Remember the pill popping Zarina Aunty in the movie Dil Dhadakne Do & she keeps threatening to commit suicide with a Butter Knife !

UK study published in BMJ about anti-cholinergic drugs can increase the risks of Dementia.

Acetylcholine,a chemical messenger,carries signals across the nervous system.

Anti-Cholinergic drugs do the opposite by blocking the action of acetylcholine.

Anticholinergics are used to treat a variety of illnesses including -

Depression

Parkinson's disease

urinary incontinence

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD)

Asthma etc.

The researchers looked at the medical records of 40,770 dementia patients aged 65 to 99,and compared with those of 2,83,993 people without dementia.

By the way,my bosses are  87+ and she boss is 85 + and they drive own cars,teach people besides taking part in other social activities like planting trees on rocky areas of Delhi !

Which are the commonly prescribed anti-cholinergic medicines ?

1) Amitriptyline- anti-depressant ,helps cope pain of chronic diseases like rheumatic conditions.

Some other anti depressants can be used for chronic pain and to suppress appetite to fight chronic obesity.

This medicine is given as a Sleeping Pill.

This medicine is also taken to get a Kick !

As a routine some doctors are giving it for Migraine to our young lot.

Mood disorders, Chronic pains, Insomnia,Migraines or undiagnosed pains etc ,stay away from this group of medicines called AMITRYPTILINES sold over the counter by a friendly chemist or a helpful doctor.

2) Procyclidine for Parkinson's disease has to be given to control shaky hands & there is no choice with the patient- take the medicine to control symptoms and suffer from side effects.

Caretakers can be made aware of dementia as a side effect and taught to bear with the suffering person.

3)Incontinence- Lots of seniors suffer from it . Adult diapers are needed.

Medicines used routinely are-Tolterodine, Oxybutynin,Dosulepin and Paroxetine

4) Lomotil to control loose motions ( this medicine is banned worldwide but still available here in India.

here again the caretakers are taught about side effects of basic medicines to control the primary symptom of incontinence taking help of medicines like Tolteradine,Oxybutanin,Solifenacin etc.

The risks increased with greater exposure,and the associations persisted up to 20 years after exposure.

The research is important because there are an estimated 350 million people affected globally by Depression.

However ,several other anticholinergic drugs ,including anti-histamines and those used for abdominal cramps were not found to be linked to Dementia. Some routinely used safe medicines are-

Phenargan, Avil,Benadryl,Chlorpheniramine Malleate ( CPM) Dextromethorphan ( cough suppressant ) Certain muscle relaxants added to the pain killers e g Maftal spa ( spa stands for anti-spasmodic agent to reduce colicky pain ). short anesthesia .

Antidote is Caffeine.

" More than 50 million people worldwide are affected by DEMENTIA and this number is estimated to be 132 million by 2050.

Developing strategies to Prevent dementia is therefore a global priority"said the researcher.