Potential therapeutic effects of statins in alzheimer's disease

Statins are a family of lipid-lowering agents, long known to be beneficial in conditions where dyslipidemia occurs, such as atherosclerosis. Very recently, statins also have been proposed for use in neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it is clear that the purported effectiveness of statins in neurodegenerative disorders is not directly related to cholesterol-lowering effects of these agents but, rather, to their pleiotropic functions. Moreover, evidence from randomized, double-blind clinical trials demonstrated that statins have only limited beneficial effects in improving cognitive function in AD patients with moderate dementia. There is also a suggestion that in nondemented elderly people, statin use can be associated with cognitive impairments. Possible mechanisms underlying these effects are discussed along with the pros and cons of the use of statins in neurodegenerative disorders.