Do statins help protect the brain from dementia?
Overview the effect of statin therapy on dementia risk, cognitive changes and its pathologic change: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Statin use linked to higher blood amyloid levels (Aβ40 and Aβ42), not lower
Most assume Alzheimer’s drugs should reduce amyloid — but here, statins increased it in blood, which may indicate enhanced clearance from the brain.
Practical Takeaways
If you're on a statin for heart health, it might also be helping your brain — don’t stop it over memory concerns.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Statin use linked to higher blood amyloid levels (Aβ40 and Aβ42), not lower
Most assume Alzheimer’s drugs should reduce amyloid — but here, statins increased it in blood, which may indicate enhanced clearance from the brain.
Practical Takeaways
If you're on a statin for heart health, it might also be helping your brain — don’t stop it over memory concerns.
Publication
Journal
Annals of translational medicine
Year
2018
Authors
Xi-Chen Zhu, W. Dai, T. Ma
Related Content
Claims (6)
Even though cholesterol-lowering drugs reduce overall cholesterol, your cells still make their own to meet their needs, and taking statins might actually lower your chances of getting dementia.
Taking statins might be linked to a lower chance of getting dementia, based on studies of millions of people — but we can't say for sure that statins are the reason why.
Taking statins, especially atorvastatin, might give a tiny boost to memory test scores in people with dementia, but it probably doesn’t make a big difference in how they feel or function day to day.
Taking statins doesn’t seem to make memory or thinking skills better or worse for people who already have dementia.
Taking statins may lower bad cholesterol and affect cholesterol levels in the brain for people with dementia, which could mean it’s working in both the body and the brain.