Cholesterol drugs may not reduce risk of dementia

	Tweet

New study findings suggest that the cholesterol-lowering drugs know as “statins” do not appear to lower the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, except possibly in cases of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

This runs counter to recent reports indicating that these drugs do, in fact, reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

The authors of the current study, reported in the November 9th issue of the medical journal Neurology, believe the discrepancy may have to do with how the data were analyzed.

Dr. Gail Li, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues assessed the outcomes of 2,356 elderly subjects without dementia who were in a health maintenance organization. The subjects were enrolled in the study between 1994 and 1996 and were evaluated every two years until the end of 2002.

During follow-up, 312 subjects were diagnosed with all-cause dementia and 168 with probable Alzheimer’s disease.

As noted, statin use did not have a significant effect on the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, there was no evidence that higher or lower doses of statin affected the development of dementia.

However, statin use was linked with a lower risk of “probable” Alzheimer’s disease in subjects younger than 80 years who also had a least one copy of APOE E4, a gene mutation associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. But this relationship was not strong.

“Our results argue against the general premise that Statins used for prevention of coronary heart disease will result in prevention of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, except perhaps in subgroups at high risk for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease or in persons starting Statins at a younger age and taking them for longer periods of time,” Li’s team concludes.

SOURCE: Neurology, November 9, 2004.

RELATED STORIES:
Teens with migraine at greater risk of suicide   Heroin users show Alzheimer’s-like brain changes   Seven Habits (To Break) Of Highly Effective People   Updated Alzheimer’s guidelines add very early stage   Lab Contamination, XMRV Virus Is Not Chronic Fatigue Cause   Gossip isn’t all bad - new study finds its social and psychological benefits   Mass hysteria strikes small rural U.S. high school   Immune system gene linked with Parkinson’s: study   Cautious Optimism for New Alzheimer’s Medications   Patients control video with thought alone in study   Nerve problem may explain Gulf War symptoms   Study finds that the same face may look male or female

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]