Cognitive Impairment Associated with Atorvastatin and Simvastatin

Clinical guidelines for cholesterol testing and management have been updated recently. With the evolving recognition of benefits and intensified recommendations for cholesterol management, many more patients will require cholesterol‐lowering drugs. All the statins share similar adverse‐effect profil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pharmacotherapy 2003-12, Vol.23 (12), p.1663-1667
Main Authors: King, Deborah S., Wilburn, Amanda J., Wofford, Marion R., Harrell, T. Kristopher, Lindley, Brent J., Jones, Daniel W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
atorvastatin
Atorvastatin Calcium
Biological and medical sciences
cognitive impairment
Drug toxicity and drugs side effects treatment
Female
Heptanoic Acids - adverse effects
Humans
Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - adverse effects
Medical sciences
Memory Disorders - chemically induced
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Pyrroles - adverse effects
simvastatin
Simvastatin - adverse effects
statins
Toxicity: nervous system and muscle
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Summary:Clinical guidelines for cholesterol testing and management have been updated recently. With the evolving recognition of benefits and intensified recommendations for cholesterol management, many more patients will require cholesterol‐lowering drugs. All the statins share similar adverse‐effect profiles, with a low overall frequency of undesirable effects. Emerging data associate statins with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease; however, we report two women who experienced significant cognitive impairment temporally related to statin therapy. One woman took atorvastatin, and the other first took atorvastatin, then was rechallenged with simvastatin. Clinicians should be aware of cognitive impairment and dementia as potential adverse effects associated with statin therapy.
ISSN:0277-0008
1875-9114
DOI:10.1592/phco.23.15.1663.31953