Statins and Cognitive Impairment
Our central nervous system(which includes our brain) is about 1/4 cholesterol
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11264981
"It's Not Dementia, It's Your Heart Medication: Cholesterol Drugs and Memory - Scientific American -Why cholesterol drugs might affect memory
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-not-dementia-its-your-heart-medication/
Statins and cognition: what can we learn from existing randomized trials?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16273014
Statin-associated adverse cognitive effects: survey results from 171 patients.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19558254
In 2005, Health Canada released a statement in the Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter suggesting a possible association between statins and memory loss.3 The onset of these adverse events described in the case reports varied, but most occurred within 1 year of statin initiation. Most of the cases (11/19) reported an improvement in cognitive symptoms once the statin was stopped or the dose reduced. In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety announcement to health care professionals, warning them about the potential risk of cognitive impairment (memory loss, forgetfulness, amnesia, memory impairment, confusion) with the use of statins for a period of 1 day to years. (see next link)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4483758/
Memory loss and confusion have been reported with statin use. These reported events were generally not serious and went away once the drug was no longer being taken.
https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm293101.htm
Statin side effects can be uncomfortable, making it seem like the risks outweigh the benefits of these powerful cholesterol-lowering medications.
Doctors often prescribe statins for people with high cholesterol to lower their total cholesterol and reduce their risk of a heart attack or stroke. While statins are highly effective, they have been linked to muscle pain, digestive problems and mental fuzziness in some people and may rarely cause liver damage.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/statin-side-effects/art-20046013
Simvastatin is commonly prescribed for hypercholesterolemia to reduce vascular risk in patients. Some of these patients have dementia with cognitive defects of several domains. Although protective effects seem to be present, there is emerging evidence that statins cause cognitive impairment.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4822314/
Results: Significantly higher proportional reporting ratios (PRRs) were observed for lipophilic statins, which more readily cross the blood-brain barrier, (range: 1.47-3.51) compared to hydrophilic statins (range: 0.69-1.64).
Conclusions: Inconsistent with the FDA class warning, highly lipophilic statins with specific pharmacokinetic properties (atorvastatin, simvastatin) appear to confer a significantly greater risk of adverse cognitive effects compared to other lipophilic statins and those with hydrophilic solubility properties.
https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/examination-of-the-fda-warning-for-statins-and-cognitive-dysfunction-2329-6887-2-141.php?aid=29743
Statin-Related Cognitive Impairment in the Real World - You’ll Live Longer, but You Might Not Like It:
They say that the most dangerous kind of ignorance is not knowing what you don’t know. It took me a long time to realize I had statin-related cognitive impairment because I had no idea what it was.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/1918928?resultClick=3&redirect=true
If it is suspected that the statin is contributing to the symptoms(cognitive impairment), a drug-free period of 1 to 2 months is recommended prior to a rechallenge. Expert opinion suggests a switch to a less lipophilic statin, such as rosuvastatin or pravastatin, to limit drug entry into the central nervous system and diminish the effects on cognition.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4483758/
Lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin are derived from fungi, whereas atorvastatin, fluvastatin, and rosuvastatin are synthetic. Atorvastatin, lovastatin, and simvastatin are lipophilic, whereas pravastatin, rosuvastatin, and fluvastatin are more hydrophilic.
Lipophilic statins cross the blood-brain barrier more readily, which may lead to central nervous system complaints such as insomnia, although this is rare. Hydrophilic statins exhibit greater hepatoselectivity and less influence on smooth muscle proliferation.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/561128
Books on the topic:
When Dr. Duane Graveline, former astronaut, aerospace medical research scientist, flight surgeon, and family doctor is given Lipitor to lower his cholesterol, he temporarily loses his short-term memory. Urged a year later to resume the drug at half dose, he lost both short-term and retrograde memory and was finally diagnosed in a hospital ER as having transient global amnesia (TGA). This is the "scary, appealingly written" account of his search for answers that his medical community didn't have -- the how and why of his traumatic experience, and what needs to be done to prevent the devastating side effects to body and mind from the escalating use of the statin drugs.
https://www.amazon.com/Lipitor-Thief-Memory-Duane-Graveline/dp/1424301629
