OLD DRUGS NEW TRICKS

SURPRISING uses for common drugs. This week: Blood pressure drugs for muscle loss A COMMONLY prescribed blood pressure drug may hold the key to stopping sarcopenia — agerelated loss of muscle mass.

ACE inhibitors work by stopping the production of the hormone angiotensin II, relaxing blood vessels as a result.

Now a large trial led by Dundee University is looking at whether these can also protect against muscle loss in old age, after earlier studies found they may improve walking in people with limited mobility.

Professor Avan Sayer, director of the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre who was involved in one of the earlier studies, says: ‘ACE inhibitors may help muscle function by improving blood supply or reducing inflammation.

‘Vast numbers of older people are already prescribed ACE inhibitors for blood pressure and heart problems, so this may be a cost-effective, two-for-the-price-of-one treatment that can also protect muscle function.’