Oct. 15, 2004 ST. PAUL, Minn. – Certain blood pressure drugs may
slow the deterioration of Alzheimer's disease, according to a
study published in the October 12 issue of Neurology, the
scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Called
angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, or ACE inhibitors, the
drugs are used to treat high blood pressure. Only ACE inhibitors
that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier were shown to have
the effect on Alzheimer's. The blood-brain barrier is a natural
protective mechanism that shields the brain from foreign
substances. The study involved 162 people in Japan living in
long-term care facilities with mild to moderate Alzheimer's
disease and high blood pressure. The participants were divided
into three groups. For one year, each group received either a
brain-penetrating ACE inhibitor, a non-brain-penetrating ACE
inhibitor, or another type of blood pressure drug, called a
calcium channel blocker. Those in the brain-penetrating ACE
inhibitor groups received one of tw