�A US study that followed over 1,500 older Mexican Americans for 5 years found that statin users
were about half as likely to develop dementedness, or to have cognitive impairment without dementia, as
those world Health Organization did not use statins. Statins are normally positive for lowering LDL or "bad" cholesterol.
The study is published in the twenty-ninth July online issue of Neurology and was the work of
researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, led by Mary Haan, epidemiology prof at the
University's School of Public Health.
Previous research has shown interracial results around the essence of cholesterin lowering drugs on cognitive
function. For this longitudinal study, the researchers tried the connexion between statins and incidence of
dementia and cognitive impairment without dementia over 5 days of comply up.
The participants were 1,789 senior Mexican Americans in Sacramento, California, world Health Organization suffered from
metabolic conditions such as high cholesterin, type 2 diabetes and high rip pressure, that put them
at higher risk of developing dementedness, Alzheimer's Disease, or cognitive impairment without
dementia.
The participants underwent cognitive and clinical evaluations every 12 to 15 months such that those
wHO fell below a specific threshold on the cognitive tests had clinical tests. Diagnoses of dementia
were independently confirmed by an adjudication team.
The results showed that:
452 (27 per cent) of the 1,674 participants free of dementia at the begin of the study took statins at
some point during the study.
Over 5 years of follow up, 130 participants (8 per cent) developed dementia or cognitive impairment
without dementia.
After adjusting for education, smoke status, inherited factors, and history of stroke or diabetes at
the start of the study, participants who used statins were about half as likely as those who did not use
them to develop dementia or cognitive impairment without dementia. (Cox proportional risk ratio =
0.52; 95 per cent assurance interval = 0.34 to 0.80).
Haan and colleagues concluded that:
"Statin users were less likely to get incident dementia/cognitive impairment without dementia during a
5-year follow-up."
They suggested that their findings added to the emerging evidence of a "protective effect of lipid-lowering medicine use
on cognitive outcomes".
In a single out statement, Haan said that:
"The bottom line is that if a person takes statins over a course of around 5-7 geezerhood, it reduces the risk of
dementia by half, and that's a actually big change."
She also emphasised that the study looked at statins as a preventative, non a intervention for existing
dementia.
In before research on this cohort, which was originally recruited in 1997 to enquire the risk on
dementedness and Alzheimer's of metabolic and vascular conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes,
Haan and colleagues found people with sure metabolic conditions were at higher jeopardy of Alzheimer's
and dementedness. For example, they set up that people with type 2 diabetes were closely three times more
potential to develop Alzheimer's.
Haan explained the potentiality impact of using statins earlier rather than later, in a high danger
group:
"In sr. people you have so many different chronic conditions, especially in this mathematical group, that the
chance of any interposition having an effect is fairly limited."
"Say you're 75 or 80 and you've got six diseases. How often is a treatment truly going to help? This
showed if you started using statins before the dementia developed you could prevent it in about half of
the cases," she added.
The researchers suggest that many people on statins don't realize that they are possibly protecting
themselves from dementia, and hope their findings will prompt others to localise up randomised trials to test
the effectiveness of statins at preventing dementia.
Haan said mass should not use these findings as a reason to start out taking statins for anything other
than what they are indicated for, only she hoped that these findings will:
"Open the door to lipid-lowering medication testing for dementia and other types of cognitive impairment."
Haan aforementioned it was not clear how statins worked to protect against dementia and cognitive impairment,
but one emerging risk factor is high insulin, and peradventure statins turn down insulin levels in the brain, since
high levels of encephalon insulin throw been joined to Alzheimer's symptoms. Further research is planned to
find out exactly what happens at the biochemical level.
"Use of statins and incidence of dementia and cognitive deterioration without dementedness in a
cohort study."
Cramer, C., Haan, M. N., Galea, S., Langa, K. M., Kalbfleisch, J. D.
Neurology 2008; 71: 344-350
Published online, July 29 2008, Volume 71, Issue 5
Click here for Abstract.
Source: University of Michigan, journal abstract.
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today
More information
