United States: A recent study indicates that a type of blood pressure drug may also help reduce the incidence of epilepsy in seniors.
Promising Study Findings
Experimenters reported on June 17 in the journal JAMA Neurology that the specifics, known as angiotensin receptor blockers( ARBs), may help epilepsy in those who are most at threat of developing the condition.
We do not presently have any specifics that help epilepsy, so this is intriguing, according to elderly experimenter Dr. Kimford Meador, a neurology professor at Stanford University School of Medicine.” I hope these primary results will prompt randomized clinical trials.”
Senior-Specific Risk Factors
Although children are the most common age group for epilepsy diagnoses, over 1% of adults over 65 are reported to have the brain disorder’s recurrent seizures.
The most frequent risk factor for senior-onset epilepsy is stroke. Within five years after a stroke, 10% of survivors experience seizures, according to studies.
Implications for Clinical Trials
Whether or not a person has experienced a stroke, the researchers noted that hardened arteries and persistently elevated blood pressure can increase the chance of epilepsy.
According to a Stanford news release, Meador stated, “This can be a very debilitating disorder, and it’s much more common in older adults than people realize.”
According to a 2022 German study with over 160,000 actors, those using ARBs to treat high blood pressure were less likely to develop epilepsy.
These specifics inhibit the angiotensin II protein’s receptors, which tightens blood vessels and increases the blood pressure. also, the specifics reduce inflammation in blood vessels and other organs, including the brain.
Large-Scale Observational Evidence
Researchers examined data from 2.2 million persons with high blood pressure diagnoses who had been prescribed at least one medication for the current study. At the beginning of the trial, none of the participants had epilepsy.
Researchers found that 14% of patients on blood pressure medication had been administered an ARB.
Public Health Implications
Compared to those on other blood pressure medications, those receiving ARBs had an overall 20% to 30% decreased chance of having epilepsy between 2010 and 2017.
The researchers observed that this continued to be true even after excluding stroke victims from the study. This implies that people’s reduced incidence of epilepsy was not caused by ARBs lowering their risk of stroke.