Your Brain on Statins

C. MacLean is absolutely right.. Controlled studies have demonstrated that in among the population who have had an MI a physician would have to treat 250 people with statins in order to improve the outcome for one person. The numbers for those with known heart disease are much worse, for those with no known disease they are astronomical. If you are on statins you are wasting your money

Statin drugs have been shown to lower cholesterol but recent studies have shown they do practically nothing to reduce adverse cardiac events. For those who have suffered myocardial infarction a physician would have to prescribe statins to 250 people to effect the outcome in 1 person. The numbers are worse for those who haven't suffered an MI but who have known coronary artery disease and they are astronomical for those with no known diea

C. MacLean is absolutely right.. Controlled studies have demonstrated that in among the population who have had an MI a physician would have to treat 250 people with statins in order to improve the outcome for one person. The numbers for those with known heart disease are much worse, for those with no known disease they are astronomical. If you are on statins you are wasting your money

First of all, Lipitor DOES cross the Blood Brain Barrier; ALL lipophilic statins do, of which Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor happen to be. Some are more soluble than others, though ALL lipophilic statins cross the BBB.
Second: recent media reports that statins "may spur dementia"

http://www.newsmax.com/health/statins_spur_dementia/2008/07/25/116234.html

Excerpt from the article: " Statins May Spur Dementia

Friday, July 25, 2008 9:21 AM

By: Sylvia Booth Hubbard



Statin drugs, which are used to lower cholesterol, may adversely affect a particular group of brain cells important to the health of aging brains, according to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center. ???There has been a great deal of discussion about a link between statins and dementia, but evidence either way has been scant,??? said Steven Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., the research team leader. ???This new data provides a basis for further exploration...
...Experimentation with cultures of human brain cells revealed that under the influence of statin drugs, the glial progenitor cells turned mostly into a type of cell called an ???oligodendrocyte.??? The bottom line is that statins push progenitor cells into developing into a type of cell which the brain may not need, and it may push the progenitor cells to develop prematurely when they should in fact be held in reserve in case of trauma such as a blow to the head, a stroke, or inflammation within the brain. In effect, statins deplete the availability of progenitor cells unnecessarily for no good reason.


It has yet to be determined whether statins actually boost the rate of dementia, although some physicians already believe they do. Until more research can be performed, what course should doctors and patients take? According to Goldman, ???There are a great number of questions that need to be explored further before anyone considers changing the way statins are used.???



© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
The small, epidemiological study you quoted DOES NOT PROVE ANYTHING, no matter what spin is put on the data.

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It is well known that statins do the opposite, they cause long term or short term memory loss. Of course, the pharmaceutical houses pass these arverse drag reaction off as trivial or infrequent. To those of us are affected by these reactions it isn't very trivial. Other than memory loss, statins produce myalgia, diminution of Coenzyme Q10, cramps, weakness, and skin conditions such as rashes and itching. These are often attributed to other causes and physicians continue to pass out the statins like candy!

"The cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins, taken by more than 15 million Americans, have proven to be a powerful weapon in the battle against heart disease."

Well, no, actually, they haven't. There is no solid evidence, none whatosever, that taking statins prevents heart disease or heart attackes. All we really know for sure is that taking statins lowers your serum cholesterol. We ASSUME if you lower serum cholesterol it will lead to less heart attacks, hence the claim that statins lower your RISK of heart attack. But not one statin has been proven to prevent heart attack, or heart disease.

And we know what happens when we assume.

The sad fact is that taking statins does a whole lot for the profit statement of the pharmaceutical company, but we don't really have proof that taking these drugs works any better than life-style change in warding off heart disease or heart attack.

But of course, life stye change does not sell pharmaceuticals.

To hint that taking a statin may prevent Alzheimer's disease is irresponsible at best, and fear mongering with the intent to sell statins at worst. But of course, they don't make that claim, the claim is that statins may reduce your RISK of dementia - that risk reduction thing again.

Statins are powerful drugs that change metabolism in the liver.

I prefer my liver au natural, thank you.