Statins and dementia

[cheyenne1944]

I have had some difficulties in the past with statins and short-medium term memory loss, forgetfulness, etc. I am now off statins. My mother and my sister were both on statins and both were characterized as having Alzheimers. When I look at the number of people with Alzheimers in nursing homes and realize that many of them are on statins, I wonder if there is a link. What would happen if those with Alzheimers were removed from the statin use. The 10 signs of Alzheimers are: (1) Memory loss that disrupts daily life, (2) Challenges in planning or solving problems, (3) Difficulty in planning or solving problems, (4) Confusion with time or place, (5) Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, (6) New problems with words in speaking and writing, (7) Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps, (8) poor or decreased judgement, (9) Withdrawal from work or social activities, (10) Changes in mood and personality. These sound very similar to many of the memory problems caused by statins. Has any link been established or even examined?

[jrm0rgan]

Hello Cheyenne,
I want to thank you for the concise list of Alzheimer's symptoms. I am a potential for this problem as is my wife. We both have it running in our families.
I too was a statin user for 10 years +. I have not jumped into the arena of posting to this forum of the good Dr Graveline. This is primarily owing the
fact that there is so much information to learn and absorb and that I hadn't been able to figure out how to compose my words to describe my statin experience. You're an example to me ( new spacedoc.com member ) who just seemed to jump right in. I suspect you have some previous experience in this form of communication. I have copied your list, understanding that it is obviously based on your real experience. It does very closely fit with our
family experiences. My dad and both my wife's parents met their end while having been removed from their normal lives. I wanted to cut this off at this
juncture just to spare you a long personal story that perhaps is not what you are here for. Just question from my own curiosity, the name Cheyenne, gives a hint that you may be west of the Mississippi R. I am in Loveland, Colorado. Thanks again

[cheyenne1944]

Sorry this is such a long comment, but I did not want to edit out any useful information.

Comparison the similarities/differences between Alzheimer's symptoms and statin use.

10 Alzheimer's symptoms:
(1) Memory loss that disrupts daily life
(2) Challenges in planning or solving problems
(3) Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure
(4) Confusion with time or place
(5) Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
(6) New problems with words in speaking or writing
(7) Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
(8) Decreased or poor judgment
(9) Withdrawal from work or social activities
(10) Changes in mood and personality

Statin Problems:
1. Cognician
Brain fog:
1. Loss of mental sharpness
2. There is a loss of short-term memory which leads to forgetfulness
3. Feeling spaced out and unable to think clearly
4. A feeling of being in a fog or having a dark cloud over one’s head
5. The span of attention is decreased
6. A feeling of anxiousness or mild depression
7. There is no spatial awareness
8. There is a lack of focus and concentrating is very difficult significant worsening of cognitive indices
9. Difficulty reading, writing, and doing simple math in your head.
10. Difficulty forming coherent thoughts or expressing yourself efficiently, temporary at a loss for words.
11. Spelling difficulties
*http://www.theannals.com/cgi/content/abstract/aph.1H014v1
*http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0002934304005467
*http://www.atypon-link.com/PPI/doi/abs/10.1592/phco.23.15.1663.31953

2. Memory:
1. memory loss, confusion, trouble following conversations, and forgetting the names of family and friends etc.
*http://www.atypon-link.com/PPI/doi/abs/10.1592/phco.23.7.871.32720
*http://www.atypon-link.com/PPI/doi/abs/10.1592/phco.26.8.1190
*http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/458867_3

1. Amnesia
1. Anterograde amnesia is a loss of the ability to create new memories
2. Retrograde amnesia is a form of amnesia where someone will be unable to recall events that occurred before the development of amnesia transient global amnesia, your recall of recent events simply vanishes, so you can't remember where you are or how you got there. You may also draw a blank when asked to remember things that happened a day, a month or even a year ago.
*http://www.atypon-link.com/PPI/doi/abs/10.1592/phco.23.7.871.32720
*http://casereports.bmj.com/content/2009/bcr.06.2008.0033.abstract

Cheyenne

[David Staup]

You are correct, there is a link.

That statins are a treatment for Alzheimer's is another myth.

low cholesterol is associated with Alzheimer's

http://www.thecholesteroltruth.com/could-low-cholesterol-levels-jeopardise-brain/

about a treatment see here:

http://www.spacedoc.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1961

read the first few posts and updates on page 3 to bypass discussions you may not need
YET

David