Share This Page

Connecting Alzheimer's & Dementia Organizations to Supporters & Clients

Medicine & Myth: What Causes Alzheimer’s and What Doesn’t

PREVENTION:

Which of these cause Alzheimer’s:
1) Flu shots?
2) Aluminum?
3) Statin drugs?
See the latest research.


Flu Shots

Aluminum

Statins

Researchers question whether there is substance to the US Food and Drug Agency’s recent warning that statins could affect the memory, attention span and other cognitive abilities of people who take this drug to control high cholesterol. This follows a systematic review of 25 clinical trials incorporating nearly 47,000 people. It was led by Brian R. Ott, M.D., director of The Alzheimer’s Disease & Memory Disorders Center at Rhode Island Hospital and professor at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University in the U.S. The review findings¹ appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine², published by Springer.

Since 2012, the FDA regulates that labels on statin packaging should warn that the drugs could change users’ cognitive abilities. These cognitive changes could include attention span, problem solving, memory, and language or visuospatial abilities. The warning was based on surveillance and case reports, observational studies and randomized trials.

Subsequent reviews of available research have cast doubts on the cautionary stance taken by the FDA. Ott’s team therefore set out to do a more comprehensive analysis using well-studied analysis methods. They scrutinized the data of 25 relevant randomized clinical trials that investigated a possible link between statin therapy and mental ability. Combined, these studies included the test results of 46,836 patients. Ott and his colleagues also contrasted and combined the results of 14 of these studies through a meta-analysis, which in total included 27,643 participants.

The review found no significant effect of statin use on the mental capacity of either people with normal brain functioning or even those with Alzheimers’ disease. The results suggest that the FDA’s statin warning should be re-evaluated. Ott also believes there is a need to investigate the reasons behind the differences in the review results and the initial reports on which the FDA warning was based. It could be that some of the mental changes that were reported in the case studies were the result of overdosing with statins.

The review findings are congruent with the 2013 safety statement made by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association Cholesterol Guideline. It advises that patients on statins who seem to be confused or who might have memory problems should be evaluated for causes other than their cholesterol medication. This could include the use of other drugs or systemic and neuro-psychiatric causes.

The researchers believe that there is more benefit to be had by sticking to statin therapy to manage heart-related diseases and prevent strokes than worrying about the possible adverse mental effects of these drugs.

“We found no significant effects of statin treatment on cognition,” concludes Ott. “Given these results, it is questionable whether the FDA class warning about potential cognitive adverse effects of statins is still warranted..”


Source:

Reference:

  • Brian R. Ott, Lori A. Daiello, Issa J. Dahabreh, Beth A. Springate, Kimberly Bixby, Manjari Murali, Thomas A. Trikalinos. Do Statins Impair Cognition? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2015; DOI: 10.1007/s11606-014-3115-3

Related:

Email me when people comment
Notify of
guest

3 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Anonymous
Anonymous
April 13, 2018 5:38 pm

I have a personal friend (this is not second hand information) who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He struggled with it for five years, lost his driver's license, his wife had to take over family finances, etc. When he quit taking the statin drug, the Alzheimer's went away. He is now sharp mentally and in complete control of his faculties. There are other dangerous side effects to statin drugs. The dangers outweigh the supposed benefits. You should study this drug carefully before taking it.

Roger
Roger
January 18, 2015 9:58 pm

In the Autumn of 2013, you published an article, which stated that Pravastatin was bad for Dementia and that Atorvastatin was good. When my wife was put on Pravastatin, it coincided with a sharp decline in her general wellbeing. Since stopping Pravastatin, and returning to Atorvastatin, the improvement has been quite dramatic. Her cognition, speech and ability to feed herself have all improved.
I am so happy to have read your article and followed it's advice.
Roger.

Anonymous
Anonymous
Reply to  Roger
December 29, 2019 8:09 pm

Roger it may have been me. Whatever I am so thankful you took the step to change meds and your dear wife has known a dramatic change in her well being. So thankful and happy for both of you..my prayers..Ann

Edited by:
Picture of P. Berger

P. Berger

This site was inspired by my Mom’s autoimmune dementia.

It is a place where we separate out the wheat from the chafe, the important articles & videos from each week’s river of news. Google gets a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every 7 minutes. That can overwhelm anyone looking for help. This site filters out, focuses on and offers only the best information. it has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it debuted in 2007. Thanks to our many subscribers for your supportive feedback.

The site is dedicated to all those preserving the dignity of the community of people living with dementia.

Peter Berger, Editor

Share this page To

You May LIke:

President Ronald and Nancy Reagan in the White House
Advocacy

Nancy Reagan’s Impact on Fighting Alzheimer’s

VIDEO: President Ronald Reagan’s family raised the bar of Alzheimer’s awareness. Watch Nancy Reagan talk about it to the Republican National Convention. See Democratic President Obama with Nancy, describing her impact on the fight to end Alzheimer’s.

Read More »
Share to Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

This site was inspired by my Mom’s autoimmune dementia.

It is a place where we separate out the wheat from the chafe, the important articles & videos from each week’s river of news. Google gets a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every 7 minutes. That can overwhelm anyone looking for help. This site filters out, focuses on and offers only the best information. it has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it debuted in 2007. Thanks to our many subscribers for your supportive feedback.

The site is dedicated to all those preserving the dignity of the community of people living with dementia.

Peter Berger, Editor

Visit Alzheimer's Weekly On

3
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
News, Treatments, Care Tips, Diet

Alzheimer's & Dementia Weekly Newsletter: Free

Free. Care & Treatment. Research & Prevention

This site was inspired by my Mom’s autoimmune dementia.

It is a place where we separate out the wheat from the chafe, the important articles & videos from each week’s river of news. Google gets a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every 7 minutes. That can overwhelm anyone looking for help. This site filters out, focuses on and offers only the best information. It has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it debuted in 2007. Thanks to our many subscribers for your supportive feedback.

The site is dedicated to all those preserving the dignity of the community of people living with dementia.

Peter Berger, Editor

News to Get at the Truth

Subscribe To Our Weekly Newsletter