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Prescription of lipophilic statins to Alzheimer’s disease patients: some controversies to consider

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Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common disorder causing cognitive decline in old age. It is a progressive and irreversible neuropathology with a diagnosis often missed or delayed. Cholesterol represents an important determinant of the physical state of biological membranes and in AD brains, specific changes in its membrane-ordering and Raft-organizing effects take place. A recent publication shows downregulation of Seladin-1 (selective Alzheimer’s disease indicator, also called DHCR24), which catalyzes the last step of cholesterol biosynthesis in affected neurons in AD. Postmortem analysis of AD brains revealed a loss in membrane cholesterol content and this finding makes the therapeutical use of statins (especially the lipophilic ones) quite a lot controversial. Some clinical studies suggest that risk of Alzheimer’s disease is substantially reduced in users of statins; however, because these studies are not randomized trials, they provide insufficient evidence to recommend statin family therapy.

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  1. Facoltà di Scienze Biologiche, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Turin, Italy

    Elisa Biondi

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Biondi, E. Prescription of lipophilic statins to Alzheimer’s disease patients: some controversies to consider. Neurol Sci 32, 195–201 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-010-0440-0

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