Higher Dementia Risk Connected to Heartburn Medications

The number of potential side effects from the use of proton-pump inhibiting drugs to control heartburn continues to increase, with new research in Germany linking them to the development of dementia, according to UPI Health News. This new study links the heavily used PPIs which include Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec to an increased risk for cognitive decline, though researchers caution the study has potential flaws, and does not show a definite cause. For the study, published in JAMA Neurology, researchers analyzed patient data gathered from 2004 to 2011 by the German health insurer Allgemeine Ortskrankenkassen for 73,679 of its customers. "It does not tell us anything that should change medical practice right now," Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach for the Alzheimer's Association, told CBS News. "I don't think there's going to be an uprising among doctors telling patients not to take their PPIs. This doesn't rise anywhere near the level of evidence you would need for that." The patients, who were 75 years or older and did not have dementia, on PPI drugs showed a 44 percent increased risk of dementia compared with those who did not use them. Researchers said in the study the data is supported by recent studies with mice that found rodents on PPIs had increased levels of amyloid plaques in their brains, the buildup of which contributed to dementia. Researchers and doctors say that these studies have not accounted for lifestyle or diet, both of which affect the risk for dementia, or other diseases for which PPIs may increase risk. "The teaching for many years was that these drugs were quite safe," John Clarke, a gastroenterologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, told NPR. "But there is data that's emerging that suggests PPIs may not be as safe as we think they are."