QUESTION: What is the current data on statins causing or preventing dementia?
OBJECTIVE: To determine if dementia can be caused or prevented by the use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors: Pravastatin, Lovastatin, Simvastatin, Rosuvastatin, and Atorvastatin.
RETRIEVAL OF SOURCES: The journal articles and publications used in this review were searched using PubMed and Google scholar as well as the FDA references cited in the warning regarding cognitive impairment on the FDA website. Key search words used include: statins, dementia, cognitive function, HMG-coA reductase inhibitors, impaired memory.
STUDY SELECTION:
• Statins Prevent Dementia4-11 o 8 prospective cohort studies- Meta Analysis o 2003-2009 o All 8 studies with RR 95% CI for statins and dementia
• Statins Cause Dementia13,14 o 60 case reports o 1 case report o 1997-2002
DATA CONCLUSION:
• Cause Dementia: A look at the FDA references cited in the warning that statins could cause cognitive impairment showed: o The rate for cognitive adverse events with statins was low and this low rate was similar to the rates with other similarly therapeutic class medications.
• Prevent Dementia: Other journal articles and publications that showed a link between statin users and cognitive impairment suggested: o No increased evidence of Alzheimer disease as well as no difference in cognitive performance, processing speed, or memory.
CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION: Since the Food and Drug Administration based their warning on a few reports for “cognitive-related” adverse events with statins, as well as rare post-marketing reports of cognitive impairment, it is reasonable to recommend that statins still be used the same therapeutically as they always have. This recommendation is also based on the...
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...nal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy. 2003; 23(7):871-880. doi: 10.1592/phco.23.7.871.32720.
14. Orsi A, Sherman O, Woldeselassie Z. Simvastatin-associated memory loss. Pharmacotherapy. 2001;21:767-9.
15. Haag MD, Hofman A, Koudstaal PJ, et al. Statins are associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer disease re-gardless of lipophilicity. The Rotterdam Study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2009; 80:13-17.
16. Soloman et al. Statins and dementia prevention: A population-based study (FINRISK). Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2009; 5(4):2-104.
17. Steenland et al. Statins and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults with Normal Cognition or Mild Cognitive Impairment. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013;61:1449–1455.
18. Hajjar et al. The Impact of the Use of Statins on the Prevalence of Dementia and the Progression of Cognitive Impairment. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2002 Jul;57(7):M414-8.
The disease called Alzheimer’s is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States (Weiner, 1987). It is estimated that the elderly population will double between now and 2030. During this period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8% annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is estimated to range from 11.3 million to 16 million (Alzheimer’s Association, 2005). These startling numbers should prompt an examination into one of the leading causes of death among this group of people. Understanding what Alzheimer’s is and the known causes of the disease are a good starting point. For those who have aging family members, knowing the risk factors and warning signs of Alzheimer’s can be beneficial to both the patient and his family. Finally, once the patient has been diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s, a plan for treatment as well as providing the family and caregivers with a support system can help ease those involved through a very challenging, heartbreaking time.
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that affects cognitive function in the elderly population. It is an irreversible, progressive disease involving decline in memory and other intellectual abilities (Spremo-Potparevic, Živkovic, Plecas-Solarovic & Bajic, 2011). According to the National Institute of Health, the majority of people who have Alzheimer’s are age 65 and older (NIH, 2012). Around two-thirds of Americans who have Alzheimer’s are women. The reason for this may be that women have a longer lifespan than men (NIH, 2012).
Although Alzheimer’s disease appears to be the most common cause of dementia, “more than 50 conditions are associated with dementia, including degenerative ...
“Dementia as a clinical syndrome is characterised by global cognitive impairment, which represents a decline from previous level of functioning, and is associated with impairment in functional abilities and, in many cases, behavioural and psychiatric disturbances” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK55480/
The sixth leading cause of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s disease afflicts approximately 5.2 million persons age 65 and over (Alzheimer's Association, 2012). Rapid growth of the older population as the Baby Boomer generation ages will cause unprecedented increases in the number of individuals with Alzheimer’s. It is estimated that by 2025 the number of Wisconsin residents with Alzheimer’s age 65 and older will increase by 30% to a projected total of 127,000 (Alzheimer's Association, 2012).
