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While antibiotics are commonly used to treat bacterial infections, long-term use has long been known to cause many side effects. A recent study by South Korean researchers indicates that those side effects may include dementia.
A recent study by Dr. Park Sang-min's team, at Seoul National University Hospital’s Department of Family Medicine, tracked the incidence of dementia in over 300,000 South Korean adults over age 40, based on the number of days they were prescribed antibiotics. The study period was from 2002 to 2005.
The study was published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, a science and technology journal, on Sept. 26.
Dementia is a syndrome characterized by a decline in memory, thinking, behavior, and ability to perform daily activities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for an estimated 60 to 70 percent of dementia cases. Although dementia primarily occurs in the elderly, the number of younger adults diagnosed with early-onset dementia is increasing in young adults....