If you take blood pressure medication you might want to check with your doctor to see if you medication is the type called a "centrally active ACE inhibitor." This type of medication crosses the blood brain barrier, a specialized system of tiny blood vessels that protects the brain from harmful substances in the blood.

Some astonishing new research from the Wake Forest University Schoool of Medicine has found a strong link between taking centrally active ACE inhibitors and lower rates of mental decline as measured by a standard test (Modified Mini-Mental State Exam) that measures memory, language, abstract thinking and other congnitive functions.

The Wake Forest researchers zeroed in on 1,074 people 65-years-old and older who participated in the long-term Cardiovascular Health Study and who were free of dementia at the start of the study and being treated with high blood pressure medication. They found that for each year participants took centrally active ACE inhibitors their rate of mental decline was 50% less than people taking other kinds of blood pressure medication.

Compared to other anti-hypertensive drugs, there was no association between exposure between ACE inhibitors as a class and the risk of dementia. Clearly, the results cames from the centrally active drugs.

Centrally acting drugs include captropril (Capoten®), fosinopril (Monopril®), lisinopril (Prinivil® or Zestri®), perindopril (Aceon®), ramipril (Altace®) and trandolapril (Mavik®).

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