Lipophilic statin use linked to increased risk of dementia SOCIETY OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND MOLECULAR [View all]

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https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/sonm-lsu061021.php

IMAGE: SIGNIFICANT METABOLIC DECLINE IN THE POSTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX IN LIPOPHILIC STATIN USERS AFTER FIVE TO SIX YEARS (TOP) COMPARED TO HYDROPHILIC STATIN USERS AND NON-STATIN USERS (BOTTOM). view more

CREDIT: IMAGE CREATED BY PRASANNA PADMANABHAM AND DANIEL SILVERMAN, UCLA

Reston, VA (Embargoed until 7:30 p.m. EDT, Monday, June 14, 2021)--In patients with mild cognitive impairment, taking lipophilic statins more than doubles their risk of developing dementia compared to those who do not take statins. According to research presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2021 Annual Meeting, positron emission tomography (PET) scans of lipophilic statin users revealed a highly significant decline in metabolism in the area of the brain that is first impacted by Alzheimer's disease.

Statins are medications used to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. They are the most commonly used drugs in the developed world, and nearly 50 percent of Americans over age 75 use a statin. Different types of statins are available based on a patient's health needs, including hydrophilic statins that focus on the liver and lipophilic statins that are distributed to tissues throughout the body.

"There have been many conflicting studies on the effects of statin drugs on cognition," said Prasanna Padmanabham, project head, statins and cognition in the molecular and medical pharmacology student research program at the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. "While some claim that satins protect users against dementia, others assert that they accelerate the development of dementia. Our study aimed to clarify the relationship between statin use and subject's long-term cognitive trajectory."

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