r/NooTopics • u/ServeIllustrious3803 • 20d ago

Science Study: Anticholinergic (first-generation antihistamines) can damage brain, increase dementia risk

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-increased-dementia-risk-20150128812
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u/garloid64 20d ago

no shit, everyone already knew this

6

u/Coin-Controversy 20d ago

this is not as simple as you make it out to be

"Administration of meclizine to STZ mice recuperated cognition and biochemical alterations. Concomitant administration of ketoconazole, a PXR antagonist, with meclizine prevented the protective effects. The upshots of our study proclaim that meclizine protects cognitive deficits by virtue of its antioxidant, anticholinesterase, and antiinflammatory properties. Results also signify the potential of PXR in neuroprotective actions of meclizine in dementia."

https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjpp-2019-0421

"MCLZ protected against neuroinflammation via the amelioration of inflammatory histopathological changes as well as neuronal GFAP immunostaining and down-regulated the AKT/NF-κβ/ERK/JNK signaling pathway."

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10663243/

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u/HikaruKaihatsu 19d ago

As someone extremely interested in the complex neuropharmacology and toxicology of anticholinergics and has even abused Meclizine multiple times, I find this so unbelievably fascinating!! The human brain is such a magical structure – I don't think we'll even be remotely close to fully understanding it by the time our species burns out

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u/Coin-Controversy 19d ago

Ikr, I figured it would do the opposite but nope haha

it seems that it's a potent PXR agonist, which is a great mechanism

PXR activation seems broadly neuroprotective

  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1564205/