Reducing these drugs is important to avoid aggravating age -related decline.
With age, it is natural to see your physical capacities decrease. Old age leads to a progressive melting of muscle mass which affects strength, balance and endurance. If this process is inevitable, its rhythm can vary and it is aggravated by sedentary lifestyle. A new American study reveals an unexpected culprit, hidden in our pharmacy cabinet. A family of very common drugs could accelerate the aging of physical capacities, losing vitality without the patients knowing it.
To reach this conclusion, the researchers followed more than 4,200 elderly people on average for 74 years, for more than 10 years. The objective was to measure the evolution of their physical capacities over time. For this, two tests were used: one measured the walking speed over a short distance, the other evaluated the strength of the hand (or gripping force) with a dynamometer. In parallel, scientists have peeled the health data of each participant, and analyzed all the drugs prescribed in the past 10 years.
According to the results, the high and prolonged taking of anticholinergic drugs is associated with a drop in physical performance, including a drop in walking speed. “The accumulation of losses over time can become clinically significant” Cons up researchers in the journal Jama Network Open. These treatments block the action of acetylcholine, an essential neurotransmitter for communication between neurons and the proper functioning of the nervous system. They are prescribed to treat various pathologies such as depression, allergies, Parkinson’s disease, behavioral disorders or even bronchopulmonary diseases. Among the strongest anticholinergic treatments: amitriptyline, atropine, clozapine, imipramine, nortriptyline, paroxetine, quetiapine, scopolamine, trimipramine …
These results suggest that reducing anticholinergic drugs is important to age in good health. For the authors, it is necessary “Avoid these drugs when possible”. Practitioners must prescribe them “At the lowest effective dose and reassess patients to identify the possibilities of stopping treatment and minimizing risks.” In the meantime, do not hesitate to chat with your doctor if you feel an abnormal and accentuated decrease in force since taking such treatments.
