Statins May Prevent Damage Caused by Alzheimer's Disease ProHealth.com April 17, 2002 Commonly used cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins, have the ability to prevent neuron and blood vessel damage caused by the Alzheimer's disease protein A-beta. This is according to a study by University of South Florida (USF) researchers published in the March issue of the journal Atherosclerosis. The study examined the biochemical effects of statins in reducing Alzheimer's damage. "Statins block the vasoconstrictive effect of the A-beta protein — a critical protein involved in Alzheimer's disease," said Daniel Paris, Ph.D., author of the study and assistant professor at the USF Roskamp Institute. "These drugs appear to have anti-inflammatory properties, independent of their benefit in lowering cholesterol that may help protect against dementia." Recent studies have shown the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is reduced in people treated with statins, however the reason for this remains unclear. Additional studies have indicated that high cholesterol or other cardiovascular conditions can also increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease. The Roskamp researchers, searching for clues to understand the preventive action of statins, were struck by the similar effects of cholesterol and the A-beta protein in blood vessels. Both compounds promote the constriction of blood vessels in a similar way. They researchers developed a theory that the same drugs that inhibit the production of cholesterol might affect A-beta’s stimulation of inflammatory substances that result in blood vessel constriction. The researchers studied the effects of two common statins used to treat high cholesterol — mevinolin and mevastatin. A-beta appears to be toxic to human neurons cultured in the laboratory, but when these same neurons were treated with mevastatin, the neuro-toxicity normally caused by A-beta was prevented. The researchers also looked at the effect of mevinolin and mevastatin on the constriction of laboratory-prepared aortic arteries in rats. They observed that the statins blocked the A-beta protein's tendency to cause blood vessels to constrict. Furthermore, this prevention of vessel constriction appears to be due to the general anti-inflammatory properties of the statins, and is unrelated to the biochemical system used by the drugs to reduce cholesterol production. That is, statins may protect the vessels by opposing inflammatory substances triggered by A-beta. The Roskamp researchers are further testing the effectiveness of statins to prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease in a mouse model for the neurodegenerative disease.

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