Statins may guard against Alzheimer's

GRONINGEN, Netherlands, June 23 (UPI) -- Statins may protect nerve cells against damage known to occur in the brain of Alzheimer's disease patients, Dutch researchers suggest.

Amalia Dolga of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and colleagues said how nerve cells die in Alzheimer's disease is complex, but it is known that nerve cells eventually die because they are strongly overstimulated -- a process called excitotoxicity.

In animal experiments conducted in the laboratory of Ulrich Eisel at the University of Groningen, Dolga and colleagues overstimulated such nerve cells. They demonstrated that treatment with a statin called Lovastatin could prevent the death of nerve cells under these conditions. The statins not only prevented cells from dying but also prevented the loss of memory capacity that normally occurs after such cell death, Dolga said.

In a previous study, Dolga showed statins stimulate the protective capacity of tumor necrosis factor, which is a key player in the brain's immune response.

High cholesterol levels are considered to be a risk factor not only for cardiovascular disease, including stroke, but also for the development of Alzheimer's disease. Many drugs, including statins, lower cholesterol, Dolga said.

The findings are published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.