Popping a Pill to Ward Off Alzheimer's?

Posted July 29, 2008, 10:05 am in Conditions & Diseases by Growing Bolder


If warding off Alzheimer's was as easy as taking a pill " wouldn't we all grab a glass of water and get medicated? In fact, a U.S. study recently released finds that drugs used to lower cholesterol may have a bonus effect; protecting us from Alzheimer's and other types of dementia. The pills are called statins, but not everyone is on board with the idea of prescribing them to people as prevention.

The study, led by a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School on Public Health and reported in the journal Neurology, followed more than 1,600 elderly Mexican Americans living in California. More than a quarter of that group were taking statins, and did not have any dementia when the study started. The rest of the study participants did not take statins.

Those who did take the pills were half as likely to develop dementia than those who didn't " and that finding led the researchers to determine that the statins may have wider possibilities than lowering blood cholesterol levels and reducing heart risk, as they are most commonly used now. The scientists say those findings are boosted, because they accounted for several other risk factors for dementia, including smoking, diabetes, stroke and genetics.

The most common type of statin taken by the study participants, according to the lead researcher, was Pfizer's Liptor, although the study did not determine whether one type of statin was better than others, and it did not look at the drugs as a treatment for people who have already been diagnosed with dementia.

So what's the problem? Many experts believe Americans are already over-medicated, and that studies like this just encourage prescription abuse. Suzy Cohen is a frequent Growing Bolder Radio Show guest, and she says it's crucial for people to know what they're putting in their bodies, and to ask questions.

Cohen tells Growing Bolder, "I haven't found one good study to date, not one, to show that statin drugs that lower cholesterol can extend your life, and in fact, they might put you at a higher risk for heart attack." She goes on to say, "It's like blowing the smoke out of the house when the fire still exists. You've got to put the fire out. Heart disease is related to much more than just high cholesterol." In fact, a study published in Neurology " the same journal that this new study appears in " found in a group of 929 elderly U.S. Catholic nuns, priests and brothers that taking statins did not lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

So what exactly are statins? These drugs lower the liver's production of cholesterol, and are usually used to reduce LDL, what doctors consider the "bad" cholesterol. Studies have shown that statins can also ward off heart attack and stroke, can reduce the risk of cancer, and can lower the risk of death from everything from flu to smoking.

Despite concerns, the idea that a drug already in use could help prevent serious health afflictions like Alzheimer's disease has the medical community talking. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia to afflict the elderly.

To read more about this study, visit the American Academy of Neurology.
For more information, visit the Alzheimer's Association's Web site.

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