Heart attack drug may ward off Alzheimer’s

From the (London, UK) Times:
Taking statins may help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, a study has directly suggested for the first time.

Researchers in the US claim to have uncovered clear evidence that the cholesterol-lowering drugs – taken daily by about three million people in Britain – could ward off the illness. The large-scale study, conducted at Boston University from 2002, found that the drugs may cut the risk of getting Alzheimer’s by as much as 79 per cent, even in people thought to be genetically susceptible to the disease. The lead author, Gail Li, said the study was the first to compare the brains of people who had received statins with those who had not.

Previous research has indicated that Alzheimer’s may be caused by poor blood flow and vascular changes in the brain, which statins may help to prevent. Dr Li, from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, and her colleagues examined the brains of 110 Americans who had died aged between 65 and 79, and had donated their organs for research. ...more