Lipophilic statin use linked to increased risk of dementia SOCIETY OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND MOLECULAR

[SheltieLover]

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."

More at thread.

[andym]

1. For those interested not all statins are lipophilic, the kind suspected of association with risk

and hydrophilic statins did not affect brain metabolism in the critical area.
"Patients with mild cognitive impairment or normal cognition who used lipophilic statins were found to have more than double the risk of developing dementia compared to statin non-users. Over time, PET imaging of lipophilic statin users also showed a substantial decline in metabolism in the posterior cingulate cortex, the region of the brain known to decline the most significantly in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease. In contrast, no clinical or metabolic decline was found for users of other statins or for statin users with higher baseline serum cholesterol levels."-- other statins are hydrophilic statins.



Lipophilic statins include atorvastatin, simvastatin, lovastatin, fluvastatin, cerivastatin and pitavastatin.
Hydrophilic statins include rosuvastatin and pravastatin.
From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC8172607/

[SheltieLover]

4. Tyvm for clarification!

I should have included in op as a note.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Thanks for that! My mom is on one of those. nt

[lindysalsagal]

2. Lawyers everywhere are salivating....

Let the lawsuits begin!

[crazylikafox]

3. Which statin is the Donald taking?

Would explain a lot.

[totodeinhere]

5. Excuse me for being confused.

A thread just below this says that statins can reduce the risk of serious Covid complications. But this thread says certain statins can increase the risk of dementia. So I guess I'll be demented without serious Covid complications. (Excuse me for joking about it. I know that dementia is a serious topic.)

[SheltieLover]

8. Only lipophilic statins are said to double dementia risk.

Please see Andy's list in post #1.

[totodeinhere]

11. I already saw that. Thanks. n/t

[SheltieLover]

12. Yw!

[Goodheart]

6. Started out taking a lipophilic (Lipitor). Body aches were severe.

Something that pervasive couldn't be good. Switched to Crestor, a hydrophilic. Much better results, and cholesterol has gone way down, too.

Still I wonder about the effects on my liver.

[SheltieLover]

9. Ask you doc about milk thistle to support liver

Great stuff in my experience!

[madville]

10. I've been successful the last 10 years controlling cholesterol with

A high fiber diet, proven in many studies. I’ll never take statins, know several people that say they wish they had never started on them, but the mostly kept up unhealthy habits hoping a pill would fix everything

[womanofthehills]

14. Two of my women friends had to go off statins

One didn’t remember a whole day when she drove off the road thru the woods with her car. Another one called and said her mind was going - so of course, my first question was what drugs are you on. Yea, she was on statins. Both went off and their minds are fine.

I just take time release Niacin two times a day - and my cholesterol dropped 100 points. My dr was not even interested in how I did it. She said she wanted it down 20 more points or I needed to take statins. Many cancer patients have low cholesterol. My obese friend had very low cholesterol and cancer. Our brains need cholesterol to function so I would rather have mine slightly high.

[SheltieLover]

15. I'll look into time release niacin!

Scary about your friends!

How long did it take for your cholesterol to come down after starting niacin?

Ty for sharing!

[SheltieLover]

18. Good for you!

I'm leaning that way myself.

Seems every time NP rxs something, there is an issue...

Had my annual physical recently.

Was rx'd Chantix to stop smoking. A couple days later, it was recalled for a carcinogin.

Was rx'd a statin in this bad group & was told to take 200 mg coq10 for two weeks before starting statin.

A few days later, this article popped up.

Was rx'd a third med which apparently caused Qt interval heart issue. Terribly ill for about 3 days.

I just think meds aren't for me.

About 1.5 yrs ago was rx'd 2 allergy meds & 1 of them caused a really odd looking growth on my forehead. Top dead center. Dermatologist thought it was skin cancer, but I knew better & biopsy proved me correct.

I think I'm going the supplement / diet change route!

[Takket]

13. my wife takes one of these, Lipitor...

she used to get terrible migraines and has not had a one since she started. Note that this is NOT why she started taking it, but rather was a happy side effect of taking it for poor Cholesterol numbers. Now her numbers are good (coupled with improved diet) and no migraines.

I wonder would switching to the hydrophilic staten give her the same health benefits while reducing the dementia risk later in life? Not sure what to do

[SheltieLover]

16. Have her talk to dr.

Print out article & email or take in to discuss.

I would.

[csziggy]

17. Great - my doctor just started me on one of the lipophilic statins

Atorvastatin, in fact. I was highly reluctant to take it and with this news, I will contact the doctor and see if he can change me to a different medication.

What gets me is that I do NOT have high cholesterol. I do have a slight amount of plaque in my arteries, but considering that I just turned 69 it is not bad. There are no signs of any blockages at all. I really don't think I need to be treated for cholesterol since my lifestyle has kept it low for more than twenty years.

[SheltieLover]

19. Have you read Linus Pauling's research?

He won 2 Nobels.

I'm strongly considering that prothocol.

Vit C & a few others. I will pm you a link that explains it.

[csziggy]

20. No, I haven't

I'll check it out, thanks!

My mother's Alzheimer's didn't kick in until after Dad died when she was 92 - but the progression was horrific. The end took five years and by that time she also had a heart valve defect that she refused to have treated (diagnosed at 86) and metastatic liver cancer. We think the heart was what took her - she went to sleep and simply didn't wake up and looked very peaceful. That's what the doctor told her might happen when refused a valve replacement.

With all my health issues I doubt I'll make it to her age, but I do NOT want to go out with Alzheimer's.

[SheltieLover]

22. Yw!

So sorry about your mom. 😢

There is a Linus Pauling Institute at a Univ in Oregon.

Tons of great info there, in addition go what I pmd you.

[csziggy]

24. Read the page and responded in PM nt

[SheltieLover]

25. I hope it gave you some ideas.

[struggle4progress]

21. Cholesterol and dementia

... People that have high cholesterol levels in the blood often have other factors associated with dementia risk such as high blood pressure and diabetes, so separating these factors is complex ... Observational studies analysing a link between high cholesterol levels and development of dementia have mixed findings. A review that looked at 25 of these studies suggests that higher cholesterol in mid-life is associated with an increased risk of developing the condition ... A meta-analysis is a study that looks at lots of previous studies and analyses all of the data together to increase the number of people studied and to look at the information in a consistent way. A meta-analysis looking at observational studies investigating statins and the risk of dementia looked at data from 11 studies, involving over 23,000 participants, who had been taking statins for between 3 and nearly 25 years on average. When all of the data was analysed together, the researchers found that those people taking statins had a 29 per cent reduced risk of developing dementia.

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/cholesterol-and-dementia

[SheltieLover]

23. It's only 1 type this article asserts to contribute to dementia

Ty for the info!

[DFW]

26. I am a living example of the advanced dementia in statin patients

But I‘d rather be a basket case than in a basket (or a casket).

My blood pressure is mercifully low, typical is 115/70, but my LDL is too high, and I would probably not be here at all without statins. Better the demented DFW you know than none at all, though I understand that some on DU probably have other sentiments.

[SheltieLover]

27. It's only 1 type, DFW

We're all glad you are here!

[DFW]

28. It's not like I have an option

But thanks!! Everyone has their Achilles heel, but at least I probably won‘t die of boredom, which is my biggest fear.

[SheltieLover]

29. I just had my annual

Cholesterol well over 300!

I'm considering Linus Pauling's protocol. (2 time Nobes winner!)