Gastric Reflux Drugs May Be Tied To Dementia Risk, German Center For Neurodegenerative Diseases Study

Repeated use of a certain class of drugs for gastric reflux or peptic ulcers was linked with a higher risk for dementia among patients in Germany, researchers say.

The drugs, known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), include lansoprazole (Prevacid), esomeprazole (Nexium), and omeprazole (Prilosec), all manufactured by AstraZeneca.

The current study can only provide a statistical association between PPI prescriptions and occurrence of dementia in the elderly. It can’t prove that PPIs actually cause dementia, said senior author Britta Haenisch of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn, Germany.

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