Brain Injury Law Blog : Head Injury : Coma : Personal Injury : Las Vegas Nevada Lawyer & Attorney Tim Titolo

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Is it Dementia or Heart Medication?

It may be time to consider guaging your forgetfulnes by the heart medication you take.  2010 generated interesting findings. 

Scientific American  reports Cholesterol-lowering statins such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor are the most widely prescribed medications in the world, and they are credited with saving the lives of many heart disease patients. But recently a small number of users have voiced concerns that the drugs cause unexpected cognitive side effects, such as memory loss, fuzzy thinking and learning difficulties.

While these side effects are reported in only a small number of cases, it is important to get proper diagnosis and care: especially if you have high cholesterol.

Is your Brain Fat?

Well...yes it is. Or at least it requires fat to operate well. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that, among other things, provides structure to the body’s cell membranes. It also clogs arteries and blood vessels.

Statins

Some studies report that statins improve memory in certain people by lowering the risk of dementia. But the fact that statins may be bad for others arises because of different biochemical pathways and genetic predispositions.

Statins may prevent the body from making cholesterol-based myelin which insulates axons and speeds neuron connections.

So if you are having difficulty making decisions, remembering things or being yourself, and you are taking statins, talk to your doctor. You can likely switch medicine and see improvement. Of course if you recently hit your head you should also tell your doctor as you may be suffering signs and symptoms of brain injury.

On the other hand, non-statin heart medication has been shown to promote brain health by reducing dementia.

In January 2010, Boston University scientists, reporting in the British Medical Journal, say a class of high blood pressure drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers is associated with a striking decrease in the risk of occurrence and progression of dementia.

The researchers, using information from a U.S. Department of Health System Veterans Affairs database of more than 5 million people, examined records of more than 800,000 predominantly male patients 65 or older.

The researchers compared the patients in groups that included those using an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB); those using an ACE inhibitor called lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril); and those using other blood pressure/heart disease medications (excluding statins).