Ask Bonnie
February 2008
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Question #1:
My doctor told me to take a statin for Alzheimer's prevention. What is your opinion?
Answer #1:
I am not a doctor, so I would never tell you to go on or off a medication. However, while several studies in recent
years have raised hopes that statins might also reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, a major new study has found no Alzheimer's benefits to the drugs.
"Physicians should not prescribe them for Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Zoe Arvanitakis, a neurologist at Rush University Medical Center
who was the lead researcher of the research, published in the January issue of Neurology.
Statins are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the United States. The theory is that statins might fight Alzheimer's by reducing inflammation
in the body. The Rush study followed volunteers for as long as 12 years. Similar "longitudinal" studies also have found that statins provide
little or no Alzheimer's benefit, Arvanitakis said. The Rush study included 929 Catholic nuns, priests and brothers. Volunteers underwent annual
cognitive tests and agreed to have their brains autopsied when they died. The 119 volunteers who used statins at the beginning of the study were just
as likely to develop Alzheimer's as non-statin users, the researchers found.
While statins in theory may marginally reduce the risk of inflammation, the research on fish oil has been much more positive for Alzheimer's
prevention (and a host of other inflammatory-related maladies). You also don't have to deal with the undesirable side effects that come with statin
medication. At this point, most Alzheimer's researchers will tell you that diet, nutrients, and lifestyle choices make the biggest difference in
preventing Alzheimer's.
Have a happy, healthy day.
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