Statin Drugs May Fight Alzheimer's, Too
April 9, 2002 -- By now, the incredible cholesterol-lowering ability of the drugs known as statins is well documented. Drugs such as Pravachol and Lipitor have undoubtedly prevented countless heart attacks and other cardiovascular disasters among people with cholesterol that simply won't respond to diet and exercise. Now, it looks like these wonder drugs may also help prevent the dementia of Alzheimer's disease.
"Statins block the vasoconstrictive [blood-vessel narrowing] effect of the A-beta protein -- a critical protein involved in Alzheimer's disease," says Daniel Paris, PhD, lead author of the new study and assistant professor at the University of South Florida's Roskamp Institute, in a news release. "These drugs appear to have anti-inflammatory properties, independent of their benefit in lowering cholesterol, that may help protect against dementia."
Researchers had already noticed that people taking statins seemed to have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and Paris' team wanted to find out why.
They noticed that cholesterol and A-beta protein had very similar effects on blood vessels -- both cause them to constrict. A-beta protein causes inflammation, which in turn causes blood vessels to constrict. Perhaps the statins were protecting against dementia by inhibiting the protein and thus preventing dementia that's caused by blood-vessel constriction.
In the lab, the team first tested statins on human brain cells. They found that the statins protected the cells against the toxic affects of A-beta protein. Next, they tested the drugs on the aortic arteries of rats. As expected, the statins stopped the A-beta protein from causing the blood vessels to constrict.
"Our data suggest that statins possess a beneficial role in the [blood vessels] in which they appear to prevent A-beta [protein-induced] ... inflammation," the researchers write
The team is now investigating whether statin drugs can slow or even halt the progression of Alzheimer's dementia in mice with the disease. -->
"Statins block the vasoconstrictive [blood-vessel narrowing] effect of the A-beta protein -- a critical protein involved in Alzheimer's disease," says Daniel Paris, PhD, lead author of the new study and assistant professor at the University of South Florida's Roskamp Institute, in a news release. "These drugs appear to have anti-inflammatory properties, independent of their benefit in lowering cholesterol, that may help protect against dementia."
Researchers had already noticed that people taking statins seemed to have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and Paris' team wanted to find out why.
They noticed that cholesterol and A-beta protein had very similar effects on blood vessels -- both cause them to constrict. A-beta protein causes inflammation, which in turn causes blood vessels to constrict. Perhaps the statins were protecting against dementia by inhibiting the protein and thus preventing dementia that's caused by blood-vessel constriction.
In the lab, the team first tested statins on human brain cells. They found that the statins protected the cells against the toxic affects of A-beta protein. Next, they tested the drugs on the aortic arteries of rats. As expected, the statins stopped the A-beta protein from causing the blood vessels to constrict.
"Our data suggest that statins possess a beneficial role in the [blood vessels] in which they appear to prevent A-beta [protein-induced] ... inflammation," the researchers write
The team is now investigating whether statin drugs can slow or even halt the progression of Alzheimer's dementia in mice with the disease. -->