Can Statins Reduce Risk of Memory Loss?
Can Statins Reduce Risk of Memory Loss?
In Study, Statin Users Were Half as Likely to Develop Dementia
"There may be something else going on here," she says.
The findings also suggest a need to follow patients with cardiovascular disease and diabetes more closely for mental decline, Haan says.
About 100 people enrolled in the study showed evidence of dementia or cognitive impairment during their first mental evaluation, but none had been previously diagnosed.
"Most of these people lived in urban settings and had Medicare and primary care doctors, but they were not being screened for cognitive declines," she says.
Ironically, much of the recent press about statins and the brain has focused on claims that the drugs cause memory problems and 'foggy' thinking in some users.
But neurologist John Hart, MD, who is medical director of the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas, says the claims have been largely anecdotal.
"Most of the evidence seems to suggest that statins are helpful in the long run for preventing memory loss with aging and dementia," he tells WebMD.
He agrees that a primary prevention trial is needed.
"We really need to settle this issue," he says. "There are a lot of hints that statins slow age-related memory decline. If this is the case we need to know it."
Can Statins Reduce Risk of Memory Loss?
In Study, Statin Users Were Half as Likely to Develop Dementia
Statins Lower LDL continued...
"There may be something else going on here," she says.
The findings also suggest a need to follow patients with cardiovascular disease and diabetes more closely for mental decline, Haan says.
About 100 people enrolled in the study showed evidence of dementia or cognitive impairment during their first mental evaluation, but none had been previously diagnosed.
"Most of these people lived in urban settings and had Medicare and primary care doctors, but they were not being screened for cognitive declines," she says.
Memory Problems and 'Foggy' Thinking
Ironically, much of the recent press about statins and the brain has focused on claims that the drugs cause memory problems and 'foggy' thinking in some users.
But neurologist John Hart, MD, who is medical director of the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas, says the claims have been largely anecdotal.
"Most of the evidence seems to suggest that statins are helpful in the long run for preventing memory loss with aging and dementia," he tells WebMD.
He agrees that a primary prevention trial is needed.
"We really need to settle this issue," he says. "There are a lot of hints that statins slow age-related memory decline. If this is the case we need to know it."
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