Certain medications, the American Family Physician (32#2:250) reports, interfere with our ability to store information in our memories and quickly recall it on demand. Older people, many of whom already have this problem, tend to be much more severely affected.
The drugs in question share a common mechanism of action—they block production of a substance known as acetyl choline in the tissues. Acetyl choline is responsible for many functions in the body, including memory functions of the brain. Since production of this substance naturally declines in many older people to the extent that the memory becomes impaired, drugs that interfere with acetyl choline production tend to make an older person’s memory very much worse. The drugs that do this include many medications used for insomnia, for calming the nerves, for reducing tremors, or for decreasing the production of gastric acid.
Since saliva and mucus secretion also depend upon acetyl choline’s presence in the tissues, all of these drugs additionally produce dryness of the mouth. Whenever possible, therefore, older people with memory problems should try to do without any drug that causes dryness.
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