Cholesterol-lowering statins may help prevent Alzeimer's, too, study suggests

IHT ^ | September 4, 2007 | Nicholas Bakalar

[vietvet67]

Elderly people taking statins had fewer of the twisted nerve-cell fibers that are common in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, researchers reported last week in a study based on brain autopsies.

The significance of the finding remains unclear, but this is the first time the potential effects of the cholesterol-lowering statins on brain pathology have been assessed by autopsy. Epidemiological studies of statins and Alzheimer's have had mixed results.

The researchers examined the brains of 110 men and women ages 65 to 79 who were enrolled in a larger study of dementia and had donated their brains for research. All were under 80 at enrollment, and one-third had taken statins for an average of five years before death. Simvastatin (Zocor) and lovastatin (Mevacor or Altocor) were the most common prescriptions.

Even though there was no difference in the incidence of apparent dementia in statin users compared with nonusers, the statin users had fewer small brain lesions and fewer of the twisted fibers called neurofibrillary tangles, even after controlling for sex, age at death, brain weight and other variables.

[calex59]

Whatis a statin?

Lipitor, lovastatin, and a host of others are used to control cholesterol. Although they have many benefits they also carry some very mean side effects for some users and have to watched carefully.

[mass55th]

I was on Lipitor and it was keeping my cholesterol down, but it was also screwing up my liver enzymes. Once I went off it, my liver enzymes went back to normal.

[Nogara]

Hey Structured it is me, some 15 years later. I go under the handle nogara now and not Structured-Chaos.

In any event, if this post could actually go back in time, I would tell you, me, that you will suffer from events of global transient amnesia, whereupon, when you stop taking the statin you will be okay again. So, my advice is to stop taking the medication now.

Also, the reason I found my old self here was because I was researching my past posts trying to find a common theme to explain current events in 2021. Crazy. Word ... buy stock in amazon and twitter and google... that should be enough. Word .. learn to speak Chinese.
Word ... Crazy Joe Biden may be your president.

To any who happen to come across this crazy post, I have no explanation. But I do correct the record regarding statins at least as far as I am concerned.

[Nogara]

Hey Structured it is me, some 15 years later. I go under the handle nogara now and not Structured-Chaos.

In any event, if this post could actually go back in time, I would tell you, me, that you will suffer from events of global transient amnesia, whereupon, when you stop taking the statin you will be okay again. So, my advice is to stop taking the medication now.

Also, the reason I found my old self here was because I was researching my past posts trying to find a common theme to explain current events in 2021. Crazy. Word ... buy stock in amazon and twitter and google... that should be enough. Word .. learn to speak Chinese.
Word ... Crazy Joe Biden may be your president.

To any who happen to come across this crazy post, I have no explanation. But I do correct the record regarding statins at least as far as I am concerned.