Statins still not found to be a cure-all
Alzheimer's is just one of several of the latest diseases at which those good ol' statin-makers are aiming their marketing guns. Well, holster those weapons, boys, because there's no shot to be had here.
The net has been cast wide to locate other diseases that the multi-billion dollar blockbuster statins can be used to treat. I just wrote to you a few days ago about the drug companies taking their aim at people with diabetes, desperate to capture this growing market any way they can.
A new study nixes the idea that statins can slow or prevent the progression of Alzheimer's. Turns out, there's no evidence to support the wishful thinking of these drug companies, and this time, we're actually hearing about it.
The findings of this latest study also go on to debunk one of the key arguments for their use in diabetic patients, to their ability to stave off stroke. According to the research, when brain autopsies were performed, they showed that statins had no effect on the either the progression of Alzheimer's or incidence of stroke.
The research team enrolled 929 clergymen who were all around 75 years old. None of the participants had been diagnosed with dementia at the beginning of the study, and 119 were taking statins. Each one participated in cognitive exams for the 12 years of the study. Two hundred fifty of the men died during this time and had an autopsy done on each of their brains.
Over the course of the study, 191 of the 929 developed Alzheimer's disease. Of those 191, 16 of them were taking statins. Again, the brain autopsies of the 250 who died showed no evidence that statins had any effect on the disease process of either Alzheimer's or stroke.
Many doctors remain under the mistaken impression that statins can help prevent Alzheimer's disease and even improve memory. In fact, statins can actually cause loss of memory. (See Lipitor, Thief of Memory by Duane Graveline, M.D.) I have encountered this under-reported side effect in patients myself. Memory usually returns to normal once the drug is stopped.
Research by the statin-makers will most certainly continue, as they are ever- hopeful they'll find fresh patients to enlist to help keep that blockbuster success rolling.
