How blood pressure pill 'reverses the effects of ageing for OAPs'

Elderly volunteers who were too frail to exercise showed a marked improvement in their quality of life when asked to take it.

The effect of a regular dose of ACE inhibitors was the same as taking regular exercise in a gym - strengthening muscles and improving mobility and respiration.

Those who took the drug during the three-year study became stronger and were able to stay active and independent for longer than those who did not.

The research at Dundee University has been hailed as a major breakthrough in the quest to prolong healthy lives in an increasingly ageing population.

Professor Marion McMurdo, head of the Ageing and Health unit in the university's School of Medicine, described the findings as "tremendously important".

She said: "The level of improvement in exercise capacity is equivalent to that reported after six months of exercise training.

"People who had been given the drug could walk on average 30 metres further in six minutes than those who had been given the placebo.

"This may make an important difference for a growing sector of the population in which people find it difficult to sustain that level of exercise.

"It provides further encouragement about the possibility of slowing decline and disability in later life."

Around 130 pensioners from Tayside, with an average age of 79, took part in the tests, which involved activities they normally found difficult.

Some were given perindopril, a common form of angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor drug, while others were given a dummy pill.

Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was taking the active medicine.

Perindopril is already taken by hundreds of thousands of people each day to treat heart failure and blood pressure problems.

Professor McMurdo said her team discovered the drug's apparent benefits while undertaking completely different research - studying over-75s with heart failure.

She said: "The best way to keep physical independence is to keep exercising.

"But some people don't have the motivation or some older people don't have the physical ability - they are not capable of exercising.

"The problem we have had for years is how do you improve quality of life and exercise capacity without having to do training that is beyond many people.

"Our research shows this can be achieved by using commonly-prescribed drugs."

The £160,000 study, carried out between August 2003 and March 2006, was funded by the Scottish Executive's Department of Health.

Dr Myles Whitham, clinical lecturer in ageing and health at Dundee University, said the team would do further research on other possible health benefits from ACE inhibitors and other heart drugs.

He said: "More than anything this helped people's endurance. Their muscles got tired less quickly so they could keep going longer.

"A lot of older people don't particularly like taking medication, but this is good evidence it will not only do them good in the long term, but also make them feel better and improve their quality of life."

The team has published a paper detailing the findings in the Canadian medical journal CMAJ.