Dementia meds may cause damaging weight loss

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According to a study published in the journal of the American Geriatrics Society, it was revealed that dementia medications may cause damaging weight loss in patients.

The study was led by an Indian-origin researcher, Meera Sheffrin who is associated with San Francisco VA Medical Center affiliated under UCSF. For the study, Sheffrin along with her team utilized national VA figures ranging from 2007 to 2010 to analyze patients who were 65 years or older, and diagnosed with dementia. They examined a total of 1,188 patients started on cholinesterase inhibitors were matched to 2,189 patients started on other medications. Of them nearly 29.3 percent of patients on the inhibitors experienced significant weight loss.

"Unintentional weight loss in older adults is associated with many adverse outcomes and poorer quality of life. Our study provides evidence in a large, real-world population that cholinesterase inhibitors may contribute to clinically significant weight loss in a substantial proportion of older adults with dementia," Sheffrin added.

By Lizitha