NOACs Linked to Slower Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's — SkimNews
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- Karolinska Institutet researchers analyzed 7,308 people with both atrial fibrillation and Alzheimer's disease from the Swedish SveDem registry, comparing those on NOACs, warfarin, and no blood thinners.
- NOAC users showed a significantly slower decline in cognitive function — slightly more than 0.2 MMSE points per year — compared with warfarin users and untreated patients, per the European Heart Journal study.
- Maria Eriksdotter, who led the study, said anticoagulants may aid cognition by improving blood flow and reducing small-scale brain damage, though the effect is modest per individual year.
- NOAC patients also had lower risks of death, stroke, blood clots, and fractures compared with untreated patients; warfarin shared some of those benefits but carried a higher major bleeding risk.
- Researchers cautioned the observational design cannot prove causation, and noted some participants may have switched medications during follow-up.
Why it matters: For the roughly 7,308 Swedish patients in the study — and the larger population of people living with both atrial fibrillation and Alzheimer's — even a 0.2 MMSE-point annual difference could compound into meaningful preserved function over years, shifting the calculus toward NOACs over warfarin for this group where bleeding risk matters.
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