Benzodiazepines associated with increased risk for Alzheimer’s.

The Los Angeles Times (9/10, Healy) reports that according to a study published online Sept. 9 in the BMJ, “older people who have relied on a class of drugs called benzodiazepines to reduce anxiety or induce sleep are at higher risk of going on to develop Alzheimer’s disease...with those whose use of the medications is most intensive almost twice as likely to develop the mind-robbing disorder.” For the study, researchers “compared the pattern of benzodiazepine use in 1,796 people elderly people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s with that of 7,184 similar people who had no such diagnosis.” The medications “specifically considered by the researchers were the short-acting anti-anxiety medications alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), oxazepam (Seresta) and diazepam (Valium), and the longer-acting anti-seizure and ‘hypnotic’ drugs frequently used to treat insomnia: clonazepam (Klonopin), flurazepam (Dalmane), midazolam (Versed), nitrazepam (Mogadon), temazepam (Restoril) and triazolam (Halcion).”

        The NBC News (9/10, Fox) website reports that the study “found that elderly people who used...benzodiazepines for three months or longer had a 43 percent to 51 percent higher risk of later developing Alzheimer’s.” It remains unclear, however, “whether the drugs are causing the Alzheimer’s directly, or if people perhaps use the drugs to treat other symptoms that may be early signs of Alzheimer’s, such as depression or insomnia.”

        HealthDay (9/10, Norton) reports that two years ago, “the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) put benzodiazepines on its list of drugs considered ‘potentially inappropriate’ for seniors, because of risks like confusion, dizziness and falls.” Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, of the Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University Center for Aging Research, an expert “who cowrote an editorial published with the study said older adults have to be cautious about using the drugs, or any medication that can affect mental function.”