Statins: Can They Boost Your Brainpower? (Lowering cholesterol with medication)

Keeping your brain healthy as you age is important! One factor that might influence your brain health is your cholesterol level. This video explores the latest research on how medications used to lower cholesterol, called statins, might impact your risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

Lowering cholesterol with medication and risk of dementia.
Reference:
Statin initiation and risk of incident Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline in genetically susceptible older adults. PMID: 38447103.

Statin use and risk of dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review and mad analysis of observational studies. PMID: 34871380.

If you’re aged 30 and above, it’s important to know your LDL scores for better brain health. Normal levels are under 70 mg/dl or 1.8 mmol/L. As with any health-related condition, please speak with your healthcare provider to make a decision about your health before taking any supplements or medication.

[giovanagranados]

Thanks you doctor for this information, but what do you think about statin-induced myopathy ?

[mdejhe]

This is good to know. It takes away the worry of taking statins. thank you

[EinsteinSarge]

Please advise - are there studies or recommendations on the risks/benefits of someone with one copy of APOE4 taking statins? Just prescribed due to elevated Lp(a) of 53mg/dl (LDL is 109, trig are 50). My A1C is 5.1, I’m lean, not overweight, exercise daily, nonsmoker. Only reason my doc agreed to test my Lp(a) is because I agreed to pay out of pocket for it since I had no risk factors. Now they recommend a statin but I can’t find anything about statin use if you are a APOE4 carrier - my doc did not have any information.

[lindahamilton-ross]

But I have seen a decline in muscle strength, this lady began to shuffle, and cognitive decline when I worked in Sheltered Housing. The other lady used to run the coffee morning but became isolated in her flat. And doesn't the brain need cholesterol!

[Hart]

Just watch your video on vascular Damitia. My husband is 61, our Doctor finally ordered an CT SCAN . They Diagnosed him with vascular Damitia. We live in a small town in OK. Two hours from Oklahoma City, OK. We don't know any Doctors here. Can you recommend a good Neurologist? We are desperate and scared.

[lizhall]

A few studies indicate that statins may increase the risk of diabetes. I have fibromyalgia and am prediabetes, and high cholesterol runs in my family though I eat plant-based. I am wary of statins for those 2 reasons.

[BirdieMcLovin]

Glad to hear this. I have FH (heterogeneous) and I am a healthy weight, but I have to take statins to lower my LDL.

[pickwickiansyndrome]

Its a meta-analysis so it is not a good study. Stains decrease cholesterol synthesis which is not the best idea in the brain. They probably serve a purpose in high risk patients but if your putting everyone with ascvd over 7.5% then your creating a lot of possible side effects that might not be worth the risk