Are Statins A Key To Preventing Alzheimer's Disease? Study Suggests Some More Effective Than Others, Depending On Race, Gender And Ethnicity

Women taking statins for high cholesterol had a 15 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease while men had a 12 percent lower risk, research from scientists at the University of Southern California found.

Statins reduce so-called bad cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, known as LDL, by inhibiting the body’s ability to produce it.

Julie Zissimopoulos of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, and colleagues examined the Medicare records of nearly 400,000 statins users from 2006 to 2013. The study, however, did not take into account statin use before the patients went on Medicare.

HealthDay News noted the findings do not prove statins reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s, and if they do shrink the risk, the impact is small.

"It's important to know that this is not a study that establishes causality, because it's not an experiment," Zissimopoulos told CNN. "It's really important to put this study in the context of where we are in Alzheimer's disease treatment and prevention, and there's still no treatment that exists to delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease."

Zissimopoulos said simvastatin and atorvastatin produced the most consistent results across race, gender and ethnicity. Both drugs are able to cross the blood-brain barrier. The other two statins studied, pravastatin and rosuvastatin, do not cross the blood-brain barrier.

"The reduction in Alzheimer's disease risk varied across statin molecules, sex and race/ethnicity. Clinical trials that include racial and ethnic groups need to confirm these findings," the authors wrote in an article published Monday in JAMA Neurology. "Because statins may affect Alzheimer's disease risk, physicians should consider which statin is prescribed to each patient."

The researchers followed patients taking the four most commonly prescribed statins for an average of 7.2 years.

“By decreasing cholesterol levels, statins may reduce the formation of β-amyloid peptide,” the researchers theorized.

Black men did not appear to benefit from any of the statins studied, while Hispanic men saw the greatest reduction, 29 percent. Simvastatin users had a 10-23 percent lower risk depending on race and gender. Among atorvastin users, neither white nor black men saw any benefit while white women, black women and Hispanics saw 16-39 percent lower risk. Only white women seemed to benefit from pravastatin and rosuvastatin, with risk dropping 18 percent.

“The risk of AD is higher among ethnic minorities,” the researchers said.

“The right type of statin, for the right person, at the right time may provide an inexpensive means to decrease the burden of” Alzheimer’s disease.

An estimated 47 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s worldwide, with the number expected to triple by 2050. There is no known cure. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia among older adults. It damages memory and thinking skills, and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, the National Institute on Aging says.