Antihistamines for Alzheimer Prevention

Alzheimer's disease is a form of dementia, which is the loss of social and intellectual abilities to degree that day-to-day functioning becomes impaired. According to MayoClinic.com, approximately 5 percent of individuals between 65 and 74 years of age suffer from Alzheimer's; while close to 50 percent of individuals older than 85 years of age have the disease. Although your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease increases with age, it is not a natural part of the aging process, and can be prevented. Antihistamines, which are usually used for treating allergy symptoms, may be one potential treatment.

How Antihistamines Prevent Alzheimer's Disease

• Antihistamines help reduce the negative affects of allergies and allergic reactions by minimizing the amount histamine released by the body. Histamine is a compound produced in cells in response to injuries or inflammation. It often triggered by allergic reactions, which causes muscles to contract and capillaries, or branches of blood vessels, to dilate or expand. Although antihistamines cannot prevent histamine production, they can block its ability to impact tissues by coating cell histamine receptors. According to WellSphere.com, the precise mechanism for how antihistamines impact Alzheimer's disease is still under investigation. However, researchers hypothesize that the way antihistamines affect cells may help stabilize mitochondria, which are double-membrane cellular organelles responsible for respiration and energy production. According toWellSphere.com, this stabilization is thought to prevent brain cells from deteriorating and dying, which in turn can prevent or slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Evidence

• The majority of evidence supporting antihistamines as a successful treatment for Alzheimer's disease comes from a study performed by the Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston. According to WellSphere.com , the study, which took place across multiple study sites, examined 183 patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Researchers gave one portion of the group an antihistamine drug, and gave the other portion a placebo, which is a sugar pill commonly used as a control in medical experiments. The progress of all patients was evaluated over a one-year period, and was measured according to five specific aspects: overall function, ability to think, ability to remember, ability to perform daily tasks and behavioral/psychiatric symptoms. According to WellSphere.com, Alzheimer's symptoms in patients who received the antihistamine drug continuously improved in all five aspects over the duration of the trial period, while patients who received the placebo saw no improvement and their Alzheimer's symptoms continued to grow worse. According to WellSphere, the antihistamine drug tested produced more sustainable results than other drugs that are Food and Drug Administration-approved for treating Alzheimer's disease, such as cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine.