By AFPMore by this AuthorLong-term use of certain anti-depressants have been linked to dementia in a large British study, researchers said Thursday, though they could not definitively conclude that the drugs were the cause. "What we don't know for sure is whether the medication is the cause" of the dementia, said George Savva from the University of East Anglia's School of Health Science. "It could be that these medications are being prescribed for very early symptoms indicating the onset of dementia." Anticholinergic anti-depressants include Amitriptyline, Dosulepin, and Paroxetine, said the researchers who had compared the medical records of 40,770 dementia patients over 65 to those of 283,933 people without dementia. "More than 50 million people worldwide are affected by dementia and this number is estimated to be 132 million by 2050," Savva said in a statement.

Source: Daily Nation April 27, 2018 04:52 UTC