Statin shows promise in Alzheimer's disease

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A trials shows that the cholesterol-lowering drug atorvastatin leads to some improvement among patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Previous work has suggested that there could be a link between high cholesterol and dementia. There is also some evidence that statins, which lower cholesterol and are used to treat heart disease, may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease in later life.

Doctors at the Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, Arizona, now report on a clinical trial of atorvastatin among a group of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's. The group of 67 individuals received either atorvastatin or a placebo and were evaluated over a one year period.

Not only did atorvastatin lower cholesterol, it also seemed to have a positive effect on behavior and cognition. It may be that there is a link between excess cholesterol and the production of the beta-amyloid deposits in the brain that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's. This is an important proof of principle study - further trials of the role of statins in Alzheimer's disease are now ongoing.

Source
Archives of Neurology May 2005 Volume 62 pages 753-757

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