Common blood pressure drug does not slow down the progression of more advanced Alzheimer’s

Press release issued: 15 November 2021

New research led by the University of Bristol, has shown the drug losartan, normally used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), is not effective in slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in people with mild-to-moderate disease after 12 months of treatment. However, the drug could still be of benefit if prescribed for longer and if given to people with very early disease. The findings are from the phase 2 multi-centre clinical trial known as RADAR ((Reducing pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease through Angiotensin taRgeting).

The double blinded placebo-controlled randomised trial (where participants and doctors don’t know what treatment people are on) investigated whether losartan, compared with a placebo, could reduce brain volume loss, as a measure of disease progression, in people clinically diagnosed with established AD.

The research, published in The Lancet Neurology and NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation, is the first to evaluate the potential benefit of losartan, an angiotensin receptor blocker, which is a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure, in clinically diagnosed AD using brain imaging as a primary outcome.

Read the full Univesity of Bristol press release

Further information

Papers

'Safety and efficacy of losartan for the reduction of brain atrophy in clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (the RADAR trial): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial' by Patrick Gavin Kehoe et al published in The Lancet Neurology [open access]

‘Losartan to slow the progression of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease through angiotensin targeting: the RADAR RCT’ by Patrick G Kehoe et al published in Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation