Xanax Can Cause Dementia?

My brother had been on Xanax for 25 years or more, and the age of 58 he was diagnosed with fronto-temporal dementia. Now, 3 years later, he is a complete vegetable with 24/7 caregivers. The Ashton Report strongly suggests that Xanax, as well as other benzodiazopines, can cause severe memory loss, personality impairment and other changes in the brain that are all symptomatic of dementia. Does anyone have similar experience after long-term use of Xanax?

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Hello, Alex! How are you? I am very sorry about what has happened to your brother.

Yes, some studies have shown that long-term use of them increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's and dementia later in life. However, the studies have been unable to prove a direct causal effect, so it really can't be stated with certainty that the subjects wouldn't have developed these conditions anyway.

While Frontotemporal dementia is related to Alzheimer's, most people who are going to develop it do so in their 50's and 60's, so he wasn't outside of that norm and the only known risk factor for it is genetic, it isn't known to be caused by medications.

Thus, it is most likely that he would have developed it, even if he wasn't taking Xanax for such a long period of time.

Does anyone else know more?

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