Dementia ‘is made worse by painkillers’

STRONG painkillers speed the decline of dementia patients, scientists say.

A study of 162 sufferers treated with opioid-based buprenorphine found more than half had to stop taking it due to side effects.

They showed a rise in personality changes and confusion and were less active, found the study at care homes in Norway.

Opioid painkillers are given to 40% of dementia patients in care homes.

Professor of age-related diseases Clive Ballard, of the University of Exeter, said: “Sadly, at the moment, we are harming people when we are trying to ease their pain.”