Dementia research news Summer 16 in brief

People who regularly take anticholinergic drugs, such as some hayfever or sleeping medications, show changes in the structure and activity of their brains, according to a small study using a brain scan database. This research has not been able to say if the drugs themselves are causing the changes.

Research in worms has suggested that the cancer drug bexarotene could help to stop the formation of the hallmark amyloid plaques seen in Alzheimer’s disease. Although the drug previously failed to work in people, it is suggested that it may need to be given at an earlier stage in the disease.

A study comparing diagnosis rates of dementia between 1991 and 2011 has found that people are now at a lower risk of developing dementia. This change is mostly due to improvements in risk among men, potentially because of healthier lifestyles.