Could taking certain drugs reduce risk of ruptured brain aneurysm?

After adjusting for other factors that could affect the risk of stroke, such as high blood pressure, smoking, alcohol abuse and total number of other health conditions, researchers found that people currently taking lisinopril were 37% less likely to have a ruptured brain aneurysm than those not taking the drug. People taking simvastatin were 22% less likely to have a stroke. Those taking metformin were 42% less likely to have a stroke and those taking tamsulosin were 45% less likely.

Researchers also found an increased risk of having a ruptured brain aneurysm for people taking four drugs: the blood thinner warfarin; the antidepressant venlafaxine; the antipsychotic and antiemetic drug prochlorperazine; and the painkiller co-codamol.

“Future research is needed to investigate these associations and determine whether these drugs are effective in reducing the risk of hemorrhagic stroke,” Kanning said. “This work could also help us identify additional risk factors for subarachnoid hemorrhage, potentially leading to new therapies to manage aneurysms.”

A limitation of the study was that researchers looked at drug prescriptions. It is possible that people may not take their drugs or may take them incorrectly.

Reference:

Jos P. Kanning, Shahab Abtahi, Christian Schnier, Olaf H. Klungel, Mirjam I. Geerlings, and Ynte M. Ruigrok, Prescribed Drug Use and Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Incidence A Drug-Wide Association Study, Neurology,  https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209479