         anti-coagulant

 codeine                        Linctus, cough syrups

Prednisone                   cortico steroids

immuno-suppressants       wyslone, primacord, inhalers

paxil                                  paxil

oxybutynin                        analgesics

clozapine               clozapin