SNMMI ’21: Lipophilic Statin Use Linked to Increased Risk of Dementia

According to new research, patients with mild cognitive impairment who take lipophilic statins more than double their risk of developing dementia compared to those who do not take statins. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans of lipophilic statin users revealed a highly significant decline in metabolism in the area of the brain that is first impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. The research was presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2021 Annual Meeting.

Statins are the most commonly used drugs in the developed world, and nearly 50% of Americans over age 75 use a statin. Lipophilic statins are distributed to tissues throughout the body.

“There have been many conflicting studies on the effects of statin drugs on cognition,” said Prasanna Padmanabham, project head, statins and cognition in the molecular and medical pharmacology student research program at the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. “While some claim that satins protect users against dementia, others assert that they accelerate the development of dementia. Our study aimed to clarify the relationship between statin use and subject’s long-term cognitive trajectory.”

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