Medications that Cause Memory Impairment

Common Drugs(Neel, 2013 )

• 1)antianxiety drugs 2)cholesterol lowering drugs

• 3)antiseizure drugs • 4) antidepresant drugs

5)narcotic painkillers 6)hypertension drugs 7)sleeping aids 8)incontinence drugs.

How common medications affect memory ?

• 1)Cholesterol lowering drugs -lower the cholesterol of the brain which is vital for different mental processes.

• 2) Antiseizure drugs- decrease convulsions by lowering signals in the central nervous system and causing memory loss.

• 3) Sleeping aids and hypertension drugs- block the action of key chemical messengers in the brain. (Neel, 2013)

Antimuscarinic Drugs for Overactive Bladder (Kay et. al 2005)

• 5 Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors.

• Are antagonist for M3 receptors and help overactive bladder patients.

• Some act at the M1 and M2 which are common in the nervous system and that is why they affect memory.

Effects of Curcumin and Rosuvastatin(Chimakurthy and Murthy, 2012 )

• Rosuvastatin -cholesterol lowering drug Curcumin- used to help pain caused by arthritis.

• 3 groups of 6 rats -14 days. • -Curcumin – Rosuvastatin – both medications.

• These rats were placed at a box with three divisions.

• The latency to reach the goal is related to short term memory.

• Results: – Only Rosuvastatin took longer to cross the doors. – Rosuvastatin and Curcumin took less time to cross

the doors.– Only Curcumin took the shortest time to cross the

doors. • Why did this happen? – Curcumin inhibits the negative effects of

Rosuvastatin in memory.

Investigation of nonaspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and aspirin. (Waldstein et al. 2010 )

• A sample of 2,300 men and women 45 years or older.

• Exposed to different tests that measured their memory, attention, concentration and mental status.

• Results:– Aspirin users- poor performance on the tests

related to memory, concentration, and visual memory.

– NSAID users -better performance on the tests related to memory, concentration, and mental flexibility.

Effects of morphine (Zarrindast et al. 2013)

• Uses inhibitory avoidance memory (IA).• Rats were placed in a box that contained two

compartments (illuminated and dark).– Previous studies have

shown that rats tend to move to dark places.

– The dark side floor transmitted electric shocks .

• The latency for a rat to cross to the dark side was recorded.

• Results:– Pre-training administrations of morphine impaired

the acquisition of IA memory as revealed by a decrease in step-through latency on the test day.

– After training administration impaired the consolidation of IA memory but immediately post-training administration did not impair IA memory consolidation.

– Immediately pre-test administration impaired IA memory retrieval.

Conclusion:• Many common used medications cause memoy

loss. Rosuvastatin , aspirin, morphine and anticollinergics cause detrimental effects in memory . Memory loss can last seconds but also can last a lifetime. Therefore, people should be aware of the medications and their side effects.

References• Avila J, Lucas JJ, Perez M, Hernandez F, 2004. Role of tau protein in both

physiological and pathological conditions. 2:361-384.• Chimakurthy J, Murthy T , 2012. Effect of Curcumin on Statin Induced Short Term

Memory Loss. Journal of Pakistan Medical Students. 2:53-57• Cowman N ,2008. What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and

working memory? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2657600/ Extracted on November 9, 2013 . DOI: 10.1016/S0079-6123(07)00020-9

• • Geller EJ ; Crane AK ; Wells EC ; Robinson BL ; Jannelli ML ; Khandelwal

CM ; Connolly A ; Parnell BA ; Matthews CA ; Dumond JB ; Busby-Whitehead J ,2012. Effect of anticholinergic use for the treatment of overactive bladder on cognitive function in postmenopausal women. Clinical Drug Investigation. 32: 697-705. DOI:10.2165/11635010-000000000-00000

• •

• Heerema E , 2013. 4 Types of Memory: Sensory, Short-Term, Working & Long-Term Extracted November 9, 2013.

• • Kay G, Abou-Donia M, Messer W, Murphy D, Tsao J, and Ouslander J , 2005.

Antimuscarinic Drugs for Overactive Bladder and Their Potential Effects on Cognitive Function in Older Patients . 53:2195–2201

• Kay G, Crook T, Rekeda L ,Lima R , Ebinger U , Arguinzoniz M ,Steel M ,2006. Differential Effects of the Antimuscarinic Agents Darifenacin and Oxybutinin Er on Memory in Older Subjects. European Urology. 50:317-326. DOI : 10.1016/j.eururo.2006.03.057

• Neel , 2013. Ten Drugs that may Cause Memory Loss. http://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-05-2013/drugs-that-may-cause-memory-loss.html . Extracted November 9, 2013.

• Waldstein S, Wendell C, Seliger S, Ferruci L, Metter J, Zonderman A , 2010. Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, Aspirin, and Cognitive Function in the Baltimore