...sion of the disease. In addition, the risk factors and preventive measures are quite clear. These can help those who are unaware of what Alzheimer’s disease is or how it progresses. Future studies may prove to be beneficial in preventing the occurrence of Alzheimer’s, or at least the severity of its’ progression. Informing people of this disease, the risk factors, and preventive measures at a younger age, can only prove beneficial in the decrease or possible elimination of this physically and mentally altering disease. Living a healthy life now can only increase your chances of having a healthier life in old age.
"Alzheimer’s & Dementia Prevention." : How to Reduce Your Risk and Protect Your Brain. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2014.
Dementia is the progressive deterioration and impairment of memory, reasoning, and other cognitive functions occurring as the result of a disease or condition. Dementia can affect the person’s ability to carry out daily activities. For example, the person may forget where they live or they might think they have already done their activities but never did. Dementia can also cause the elderly to become incontinent and can’t control their urinary system. Many people get confused that dementia is a disease. Dementia is not a disease. However, it can lead to a disease or condition. Dementia is more common in the elderly population. It’s normal for people to forget things, but to a certain extent it becomes a critical issue. Depression also plays a role in the affects of dementia. Studies have been made to believe that the biological mechanisms for depression relating to dementia is, “interactions with vascular diseases, changes in glucocorticoid steroid levels that can result in hippocampal atrophy, accumulation of amyloid-[beta] plaques, inflammatory processes, and lack of nerve growth factors” (Heser et al., 2013). Dementia is caused because of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. This can also be known as Alzheimer’s Disease. Dementia is the leading cause for Alzheimer’s Disease in the elderly. For all dementia cases, 60 to 80 percent of people with dementia will have Alzheimer’s Disease. The disease has 3 different stages, the early stage, the middle stage, and the late stage. Each of those stages has a variety of symptoms that affects the memory impairment of the person (Wieregna, Bondi, 2011). Also relating to dementia is Parkinson’s Disease and Huntington Disease. These diseases can result in impairment, which can cause challeng...
As dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (DAT) is frequently the cause of dementia in the geriatric population common symptoms, treatments and the efficacy of the treatments will be discussed. Dementia of the Alzheimer’s type is a cognitive impairment, resulting in the inability to learn and retain new inform...
Worldwide, 35.6 million people have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year (WHO 2012). There are ma...
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most prevalent diseases in America and in the world at this point in time and the number of cases is only increasing. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s might include a decline in mental capacity, confusion, and forgetting how to do simple tasks. The disease in not limited to the older generation but is far more prevalent. There is no existing cure for Alzheimer’s and only a few medications that can mildly treat the disease but they vary from patient to patient and are not very affective. Many people are now trying to focus on preventing the disease in its early stages. Some ways in which people do this is by pairing a healthy diet with both cognitive and physical exercises.
Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States(1). Alzheimer's has no cure or any way of preventing it from occurring. Life expectancy continues to grow due to improvements in medicine, and so Alzheimer's Disease will continue to be a problem in the elderly. Looking at figure 1(3), it shows that from the year 2000, cases of Alzheimer's disease are estimated to double by the year 2040, which is most likely due to the fact that medicine will continue to improve. Despite not knowing the causes of Alzheimer’s, there have been studies(2 and 7) showing that high cholesterol or high blood pressure can increase the risk...
Alzheimer’s disease is rising at a very high rate. “The number of new cases per year is estimated at 360,000 equating to 980 new cases per day or 40 new cases every hour” (Cummings and Cole 1) This evidence shows that an increasing number of people will discover the effects of a cognitive impairment that will most likely be due to Alzheimer’s disease. As people age, their risk of being diagnosed with this disease increases ...
Great amounts of research and studies are going into dementia, but as seen by the various different approaches taken, it is a difficult matter, to try and prevent. There are some positive results that have potential to help prevent dementia, such as the medication that reduces the chance of getting a stroke and the use of antioxidants and fish oil to help nourish and keep the cells of the body strong.
Tangney, C., Aggarwal, N., Morris, M., et al. 2011. Vitamin B12, cognition, and brain MRI measures: A cross-sectional examination. Neurology 77(13):1276-1282.