Nicotine patch helps protect memory

Many people are wearing nicotine patches to kick the habit as part of a New Year’s resolution, but some are wearing then to control memory loss. It appears that sporting a nicotine patch may help improve memory loss in some older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

The new double-blind study looked at 74 non-smokers who had diagnosed mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The average age was 76. Half had a patch and half had a placebo.

The researchers want to be sure everyone knows they are not endorsing nicotine use. “What we and others have shown is that nicotine doesn’t do much for memory and attention in the normal population, but it does do something for those whose cognitive function is already impaired,” said Paul Newhouse, MD, professor Psychiatry an director of the Center for Cognitive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who authored the study.

“People with memory loss should not start smoking or using nicotine patches by themselves because there are harmful effects of smoking and a medication such as nicotine should only be used with a doctor’s supervision,” Newhouse claimed. “But this study provides strong justification for further research into the sue of nicotine for people with early signs of memory loss which may help us determine whether benefits persist over long periods of time and provide meaningful improvement.”

Newhouse asserts, “If you’re already functioning fine, but slip down the hill, nicotine will push you back up toward the top. A little bit of the drug makes poor performers better. Too much, and it makes them worse again, so there’s a range.” Nicotine stimulates receptors in the brain that are important for thinking and memory. It may even have neuroprotective effects. Eventually nicotine may be able to curb the early stages of MCI. Further study is needed.

Source: MedicalNewsToday, Neurology