Statins fail to affect Alzheimer’s
From Times wire reports
Cholesterol drugs, such as Pfizer’s Lipitor, don’t prevent Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study of 929 Catholic clergy.
Using the cholesterol pills at any time during the 12-year study didn’t have any effect on changes in memory or cognitive function associated with the disease, researchers said. Brain scans and autopsies showed no relationship between the drugs and the disease’s progression, according to an online report from the journal Neurology.
Previous studies had suggested that cholesterol drugs known as statins may cut levels of sticky plaques in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s, a degenerative condition that affects as many as 5 million Americans, according to the National Institute on Aging.
