Do statins prevent Alzheimer's disease? A narrative review.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and occurs commonly in patients 65 and older. There is an urgent need to find an effective management that could help prevent or at least slow down the progress of this major public health problem. Cholesterol related pathways might play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Treatment with 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) has been suggested to promote the prevention of Alzheimer's disease. In this review, we discuss potential pathogenetic pathways for the development of Alzheimer's disease and review the evidence regarding the value of statins as a strategy to prevent or delay progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Harvard Medical School, Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Shapiro 621C, 330 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA 02215, United States. Electronic address: hdanesch@bidmc.harvard.edu.
Homayoun L
HL
Daneschvar
Harvard Medical School, Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States. Electronic address: maronson@bidmc.harvard.edu.
Mark D
MD
Aronson
Harvard Medical School, Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States. Electronic address: gsmetana@bidmc.harvard.edu.
Gerald W
GW
Smetana
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D002784:Cholesterol
Alzheimer's disease; Dementia; Disease prevention; Statins