- Statins are a drug that reduces cholesterol in the bloodstream, and while they were initially designed to prevent heart disease and cardiac events, they are increasingly being used to prevent other conditions linked to cholesterol.
- Some researchers believe that the most common forms of dementia may be caused in part by changes to cholesterol metabolism and blood flow to the brain.
- A longitudinal cohort study of older adults with dementia in Sweden has shown that statin use is linked to improved cognition over a period of three years, with some statins performing better than others.
Every year there are 10 million new dementia cases, according to the
The most common form of dementia is
The second most common cause of dementia is vascular dementia, which is caused when blood vessels in the brain get blocked, reducing blood flow to the region.
It can occur after a stroke, but individuals do not have to have a stroke to have vascular dementia. It is also possible that Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia can co-occur.
High cholesterol is linked to both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, particularly in men. Researchers hypothesize that
This could lead to atherosclerosis, which can increase the risk of vascular dementia, and it could also dysregulate the take up of the tau protein, which could accelerate its accumulation in the brain, a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.
That is also why statins could help decrease dementia risk in some cases. Statins are a drug that has been used for decades to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, primarily with the aim of…
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