Posted on 05/20/2023 6:23:00 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase blockers may reduce the risk for neurodegenerative diseases, according to a study.
Yizhe Song and colleagues conducted a population-based, case-control study of U.S. Medicare beneficiaries in 2009 to identify prescription medications associated with a lower risk for three neurodegenerative diseases: Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The analysis included 42,885 patients with neurodegenerative disease and 334,387 randomly selected controls. All filled medications were categorized according to their biological targets and mechanisms of action of those targets using medication data from 2006 to 2007. The odds ratios were estimated for 141 target-action pairs and each neurodegenerative disease. For target-action pairs inversely associated with diseases, replication was attempted in a cohort, including an active comparator group.
The researchers found that the most consistent inverse association across all three neurodegenerative diseases was for xanthine dehydrogenase/oxidase blockers, tied to the gout medication allopurinol. In multinomial regression, allopurinol was associated with a 13 to 34 percent lower risk for each neurodegenerative disease group and a mean reduction of 23 percent overall compared with those not using allopurinol. In the replication cohort, there was a 23 percent reduction for neurodegenerative diseases observed in the fifth year of follow-up comparing allopurinol users versus nonusers; with an active comparator group, more marked associations were seen.
"The medication associations we studied relate to disease risk," a co-author said in a statement. "Further research will be necessary to examine whether this mechanism slows progression of these diseases."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
The article didn’t seem to mention that allopurinol tries to kill about 10% of the people who take it.
My Nephrologist prescribed it for me because it is supposed to be the silver bullet to stop the kind of kidney stones I’ve been making regularly over the last two years.
Within six days of starting it I got very sick. Fever of 103, head-to-toe body rash, felt awful, couldn’t eat or drink. Off to the ER, where we sat for 8 hours before they admitted me to the hospital. They held me two days for observation because my symptoms were associated with an 11% mortality rate. Just what you want to hear.
Needless to say, I’m not on allopurinol any more. Still looking for a different silver bullet that won’t kill me.
I take it and haven’t had any issue, not sure if it’s doing anything positive but there are no negatives so far.
good news- been on it for a couple years now for kidney stones- seems to be working for that too- used to get a bunch per year- now i haven’t had one in a couple years- glad to hear it might help stave off Alzheimer’s too
My thoughts exactly. I have been on allopurinol for several years now. Haven't had a gout flare since I started taking it. I used to have a couple a year.
someone in FR mentioned once though that it might impact vision- I haven’t looked into it though
I’ve been on it for years for gout prevention, it’s been a Godsend to me. My doctor says it’s one of the safest medications ever invented.
My husband has been on it for years. He also has Alzheimer’s.
It has worked for my gout.
Sorry to hear that. Alzheimers is such a terrible. The allopurinol isn’t a cure, but perhaps it slows onset or prevents it in some folks. Wish there were a medicine on the market which could cure it though.
I had SEVERE gout. Treated with Indomethacin for attacks.
Since being on allopurinol gout attacks are generally gone! If I abuse my diet (knowingly) I may get minor attacks. So minor that I don’t at first realize they are gout.
So allopurinol for me is a miracle drug. I have been taking it for MANY years. ZERO side effects that I know of.
Great info. Thanks. A dear friend may, indeed, be at risk. She’ll tell her MD about this.
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