Preservation of cognition in hypertension-treated South Indian rural population

Change in diet, life style and increased life expectancy has led to the dramatic escalation in old age related complication like cognitive decline leading to dementia. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are huge risk factors for dementia, including Alzheimer disease (AD). Hypertension is very well known to cause cognitive impairment. Control of CVD could provide protection against dementia. Earlier, in the mouse model of AD, reserpine, an antihypertensive and antipsychotic drug could elicit improvement in the working memory in AD model mice and enhance the same in normal mice. Hence, Cognitive protection in the patients on chronic antihypertensive drug which contains reserpine was evaluated. Cognition in a cohort (in the South Indian rural population) of hypertensive patients (majority age group - 50-70 years) who have been chronically treated with a combinatorial drug, (adelphane/adelphane esidrex-Novaritis, Switzerland) consisting of reserpine and hydrazine for years was compared with controls without hypertension. The cohorts were age, sex, socio-economic, education background matched. Cognition was scored using the Tamil version of: Addenbrookes Cognitive Examination-III (T-ACEIII) and Tamil-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T-MoCA) scales. The composite T-ACEIII score of control and treated groups were 53.6 and 53.2, respectively. T-MoCA scores (Control-15.1 and Treated-14.7) did not show much alteration. Further, the mean scores of the control and treated groups individual components of cognition in ACE, namely, Attention, Memory, Fluency, Language and visuospatial - cognitive skills also did not reveal significant difference. Thus, controlling blood pressure or hypertension with chronic antihypertensive medication like adelphane/adelphane esirdex (reserpine containing drugs) has retained normal cognition in both genders.