A latest study suggested that a popular class of heartburn medications could increase senior patient’s risk of dementia. This group of drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), including Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid, functions by decreasing the amount of acid formed in the stomach.

However, German researchers have discovered that people 75 or above, who take the medications regularly had a 44% increased chance of suffering from dementia, in comparison to seniors not consuming the drugs. The study has also discovered a link, however, and not a cause-and-effect association.

Corresponding author Britta Haenisch, from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn said that for the evaluation of cause-and-effect relationships between long-term PPI use and likely effects on cognition in the older people, randomized, prospective clinical trials are required.

Haenisch said that meanwhile clinicians must follow guidelines for PPI prescription, to prevent overprescribing PPIs and unsuitable usage. The report has appeared in the journal JAMA Neurology on February 15.

Their findings were surprising enough to make at least one main expert on aging, Dr. Malaz Boustani, think of sharing the results with older patients, using PPIs.

Boustani said previous studies have shown a relation between another kind of antacid, H2 blockers, and an elevated dementia risk. So far, he’s recommended patients to use PPIs for the treatment of acid reflux and steer clear of H2 blockers such as Pepcid, Tagamet and Zantac.

Boustani, a professor of medicine with the Indiana University Center for Aging Research, said, “I will disclose finding to patients and then let them decide whether they will take risk or not. On Monday I have clinic, and if I have patients taking PPI or H2 blocker I will tell them so and then they can decide”.