23% of Black Americans age 70 and older live with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, according to Alzheimer’s Association. They’re also twice as likely as older whites to have a form of dementia.
A new study that pulled data from 5.6 million AA and non-Hispanic European Americans found that a new prescription hypertension drug, telmisartan, could lower the risk of Alzheimer’s in Black adults over 60.
The research was conducted by Dr. Feixiong Cheng at his laboratory at Cleveland Clinic’s Genomic Medicine Institute, and the results are published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
“Considering race-specific drug responses holds potential for drastically improving patient care. Identifying these candidate drugs can also reveal more information about the disease by referencing the medicine’s targets,” said Cheng.
Telmisartan is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) that blocks an enzyme that narrows blood vessels. Research finds the drug can be more helpful to people who have existing conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. There are also signs that telmisartan can help reduce cognitive decline.
Cheng’s and his team used research that used artificial intelligence and a range of statistical analyses to test for “causal relationships between telmisartan’s target and AD.”
The findings discovered that older Black adults with moderate or high telmisartan exposure had a 2.5% incidence of AD or dementia over five years. The AAs with low or no telmisartan exposure had a 3.8% incidence of AD.
Some common signs of Alzheimer’s Disease include memory loss, losing track of the date or time, forgetfulness, and taking longer than usual to finish daily tasks. If you notice these symptoms in yourself or a loved one, contact a healthcare provider to get help and support.
To can read more on Cheng’s study here.
