Concern Over Effects of Statins on Brain

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Melinda Beck reports that at least one neurologist is concerned that statins - popular drugs used to treat high cholesterol - may be affecting the brain. Though the majority of cardiologists have not shown concern, one trial underway at the University of California San Diego is attempting to uncover what, if any, effects statins have on mood, thought processes, and behavior.

The concern arises because the protective sheaths that insulate neurons in the brain could be vulnerable to the actions of statin drugs. These myelin sheaths are composed mainly of cholesterol, which statins are designed to fight.

Critics point out both that the delicate structures of the brain are protected by the blood-brain barrier, which statins are not known to cross, and that other studies have shown that statins may actually help prevent certain neurological diseases like Alzheimer's by reducing the amount of free cholesterol in the body.

Statins are prescribed to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and may patients with high blood pressure and high cholesterol are treated with these drugs.

Studies are ongoing.