Cholesterol-Lowering Statins Lower Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease

Drugs that could lower the levels of cholesterol in the blood, called statins, can lower the risk of Alzheimer's diease, a new study suggests.

A team of researchers from the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona found that the incidence of Alzheimer's disease dropped among the patients who were frequently prescribed statins compared to low users.

According to CBS News, previous research has shown that high cholesterol in later life could boost the risk of Alzheimer's disease. However, the new study shows that taking statins regularly may reduce it.

To land to their findings, the study was based on a sample of 399,979 Medicare beneficiaries, both men and women, who took statins for two years or more between 2006 and 2013. Their ages ranged from 65 years old and above.

Published in the journal JAMA Neurology, the researchers found that the significance of the reduction varied based on sex and ethnicity.

"We found risk reduction was slightly higher for women compared to men. So for women, the risk reduction and the onset of Alzheimer's was 15%. For men, it was 12%," Julie Zissimopoulos, lead author of the study, said as reported by CNN. She added that among Hispanic men, the size of the reduction is much larger, at 29 percent.

The patients who took simvastatin (Zocor) had 10 percent to 23 percent lower risk, depending on the race and ethnicity. However, the researchers saw no benefit for black men.

On the other hand, those who took Atorvastatin (Lipitor) the most, white men and black men had no benefits from the medicine. For white women, black women and Hispanics, the risk of Alzheimer's disease was 16 percent to 39 percent lower.

"We may not need to wait for a cure to make a difference for patients currently at risk of the disease. Existing drugs, alone or in combination, may affect Alzheimer's risk," Zissimopoulos said in a press release.