Can antidepressants spered up cognitive decline in dementia?

Dementia Risk Increases with Age, and According to the National Health Statistics Report4% of Adults Ages 65 and Older in the United States reported to dementia diagnosis. The Prevalence of Dementia Increases with Age and Occurs in Around 13% of People 85 and Older.

Alzheimer’s Disease is the Most Most prevalent of Dementia. Other Dementia Types Include Frontotemporal Dementia and Lewy Body Dementia.

Sub Symptoms of Dementia Include:

• Memory Loss
• Getting Locations, Dates, And Names Confused
• CHANGES IN MOOD
• The Items
• Difficulty Speaking and Writing.

There is no cure for this condition, but Between Early Diagnosis and Interventions, Providers Can Help Patients Manage Symptoms with Certain Medications and Therapies.

Since Changes in Mood Are Common with Dementia, Depression Is Common and Occurs in An estimated 30 to 50% of People With The Disease.

OFTEN DOGS prescribes antidepressants to Help Manage Depression Symptoms. Popular Options Are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Or SSRIS (Serrtaline and Fluoxetine), Tricyclic Antidepressants (Amitriptyline and Amoxapine), and serotonin-norepinephrine resuptake inhibitors or snris (Duloxetine and Desvenlafaxine).

The Authors of the New Cohort Study Wanted To Find Out Whether It is positive for antidepressants and antidepressant class to impact the rate of ease progression. They noted that Prior Studies were limited in scope and had unfinished findings and that the clinical efficacy of the antidepressants was rosy.

The Swedish Recry for Cognitive/Dementia Disorders (Svedem), Colleced Between 2007 and 2018, for their analysis. Of the 18,740 Dementia Patients Included in the Study, Approximately 23% Were on Antidepressants.

The participants had Mean Age of 78.2 Years, and 54.5% of the participants were Women. All participants tu least one follow-up visit AFTER Review their Dementia Diagnosis.

To track cognitive changes, The Researchers used mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) Scores that were remembered at the time the dementia diagnosis was documed and at follow-ups.

The Refers Analyzed Not Only The Rate of Cognitive Decline in People Who Took Antidepressants versus Those Who Did Not But The Difference In Medication Classses As Well.

The Recovered There May Be a Link Between Antidessant Use and an increased in the rate of cognitive decline in dementia patients. The Decline Rate for All Categories of Antidepressants and All Types of Dementia On The Mmse Screening was to Differential of 0.30 Points Per Year.

Additionionally, The Scientists Found A Difference in Cognitive Decline depending on the class of antidepressants the participants took.

People Who Took SSris Experienced Faster Cognitive Decline Than People Who Took Snris or Tricyclic Antidepressants. Mirtazapine (Remeron), an Atypical Antidepressant, had Less Harmful Impact on cognitive functioning.

WHEN FOCUSING ON ONLY MEDICATIONS IN THE SSRI CLASS, ESCITALOPRAM (LEXAPRO) was LINKED TO A FASTER DECINE THAN SERTRALINE (ZOLOFT). Meanwhile, People Who Took Citalopram (Celexa) experienced slower decline.

Also, The Researchers Found An Association Between Higher Doses of SSris and A Higher Risk of Severe Dementia, Fractures, and All-Cause Mortality.

The Study Further Examined Factors Such as Sex and Baseline Cognitive Function. They found that the effort of antidepressant use on cognitive decline was more proneced in men and individuals with Lower Baseline Mmse Scores.

While these Findings Demonstrate to Possible Connection Between Taking Antidepressants and Worse Outcomes In Dementia, It is important to note that This is only an Association, and More Research is Needed.

The Refectchers are Unsure Whether The Medications are the cause of the increased cognitive decline or If it is a matter of depression and other neuropsychiatric isssues causing problems.

AANAND NAIK, MD, A GERIATRICIAN AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE ON AGING AT UTHEALTH HOUSTON, WHO WAS NOVOLVED IN THE REESARCH, SPoke with Medical News Today About This Study.

Naik Advised That Further Research is needy Before Becoming Overly Concerned with the Findings.

“I Would Be Cautious about Overinterpreting these results,” I have emphasized, Speaking about the study design:

“The Study Designs the Authors used is a population-base cohort with trends over time in a Large Nationally Representative Sample. I’M NOT Clear from This Study That Using Depression Medications Causa Cognitive Decline. ”

WHILE NAIK ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE STUDY SHOWS COGNITIVE DECINE ON THE MMSE, HE THOUGT THAT “THE NEED FOR DEPRESSION MEDICATION LIKELY HERALDS THE ONSET OF WURSENING BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS AND PROGRESSION OF DEMENIA.

David Merrill, MD, A Board-Certified Geriatric Psychiatrist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, and Singleton Endowed Chair in Integrative Brain Health, Also Spoke With MNT to provide insights on the study.

Merrill, who was likewise not involved in This Study, Also Emphasized that Further Research is Needed on This Topic, But Did Explain to Reason Why Patients on Antidepressants Coul Have has subjugated of cognitive decline.

“One Possibility is that ssris may influence Neurotransmitter Systems in Ways that exacerbate cognitive deterioration,” Said Merrill. “Addionionionally, The Depressive Symptoms Themselves, Which these medications aim to treat, might inherently contributes to cognitive decline, Making it Challenging to dissenting the efforts of the medication from the underlying condition.”

WHEN ASKED WHOTHERSEse Findings Should Clinical Practice for Prescribing Antidepressants in People With Dementia, Merrill Advisated to “Careful, individualized Approach.”

“Clinicians Should Thoroughly Asses The Severity of Depressive Symptoms and considered non-pharmacological interventions, Such as psychotherapy or Behavioral Therapies, as First-line treatments,” I recommended. “If antidepressant medication is deemed needy, selecting agents with a mare favorable cognitive profile and closely monitoring the patient’s cognitive function on time time is essential.”