This study was published in Pharmacotherapy 2009 Jul;29(7):800-11
Study title and authors:
Statin-associated adverse cognitive effects: survey results from 171 patients.
Evans MA, Golomb BA.
Department of Medicine, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0995, USA.
This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19558254
The objective of the study was to characterize the adverse cognitive effects of statins. In the study, a survey was completed by 171 patients (age range 34-86 yrs) who had self-reported memory or other cognitive problems associated with statin therapy.
The study found:
(a) Of 143 patients who reported stopping statin therapy, 128 (90%) reported improvement in cognitive problems, sometimes within days of statin discontinuation.
(b) In some patients, a diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer's disease reportedly was reversed.
(c) 19 patients whose symptoms improved or resolved after they discontinued statin therapy and who underwent rechallenge with a statin exhibited cognitive problems again (multiple times in some).
(d) Higher potency statins led to higher rates of cognitive-specific adverse drug reaction.
(e) Quality of life was significantly adversely affected.
Evans concludes: "Findings from the survey suggest that cognitive problems associated with statin therapy have variable onset and recovery courses, a clear relation to statin potency, and significant negative impact on quality-of-life".
